ProductDock’s career reflections

Celebrating a decade or more of dedication, ProductDock honors team members for their dedication and commitment to our values and goals through the “ProductDock’s career reflections” interview series.

Starting our series, we talked with our colleague Andrija Vujasinović, General Manager at ProductDock in Novi Sad.

What do you like the most about your role and what is your biggest challenge as a General Manager at ProductDock?

The role as such is quite challenging. What I appreciate most about it is the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in shaping our company’s brand and making it desirable for both current and future colleagues. Essentially, I’d say that my primary task is cultivating a working atmosphere and environment that fosters satisfaction and attracts prospective colleagues. This is what I find most challenging and rewarding in my role.

Can you tell us about your journey at ProductDock and how it all began?

The beginning was really interesting. It all started back in 2010 with around five or six colleagues who were the first to join the team.
The start was challenging since it was my first time in such a role. That fact, combined with having completely new people I didn’t know who had just passed the entire application-to-employment process for the first time and who were also new to this environment. I remember all of us coming to the office the first day; it was quite unusual because, apart from a couple of colleagues who knew each other from before, we were all strangers to one another.

However, soon after, we managed to build codecentric into a recognizable brand in the city as far as the IT industry and the companies operating at the time were concerned. At that point, there weren’t as many companies in Novi Sad. To be precise, there were several well-established companies with a large number of employees and quite a few companies like us when we started, so that was a challenge we had to overcome. 

So, our first goal was to reach a level where we’d say we were no longer a small company but a well-developed office with at least 10 to 20 employees. 

Our greatest asset at the time was the fantastic support we had from our colleagues from Germany, and it was precisely this that I would single out as the biggest benefit all of us in the company had. Due to their support, we were in a much better position than other companies and startups in Novi Sad because we already had a proven and successful model that had already been verified in Germany. Our only task was to copy it and apply it here, which we, of course, did. Our company was unique in that regard during the entire history of codecentric in Serbia, and that was our great advantage.

What is your best ProductDock memory?

I wouldn’t be able to single out a specific memory since there have been so many of them over the years. But what has left a permanent impression on me are all the people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting who were and are a part of this company. Meeting and collaborating with so many individuals has been the best part and my main benefit.

What is the secret of staying in the same company for more than 10 years?

In my opinion, codecentric and ProductDock have proven to be ideal work environments for me and my role within a company. 

In this company, we are all given a free hand and full trust from the very beginning, which we can only lose over time if we don’t do our job. In other words, we don’t have any restrictions from the start, at least as far as I’m concerned, and as part of what I promote from my role to my colleagues in the company. The trust I mentioned is also one of the main things we mentioned during the interviews as well, or at least that was the case at the beginning while I was part of the team responsible for the interviews. We would always say that in codecentric, the person gains all our trust from the very first day and that you could only lose it if the work was not being done well. This fact signaled to me that this was the right environment and company for me to develop my career, and I believe that my colleagues share the same opinion.
So, why have I been here for so long? I was given a lot of trust at the very start, and for the past 14 years, I have never thought about leaving the company precisely because I had a lot of faith put in me, and that is something that doesn’t come by every day, and I don’t mean this only for myself but for all our colleagues.

Where do you see ProductDock in the future?

I would say, and that’s what I both hope for and will try to influence as within my power, that ProductDock will remain connected to codecentric (on concentric wings) in a sense that we will continue to nurture the same culture we have had and apply everything we’ve learned and adopted from our colleagues from Germany as well as all that we’ve built ourselves.

If that happens, I believe that ProductDock will remain a stable company as it is now. I think this should be the goal of all of us – to work in a stable company that values and knows how to appreciate the work of each of its employees and clients, and that stability continues to be our leitmotif. Therefore, I believe that in the future, ProductDock will remain what it already is – a stable company.

Who inspired you professionally, and do you have a role model?

I feel inspired by every person here in the company. Every day when I see all these faces here, it’s enough inspiration for me to do a better job today than I might have planned. We are all part of one family here. I often like to say that we spend more time with our colleagues than with our families. The truth is we spend more than eight hours a day at work, and when we go home, we spend some time with our family, and perhaps we go out a little – so on average, we spend more time together here in the office than we do with our families, and that’s what inspires me. As for my role models, I certainly saw my biggest inspirations in work itself in two people, the founders of codecentric, Mirko Novaković and Rainher Vehns. I have learned a lot from them in all these years.

What other activities do you enjoy besides work, and what are you passionate about?

Apart from spending time with my family, socializing with friends holds great significance in my life. Engaging in a simple conversation or interaction with another person is an extraordinary experience that can enrich a lifetime. Whether through dialogue, playing music, or riding bikes together – the outcome remains unchanged. So, in short, communicating and connecting with others is what I would call a hobby of mine and how I like to spend my free time.

What are the three things you like the most at ProductDock?

The first thing is undoubtedly working with colleagues. Furthermore, I really appreciate the culture we have built, which has been no small feat to uphold at this high level over the years. The way we support colleagues, collaborate with clients and show respect to colleagues and other teams is truly outstanding. Before joining this company, I hadn’t encountered such a remarkable company culture, which is one of the reasons I’ve remained here all these years and continue to enjoy it daily.The third thing I’d point out refers to the numerous opportunities this company offers. In that case, I can honestly say that one of the best things here is the freedom we enjoy to start new initiatives whenever we desire.

If you could pick up a new skill in an instant, what would it be and why? 

I’m thinking now about if there was something I wanted and maybe I couldn’t achieve, whether because it was impossible or simply because I couldn’t reach it, and I don’t think there has been anything special. But, what I would like is to be able to be in several places simultaneously – that would definitely give me an advantage in many things.

If you were not in the IT industry, where would you be?

That’s also a great question. If you consider my sensibility, I’d probably be a free-spirited philosopher. It might not even be a conscious choice but rather something that naturally happens. I would likely become a serious philosopher.

A book or a movie?

I’d say that both books and movies possess their own unique emotional impact. Curiously, I don’t think I’ve ever cried while reading a book, which I did while watching a movie. And yet, movies have never provoked deep reflection or attention to complex details in me, as books often did. The vast difference definitely exists, but if I had to choose, after all, the movies were based on books, so I’d choose the book.

Send a message to the PD crew

I’d like them to believe in this company and feel that we share the same goal. I can say for myself, and I think my other colleagues, whom I cooperate with daily, share the same opinion – that everything that has been done here was done for the benefit of all of us and not an individual. Every step and action we, as management, took was for the benefit of all of us.

To sum it up, my message for our colleagues is to believe in this company.