What it's really like working at ElanWave
What’s it really like to work at ElanWave? A real look at our culture, values, perks, leadership style, and team traditions. If you’re curious about how we work, who we are, this blog is for you.
What it’s really like working at ElanWave
After more than a decade of building software and solving complex problems, one thing has stayed constant at ElanWave: it’s the people who make the difference. Good people, honest communication, and a team that genuinely supports each other. That’s what defines us. That’s exactly what you’ll find here.
We’re a 40+ person team working mostly in the Microsoft ecosystem - Power Apps, Power BI, .NET, and custom solutions, but we’re not limited to just that. The work is interesting and often challenging. But what truly makes it fulfilling isn’t just the tech, it’s the people you build it with. The core of ElanWave.
What we believe in
People here are kind. They’re down-to-earth. Helpful. You won’t find inflated egos or that quiet office tension where everyone’s pretending to be busy.
That’s why we made one simple rule early on – we hire great people. It doesn’t matter how skilled someone is, even if he/she is talented but arrogant, they don’t belong here. Basically, “no assholes” rule. It sounds simple, but in reality, it’s often the hardest part of building a team.
And the outcome of that? A workplace where people enjoy collaborating. Where asking for help isn’t seen as weakness, and where senior devs don’t roll their eyes when a less experienced engineer asks a question. You might even get lunch from a colleague who cooked an extra portion, it happens often.
But more importantly, it’s a team built on mutual respect. We don’t expect everyone to be best friends, we do expect everyone to treat each other the way we treat our clients – with professionalism and care. That shared sense of purpose and respect is what truly holds us together. And if we are being completely honest - yes, we do enjoy working with one another, something that we don’t take for granted.
Oh, and we are turning 16 this year! Cheers to that!
And that same respect and honesty isn’t just among colleagues - it defines how leadership engages with the team as well.
Open conversations
Transparency is just how things work here. Leadership is not sitting somewhere on the top floor or behind closed doors. Nor do they have some fancy office setup. Our CEO and CTO use empty keyboard boxes to prop up their monitors, just like the rest of us (except those smart enough to check at IKEA for a better solution). They even share memes on Teams.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s not perfect, we still have miscommunications and frustrations sometimes, like any other team basically, but you can be sure of one thing – you’ll be treated the way you’d want to be treated. Always with respect, understanding, great care and a lot of patience.
Learning together
We run internal workshops, hands-on sessions based on real life situations that complement online courses really well. Interactions, work planning and organization, tough client situations deconstructed – all discussed and shared with the rest of the team. Everything is relevant and can be used in everyday work. These internal workshops help us move faster, handle complexity better, and share lessons learned across teams. It benefits us, it benefits our clients.
Work perks
We do have some additional benefits that we believe are practical to make work-life balance good for everyone.
• Flexible working hours
• Private health insurance
• FitPass
• Office fruits, beverages and candies
• More time off the longer you’re with ElanWave
• All of us get to choose one day per week to work from home
• 23 days of paid vacation per year and more
As a proud Microsoft Partner, ElanWave supports employees in pursuing official Microsoft certifications, which are a great way to deepen expertise and grow professionally. In addition, we offer a flexible education budget for courses like Udemy, so you can keep learning new skills in a way that fits your needs.
ElanWave Traditions
Yes, we do have team building events. And yes, no one forces you to attend one. But we do have several things that we keep as a sort of ElanWave tradition around here. That includes our traditional Halloween party (cocktails and costumes, of course) and yearly retreat. Yearly retreats are either skiing or rafting, and quite often both. Those symbolize our ElanWave adventure.
We had retreats by the sea as well. These things are fun, mostly because no one is trying to make them a “corporate fun”. It’s just people hanging out and having fun.
The bigger picture
Some days are stressful. Sometimes projects can drag on. There is no perfect company. Especially the ones who say: We are one big happy family. We know that’s a red flag. But here, people care about work, and about each other.
And that’s the essence of ElanWave. We are not a cult of hustle or corporate façade. We’re just a group of good people trying to do solid work without unnecessary drama. To be honest, that’s why our clients have liked working with us for so many years.
So if that sounds like your kind of place, come see for yourself.
Check out our website, explore open roles, or just drop us a line. We’re always happy to chat!
Previous blog: An interview with Robin Hart of Garansys