What is your name and position at Zammad?
Gerrit Daute, Consultant
What are you known for?
To know a variety of scenarios in which Zammad is used by our customers.
What are you working on right now?
My everyday work consists of workshops. So, from Monday to Thursday, my clients decide when I start in the morning, when and how long my lunch break is, and when I finish work. The only consistent factor is that my day begins with a video conference, lasts for 8 hours, and ends after that. While this might be a horror scenario for others, for me, it means that every day I get to tackle new and exciting projects and questions with new and interesting people!
What new things have you learned on the job lately?
Where should I begin? There's something new almost every day. Perhaps the latest major "game-changer"? Writing presentations in Markdown instead of cobbling them together in PowerPoint. With Marp, you can then, along with a Zammad template, generate beautiful HTML, PPTX, or PDF files with just a few clicks. And if there's a change in the template design, updating old presentations is just a few clicks away. Centrally managed.
What motivates you every morning?
Knowing that today I can help someone transform the topic of "ticket system" into something that is not only efficient and helpful but can actually be enjoyable!
What do you love most about remote work? (And what not so much?)
I have so much more time! When you add up how much time can be spent commuting and how much you gain when that is eliminated: shiny! During my peak times, I had a commute of 15 hours per week. I commuted from Wiesbaden to Offenbach. While working, I don't really miss being on-site much - only in the in-between phases sometimes. So, the famous walk to the coffee kitchen and the small, random encounters on the way are what I miss occasionally.
How do you entertain your colleagues?
Every few weeks, I organize "Wizard Wednesday," where we not only play the namesake card game "Wizard" but also other board and social games after work. Time for small talk and nonsense sometimes gets overlooked in a purely home office environment. The pandemic has taught us that game nights can work online too 😉.
Which industry or brand should urgently make use of Zammad?
I can't think of any industry where I wouldn't find a use case in which Zammad (or similar products) could make work easier or more enjoyable. However, if I had to narrow it down to one industry, it might be market and opinion research. For example, to support communication between freelance staff in a phone studio and their supervisors. Or as a support platform for result portals. Or as a replacement for a shared mailbox for internal service inquiries. Or, or, wait a moment... taking a breath... When it comes to ideas for using Zammad, I can quickly get carried away. There are simply endless possibilities! 😉
How do you manage to break out of your everyday routines?
That comes easy to me. My clients constantly come up with new ideas and challenges. That's what I love about my job! There is so little routine.
What does your desk look like?
I'm flexible. As long as I have two screens. That's why even my laptop has two screens, as I like to travel a lot.
Do you have a passion that wouldn't be obvious from your CV?
Too Many Bones! With all the expansions, I've invested a four-digit sum into this board game. Friends think I'm crazy until they've played a round with me 😉.
What do you think makes for really good teamwork?
Like many things in life: with good communication. When things aren't going well, first reflect on what you could have done better. But also speak up when you're dissatisfied. And don't forget to give praise when things are going well. Across all hierarchical levels. "Employee motivation" is not just something for the top management.
What would you do if money were no issue?
If I were now standing on the stage of a beauty pageant in an evening gown, the right answer would probably be "world peace."
Which app desperately needs to be invented?
Even though it sounds strange coming from a "digital native" and part-time nerd, I believe the world has enough apps. More offline and analog would do us good as a society.
You have 1,000 unread messages and only time to respond to 50. How do you decide?
LIFO
How do you assess your personal success?
Am I happy? Are the people around me happy too?
What two career tips do you have?
Find something for which you have an intrinsic passion, something you really want to excel at. And then, meet your own standards for your work results.
What do you miss from your previous job?
Don't laugh, but I mean this seriously: Excel.
What feature do you find the coolest in Zammad?
Core Workflows! It allows Zammad to be as complex or as simple as you need.
What makes you get up every morning and not just work from bed?
The fact that I spend 90% of my working time in front of the webcam 😉.