The tech industry has long been seen as a male-dominated field — but perhaps not for long. While women still represent just 26 percent of the tech workforce, this figure has seen a five percent increase in the last five years, per a recent study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology.
Women are increasingly taking the lead in the tech industry, and progressive companies are supporting this movement by offering opportunities for women to advance and excel in their roles.
Take the career journey of Paper’s senior manager, professional services, Maddie Arthur. Within two years, she has established a customer onboarding team aimed to boost customer engagement by 300 percent. Backed by the support of her company and fellow customer experience leaders, Arthur quickly earned a promotion to head a professional services team of more than 10 people.
WHAT PAPER DOES
Paper provides schools with a platform to support personalized learning for all students — bridging the gap between what schools provide and what students need to succeed. Paper’s Educational Support System gives students, teachers and districts access to tools that support the entire student life cycle with tutoring, academic practice, and college and career readiness offerings.
“I’ve made lifelong professional relationships at Paper, and I’m excited to continue to thrive alongside my team,” she said.
Empowering women in leadership roles isn’t about leaving a paper trail of effort — it’s about continuing the chapter in the story of progress.
Give us a snapshot of your career so far. What has been your path to this point?
I’ve been fortunate enough to wear many different hats in my career, starting as an educator, pivoting into the SaaS space as a product trainer and implementation project manager, and leading to me joining Paper to build out its customer onboarding program. The opportunity to build a team and playbooks from the ground up was one I’d always targeted in my career, and Paper was the perfect place to do that — especially when combined with my passion for education.
Over the past two years, I’ve built out a thriving customer onboarding department of seven that’s increased new customer engagement by 300 percent and have been promoted to lead the professional services team of over 10 people, which also includes the customer enablement department.
As the senior manager of professional services, I’m incredibly lucky to lead a high-performing team of rockstar customer onboarding specialists and professional learning specialists who increase our customer engagement, on average, by 10 times.
How does your company help you make progress toward your career goals?
The opportunity to grow in my role at Paper flourished due to the belief and trust our leadership team has had in me. Paper attracts hardworking, strategic and highly passionate people who pull the best out of each other every day through constant motivation and encouragement. Everyone recognizes each other’s strengths and looks for the best ways to utilize them. When a company can recognize that as well, it’s truly a special place.
What makes your company a unique place to work from a professional development perspective?
I’ve never been part of a company that encourages an open-door policy as much as Paper does — especially one that’s fully remote. Everyone gets the chance to experience collaborating directly with all levels of leadership at Paper, from our interns to the CEO.
Paper has provided numerous resources for us to continue growing in our careers, such as professional development offerings and LinkedIn Learning memberships.
HOW ARTHUR HAS GROWN AT PAPER
1. Adaptability and Prioritization: “Paper has experienced a lot of change, and growth happens quickly. I’ve learned how to quickly shift and reorganize priorities for myself and my team while staying organized and positive.”
2. Relationship Building With Diverse Perspectives: “Interacting with various personalities has helped me build strong professional relationships, enhancing teamwork, trust and mutual respect among colleagues. I’ve also learned how to identify and apply different strengths appropriately.”
How are managers involved in the career development of direct reports?
Managers provide daily coaching and mentorship, as well as performance reviews twice a year for their team members. We also support ongoing career progression with individual development plans that support the unique aspirations of our team and map out how they’ll achieve their next milestone. Managers, like myself, are always uplifting their employees to take on new challenges that highlight their strengths and push them on the path to promotion.
