Consulting

What if I told you that the key to thriving in today's fast-paced tech landscape lies not just in innovation, but in the strength of your internal culture and management practices? With over a decade of experience as an engineering leader and seasoned conference speaker, I've witnessed firsthand the transformative power of empowering teams. Now, I specialize in guiding teams and startups to thrive by sharing invaluable insights gained from my experience.

Having worked with organizations like FutureLearn, the Wikimedia Foundation, and Container Solutions, I've specialised in implementing impactful strategies for employee evangelism and optimizing engineering management practices.

Reach out to discuss your ideas and learn more about how we can collaborate to drive your organization forward. Get in touch at melinda@seckington.com.

Employee Evangelism 

Collaborating with engineering leaders and managers, I focus on fostering a culture of internal evangelism within teams. By tapping into the expertise and passion within your engineering teams, we can enhance your company's reputation in the tech community, streamline talent acquisition efforts, and nurture team growth and retention.

Key areas of focus include:

• Empowering team members to share their knowledge and expertise, and help them to identify and create valuable content.
• Understanding individual motivations and concerns to tailor approaches for maximum engagement.
• Creating platforms for team members to showcase their expertise internally, fostering continuous learning and advocacy skills.
• Designing streamlined processes to facilitate impactful employee evangelism initiatives consistently across teams.

By aligning our internal evangelism efforts with broader business objectives while also prioritizing team growth and retention, we not only strengthen the company's position within the tech community but also foster a dynamic and supportive workplace culture that drives sustained success and employee satisfaction.

Engineering Management

Specializing in fractional engineering management for startups, I collaborate closely with leaders in smaller or scaling companies to implement and enhance internal engineering management processes and structures. As startups embark on their journey from ideation to growth, they often face unique challenges in managing their engineering teams effectively. This is where fractional engineering management comes in — providing flexible and tailored support to address specific needs and drive sustainable growth.

Key areas of focus include:

• Onboarding and Offboarding Workflows: Developing streamlined processes for bringing new team members on board smoothly, while also ensuring seamless transitions for departing employees. These workflows are essential for maintaining team cohesion and continuity, particularly during periods of rapid growth or change.
• Optimizing Hiring and Recruitment: Crafting strategies to attract top talent and build diverse, agile, high-performing teams that can adapt to the dynamic nature of startup environments. This involves not only sourcing and recruiting skilled individuals but also ensuring cultural fit and alignment with the company's mission and values.
• Tailored Career Development Framework: Designing a comprehensive career development framework and providing guidance to empower employees to navigate their growth journey within the startup ecosystem. This includes identifying opportunities for skill enhancement, advancement, and alignment with organizational goals.
• Agile Feedback and Review Processes: Implementing flexible feedback mechanisms, performance evaluations, and salary reviews to foster transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement. These processes are essential for maintaining employee engagement and ensuring fair and equitable compensation structures.
• Targeted Learning and Development Initiatives: Designing and executing initiatives that address the specific challenges and opportunities faced by startups, such as rapid product iteration, emerging technologies, or market disruptions. This involves providing resources and opportunities for skill acquisition and application to support organizational growth and innovation.

Through fractional engineering management engagement, we provide startups with the expertise and support needed to navigate the complexities of building and scaling engineering teams. By tailoring our approach to meet the unique needs of each organization, we empower startups to overcome obstacles, drive sustainable growth, and achieve their long-term objectives. By enhancing these key areas of internal engineering management, we not only optimize the engineering experience but also cultivate a supportive team culture that drives engagement, growth, and success.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Get in touch to discuss your ideas. If you're interested in working with Melinda or finding out more about her availability, reach out at melinda@seckington.com.

Testimonials

Joel Chippendale:

Melinda did an outstanding job at FutureLearn of supporting our employee evangelism, enabling us to communicate effectively about what a great place it was to work at. She did this both by developing the confidence and skills of employees to write and speak about their work internally and in public, and by speaking and writing herself. This work was instrumental in building our excellent retention of talent, and also our reputation which helped us attract so many excellent engineers to our team.

I highly recommend Melinda. She is just who you need if you want to develop your speaking skills and/or build your team's external reputation.

Nicholas Skaggs:

At Wikimedia, Melinda did an excellent job of organizing a disparate team of individuals across a variety of skillsets. She inherited a team that spanned multiple fields of work from technical writing to developer relations to event management. Melinda was able to successfully organize the team's work, allowing for planning and task prioritization. She did this by revamping onboarding, defining roles and tasks, and encouraging cross-pollination of skills.

The end result was a team who better understood each other and was able to say no to things. This enabled a breaking down of the siloed effect that had pervaded the team and work. In short, Melinda transformed the group into a team.