As a fast-growing scale-up, we are fortunate to have employees from a variety of cultural and professional backgrounds, with diverse expertise and skills. As we continue to expand globally, we wanted to give you all a look inside our unique culture at Sine and the wonderful people who make it great to be a part of.
In Humans of Honeywell Sine, we will be regularly interviewing different members of the team about their interests inside and outside of the tech world, their Sine stories and much more.
This month, we are pleased to be joined by Scrum Master, Emilia Chignola. Having just celebrated her sixth months here at Sine, Emilia has been a valuable asset to the team and plays a significant role in making Sine the best it can be.
Keep reading to find out more about Emilia and her role at Sine!
Scrum Master. What now you say? This is a typical response to my chosen career. As a Scrum Master, I have the privilege of being a servant leader, facilitator, coach, manager, mentor, teacher, impediment remover and change agent for our teams.
When we think of any agile methodology, the first thought is usually how we use Scrum/Kanban/DSDM to deliver value and increase productivity. I first thought about how we utilise these methodologies to increase happiness and joy for our teams and customers. Happiness and productivity go hand in hand — this bond is deep. A drop in happiness precedes a drop in productivity and velocity by weeks. The three pillars of Scrum, Transparency, Inspection and Adaptation, resonate with me and align with my definition of perfect. This role allows me to create trust, align purpose, evolve teams and level up organisations — the main outcomes being continuous improvement and, most importantly, increased happiness.
Develop and deliver as many projects as possible. Growth and evolution are born out of experience and continuous learning. And remember my definition of perfect — “perfect is doing the best you can with the skillset and tools you have.” Every time you evolve your skillset and tools, you redefine perfect.
In my interview, I was asked a similar question by our Agile Lead, Calvin Yau: "Why do you want to work for Honeywell Sine?" My response was this — I have been fortunate to enjoy a career in software and video game development with roles ranging from Designer to Scrum Master. I have worked for local dev studios, and global conglomerates, met the most wonderful people, and developed long-lasting relationships. Now, I’m looking for a home. Honeywell is my home.
The intelligent and compassionate team members surrounding me daily are the best part. The community we have created at Honeywell Sine is second to none. This is a direct result of everyone supporting one another and being open.
Without a doubt, it would have to be Build '22. Events that cross departments are how we become an agile organisation, not just agile engineering teams. This event, driven by our Director of Engineering, Matt Bauerochse, featured a retrospective that included Product, Design, Engineering, People & Culture and Leadership. The valuable insights and action we have taken post this event will positively impact all teams and our product. We also spent time at an arcade and went bowling in the afternoon; it was great to enjoy time with each other.
Most weekends, you can find me hiking with my dog and exploring the beautiful state that is South Australia. I also bring my dog to my boxing gym.
I am an avid reader and love to learn. Right now I am reading “The Great CEO Within” by Matt Mochary and “Immunity to Change” by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey. Both are a great read so far!
I love polaroid photos! Many photos of our team plastered across L1 and L2 of the Honeywell Sine Adelaide office can be found. I love that we capture that exact moment, not taking extra photos. It is a genuine snapshot of a real moment in time.
As a fast-growing scale-up, we are fortunate to have employees from a variety of cultural and professional backgrounds, with diverse expertise and skills. As we continue to expand globally, we wanted to give you all a look inside our unique culture at Sine and the wonderful people who make it great to be a part of.
In our new series, Humans of Honeywell Sine, we will be regularly interviewing different members of the team about their interests inside and outside of the tech world, their Sine stories and much more.
This month, we are pleased to be joined by our People and Talent Specialist, Mugdh Setia. As she celebrates her one year with the Sine family, we caught up with Mudgh to find out more about her role at Sine and how she makes Sine the best workplace it can be. Her long-reigning ping pong victories should not go unnoticed, so keep reading to find out more!
I did my honours in Psychology, as human behaviour has always been my area of interest. While I initially thought I’d be a clinical psychologist, I soon found my passion for organisational behaviour in my last semester. Fortunately, the year I graduated, I received a prestigious scholarship from Melbourne Business School to pursue a Master of Management degree with a specialisation in HR, where my tryst with HR officially began.
I have four pieces of advice to offer.
Firstly, for someone who’s wanting to get into the People Ops space, please don’t be in a hurry to draw a specialisation. If given a choice, choose to go in a ‘generalist’ or ‘coordinator’ position which helps you gain perspective on different functions of HR and how they interact with each other. Doing that will also help you choose your specialisation wisely down the line.
Data, data, data – HR Analytics is the sin-qua-non of the HR world. So, rather than running away from my numbers, try and master the magic of data from day one. It might not come to you overnight, but it’s an essential skill that will provide you an edge over others.
HR as ‘strategy’ – There will be parts of your job that might across as administrative, but that’s totally how you look at it. HR no longer fits in its traditional definition of a siloed function; rather it sits at the core of each business, constantly interacting with other functions. Even in the smallest of tasks, think like a business partner and question how that task is making an impact on your business.
Lastly, if given an opportunity to be an HR in a start-up and be an HR in a larger organisation – the learnings in both settings are different yet pivotal.
I was looking at roles in South Australia and ended up cold messaging my current manager (Tip: never estimate the power of cold messaging). But why I decided to pursue Sine was primarily because of two key reasons. Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed the interview process – in three rounds of interviews we spoke about everything under the sun e.g., from weddings in Delhi to strategic initiatives at the leadership level. I didn’t have to pretend, and it felt like the team genuinely wanted to know who I am as a person. Secondly, having done my background research – Sine seemed like a diverse and inclusive workplace which was one of my key considerations.
Can there be an article where I just answer this question? It’ll be hard to summarise.
Though I have many favourites, I’ll choose my top 3. Firstly, it’s “Good People”. It’s rare to find a growing organisation wherein each person is equally kind-hearted, friendly, funny, super smart, high performing yet very humble. It’s the team that makes Honeywell Sine what it is today.
Secondly, you’ll often hear me saying in interviews, “Being at Honeywell Sine is like having the best of both worlds”. I love working in a start-up culture while having the benefits, career progression opportunities, and support of a Fortune 100 company. Scaling up within a Fortune 100 comes with its challenges, but that’s what makes it fun; every day is new learning.
Lastly, I love that everyone can bring their authentic self to work and they’ll be appreciated for their uniqueness.
The first one has to be the International Women’s Day 2022 which had a long-lasting impact on me. Hearing stories from my colleagues of breaking gender biases in their own professional career was so inspiring and motivating at the same time.
The second one has to be the Grad Meet & Greet 2022. As a young graduate two years ago, I remember applying for 10+ Grad programs, without any idea about the know-how of these organisations. To foster a better experience for future graduates, this event allowed us to welcome young talent onsite and show us a glimpse of who we are and what we do. After all, grad programs should be a mutual culture fit.
I have moved to 3 cities over the last 4 years of my Australian journey and so, I’ve always been in a “tourist” state of mind. I am a serial café-hopper and love to explore new cafes over the weekend where I can enjoy a coffee with a friend or journal. The Australian fitness culture is also growing on me, so I love a good F45 sweat session after work to keep the endorphins going.
I was an All-India Arts Topper 2014-15 and had the golden opportunity to witness the India Republic Day Parade'15, as a guest of Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi and, chief guest Mr. Barack & Michelle Obama.
Does the Sine team sound like something you’d like to be a part of? Join us!
Check out our job opportunities.
As a fast-growing scale-up, we are fortunate to have employees from a variety of cultural and professional backgrounds, with diverse expertise and skills. And as we continue to expand globally, we wanted to give you all a look inside our unique culture at Sine and the wonderful people who make it great to be a part of.
