An overcrowded kitchen filled with dishes waiting to be served. The manager does his best to appease the customers while the head chef scrambles to get the next order out. The diners are eagerly waiting for their meal, but the restaurant is operating at maximum capacity. That is the life of a Product Manager.
Hi, I'm Joel, the Associate Product Manager at HealthMetrics and have been working here for the past six months, and I would like to share my experience and what you can expect.
HealthMetrics
HealthMetrics is a SaaS health-tech startup focusing on helping organisation simplify their employee healthcare benefits.
Being a startup, the nature of the company is fast-paced and exciting.
Being part of the product team, we aim to deliver the best features to create value for our customers. However, things can be a bit tricky due to the rules and regulations of the healthcare industry. This becomes a delicate balancing act. We want to innovate as fast as possible, yet we want to ensure that we are compliant with the regulations. This existing tension translates into the day-to-day life within HealthMetrics.
Collaboration frequently occurs amongst the employees. This is both across the hierarchy and the department of the company. You can never predict whom you will be speaking to on a given day in HealthMetrics. One day, you might find yourself between the CEO and the intern eating lunch; on another, you might be sipping coffee with the sales and engineering team members. This collaborative culture translates into a fertile ground for ideas, with good ideas flourishing through the care of multiple perspectives and bad ideas being thrown away.
One strong aspect that I like about the company is that HealthMetrics truly respects its employees' time and well-being. Even during this MCO period where all staff is working online. The HR team does its best to foster cross-departmental conversations. We have weekly presentations from different people to share their stories and ideas; this can range from mental well-being to staying fit. Every major celebration, we celebrate the festival with one another. It genuinely feels like a united team.
Life as a Product Manager
Being a product manager, you are at the nexus of collaboration where the technology is intertwined with the business. The ideal product manager is to become the customer and ensure that every decision is only for the user's benefit. We want to mimic the entirety of their desire, intellect, and emotions to an astonishing accuracy. This is the gold standard of the product team that we always aim to achieve.
My day typically begins with a cup of coffee, an essential part of being a good product manager. Then, work begins. The activities range from clarifying technical points with the engineers, determining the value proposition of features with the marketers, and synthesising ideas from all feedback. The nature of the role is that you are constantly jumping from one call to another with limited breaks.
Furthermore, since the product team oversees the roadmap for the product, different departments typically have additional feature requests. This constant juggling act of the feedback of all parties is akin to balancing multiple plates on your fingers while riding on a galloping horse. Almost impossible. Nonetheless, we do our best to determine what is best for the product by looking at the bigger picture.
Suppose you are looking for a job that requires constant problem solving, collaboration, and limited lunch breaks. Then, you might find the Product Manager role a perfect fit for you.
Conclusions
HealthMetrics is a fast-paced startup bent on simplifying the healthcare industry. If you are looking for a strong collaborative culture with all the thrills of a startup company. HealthMetrics might just be the place for you. Yes, it can be a challenge, but the journey is rewarding.