PaperKite

For our Xmas party this year we treated our hard working crew to a morning at Boomrock. It was the first time for many throwing axes, shooting arrows, and blasting clay pigeons.

We then headed back to PaperKite for an afternoon of "merry gratitudes" and highlights of the year from our senior leadership team (and plenty of wholesome banter and laughter).

We're finishing 2023 in a really good place thanks to a lot of hard work from our fantastic people, and our very loyal and generous clients. Bring on 2024.

This is our last day before the break. As we prepare to share a bunch of happy photographs from our Xmas party (we know from previous years that these celebrations of happy people are well received) we want to acknowledge that this year has been a tough one.

It has been particularly tough year for some of our favourite digital agencies, especially those who committed to doing admirable social good work for government agencies, and then got hit with a year that combined both high political and economic uncertainty.

It has also been a particularly tough year for many loyal and hard working public servants. We know that some of you have (even in this last week!) received news that you won't have a job in the new year.

Our thoughts are with you guys as we all head into a well earned break. We know many of you personally, and you are all amazing people who will return even stronger to do even more amazing things.

Kia kaha.

A warm welcome to our new User Experience Lead, Kelsey! Kelsey has been leading mana-enhancing social and systemic change projects to help Aotearoa's most vulnerable people - and to be honest we had been keeping an eye on her for a long time. We are stoked she's picked us for her next chapter. It is honestly so exciting that this powerhouse wahine has joined PK!

PaperKite has been hiring absolute superstars into our tech team! A big shout out to two new Mobile Developers, Jacky and Vaughan who both specialise in Android. And kia ora to our newest Web & Platform Developer, Rebecca. We are so glad you chose us. We've embraced being able to offer roles to amazing experts based outside of our home base in Wellington, all three of these newbies are representing PaperKite from the South Island! We're so excited to learn more about Vaughan's passion for motorbikes, Rebecca's love for exploring the deep blue sea and hear more of Jacky's spectacularly bad dad jokes.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on Thursday night for the second AI Strategy Wellington Meetup. Courtney Johnston (Tumu Whakarae, Te Papa) challenged the group to think about how AI might help or hinder the museum's mission. It was a fun evening, with plenty of energetic conversation and debate. Next meetup in a similar format will be after the summer break - stay tuned. Courtney and Tom shared their thoughts about the evening here - https://hubs.ly/Q02bKnz60

We are proud to share that we won GOLD at the Southern Cross Wayfinder awards!

The award recognises how we look after our people. We've made changes like:
➧ More compassionate sick leave policies
➧ Improved wages for support teams and suppliers
➧ A dual leadership approach with coaches and discipline leads
➧ Adopting best practices from product management and agile methodologies
➧ Performance reviews that feel like celebrations
➧ Transparent remuneration and reward calculations

A PaperKite Leader and True North Award Winner | PaperKite I’m excited to share that, based on my nomination, Rob has been selected as a finalist for the award alongside five awe-inspiring leaders here in Aotearoa. ...

Pri just published a blog about why she nominated Rob for the Southern Cross True North Leadership Award. He's one of five finalists for the award which will be presented tonight!

A PaperKite Leader and True North Award Finalist | PaperKite I’m excited to share that, based on my nomination, Rob has been selected as a finalist for the award alongside five awe-inspiring leaders here in Aotearoa. ...

Join us for the second AI Strategy Wellington Meetup - next week at 5pm on Thursday 30 November 2023.

Join us to hear from Courtney Johnston - Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive of Te Papa - as she challenges us to consider three areas where AI may help or hinder the delivery of their strategy. We'll use our collective AI knowledge, perspectives, and imagination to think about the future of our national museum.

This is a chance for you to learn about Te Papa, apply AI thinking, and of course mix and mingle. You'll also be able to take the thinking back to your organisations.

We look forward to seeing you at PaperKite - 5pm on Thursday 30 November 2023.

How might AI shape the future of Te Papa?, Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 5:00 PM | Meetup **How might AI shape the future of Te Papa?** Join us to hear Courtney Johnston - Te Papa CEO - talk about the museum and three areas where AI might help: 1. How might AI

We welcomed a really enthusiastic bunch of people at the inaugural AI Strategy Wellington meetup at PaperKite, and now we're thrilled to announce the second meetup happening at 5pm on November 30th!

During our first meetup, we asked, "What should this group focus on?" Three key themes emerged:
1) Exploring practical applications of AI
2) Considering AI within a New Zealand context
3) Sharing and discussing exciting AI opportunities

In response, Rob Holmes and Tom Hovey are trying out a new format for the upcoming meetup. They'll bring in special guests to provide valuable business insights and set challenges that we can solve using AI.

Our first guest will be Courtney Johnston, CEO of Te Papa. She'll share the context and challenges faced by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

This evening is your chance to dive into the world of Te Papa, explore AI thinking, and, of course, connect with others keen to explore practical applications of AI in a NZ context. You'll also take home valuable insights to apply within your organisation.

Join us on Thursday, November 30th, at 5 pm at PaperKite for some great discussions, refreshments, and AI Strategy! 🤖🍷
https://www.meetup.com/ai-strategy-wellington-group/events/296978090/

We were delighted to welcome some secondary school students from the Wellington area to PaperKite last week.

Members of our Web & Platform team and our Director of People & Culture shared what we do, favourite projects we’ve worked on, and how we got the jobs we did in the tech industry.

They asked us some pretty great questions too - so are you dark or light mode?

A very warm welcome to Vidhi, the latest addition to our Android team!

Vidhi brings years of experience working in India, passionate alignment with the PK values and a desire to work on tech that makes a difference. We couldn’t have asked for a better fit.

Vidhi has impressed us with her inquisitive nature, her kindness and her thorough approach to work.

Welcome Vidhi! So great to have you onboard.

It’s New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week!

So we thought we’d take this chance to share that we’ve been collaborating with the team over at NZSL Online Dictionary, exploring ways to make the Dictionary even more useful for NZSL users and learners.

The theme for NZSL Week 2023 is “Together we can make NZSL thrive”. In the spirit of the theme, we’re proud to do our part to support this vibrant official language.

Read more on our blog: https://www.paperkite.co.nz/blog/2023/05/paperkite-nzsl-how-we-are-helping-nzsl-thrive/

Do you use NZSL? Have you seen it used in schools? Do you have suggestions for how the NZSL Dictionary might be used in education? Leave a comment and tell us all about it.

PaperKite & NZSL: How we are helping NZSL thrive | PaperKite We’re thrilled to share that we’ve been collaborating with the team over at NZSL Online Dictionary, exploring ways to make the dictionary even more useful f ...

In our latest blog post, Alicia Sowerby, our Community Manager, talks about what sets PaperKite's Recruitment & Onboarding processes apart from the rest.

Have a read here:
https://www.paperkite.co.nz/blog/2023/03/recruiting-onboarding-at-paperkite/

"I loved having the photo of my desk sent to me before my first day. I was so pumped to start..."

Thanks to our people-first culture, we’ve incrementally improved our recruitment and onboarding processes for years - and mid-Great Resignation, those improvements are paying off in more ways than one.

In our latest blog post, Alicia Sowerby, our Community Manager, talks about what sets PaperKite's Recruitment & Onboarding processes apart from the rest.

https://www.paperkite.co.nz/blog/2023/03/recruiting-onboarding-at-paperkite/

Recruiting & Onboarding at PaperKite | PaperKite Thanks to our people-first culture, we’ve incrementally improved our recruitment and onboarding processes for years - and mid-Great Recession, those improve ...

Next Wednesday our Discovery Director, Rob Holmes, takes the stage to share the story of Rippl: NZ's most downloaded app made in just 4 weeks.

You won't want to miss this!

When
Wednesday, April 19
5:30 PM

Where
PaperKite HQ
40 Taranaki Street, Wellington

Register here
https://bit.ly/3GwCC8v

We’re excited to announce our new W&P developer, Michael!

Michael is a talented senior dev, human-centred-technologist, and artisanal pasta maker. With 15+ years of experience in the tech industry, it is no surprise that our team and our mahi have already benefited greatly from his impact.

Michael also has experience in the Product Ownership space. However, he was keen to get back on the tools and we are so grateful he chose PK as the place to do it!

Safe to say, we’re all in unanimous agreement here at PK about how easily Michael has slotted into our team and started providing incredible value.

Welcome, Michael, it's fantastic to have you on board.

Our latest addition to the iOS team is the wonderful Zong Zheng!

Zong joined us in early February and has impressed us with how quickly he has jumped onto the squad and got the ball rolling. We adore his kind and good-natured energy and have already noticed how his experience, thought process, and ways of working have made improvements within team iOS.

Delighted to have you with us, Zong!

We'd like to express our gratitude to those who responded to our Mobile Experience and Tech surveys!

Your contributions are greatly appreciated! The surveys are now closed. Stay tuned to see the results, which we hope to release within the next couple of months.

The winner of the $125 Prezzy Card has been contacted 🎉

One of the best gifts PaperKite got last Christmas was the arrival of Joel Hetariki, our Client Delivery Manager.

With a bunch of experience in the client success space, we're feeling super lucky to have Joel on board. Joel has been with us since January and has really wowed us with his positive, can-do outlook, the structured and considered way he approaches his work, and his extensive office plant collection.

A very warm (& slightly belated) PK welcome to you, Joel!

Two years ago we released our first Mobile Experience Report.
Here's what we discovered!

Our 2022 Surveys are still live and we'd love your input. If you build mobile offerings (e.g. apps) or have responsibility for mobile offerings within your business, we'd love 4 minutes of your time.

We think your feedback will go a long way in helping us understand the latest trends and insights in Aotearoa's mobile industry. You can opt into being the first to see the report with the results.

https://www.paperkite.co.nz/mobile-experience-and-mobile-tech-surveys-2022/

13 may be unlucky for some, but we are so lucky that we've been able to use digital to uplift people for 13 years and it all started with our Founder, Nic.

Happy Anniversary Nic! Thank you for flying our blue paper 🪁 high for 13 years and creating a space where we can be creative, heard, seen, and have a whole lot of fun.

We 💙 PK and it all wouldn’t be possible without you and your big dream! Thank you for an epic 13 years of PaperKite so far, here’s to many more!

Last Wednesday’s ProductTank Meetup was a success!

Thank you to Andrew Tokeley for putting on such a fantastic event, and thank you to the panel of EPL (executive level product leaders); Melissa Firth, Benn Crawford, Zheng Li, and Jono Elkin who were so knowledgeable, insightful, and generous with their wisdom.

We can’t wait for the next one!

We’ve crunched the numbers...here’s our 2022 in review 🗓️

2022 was quite the year for PK. Read more about what we achieved and some of our client highlights here:

https://www.paperkite.co.nz/blog/2023/02/2022-in-review-paperkite-newsletter-february-2023/

Join us at PaperKite this Wednesday evening for ProductTank's latest meet-up.

A supercharged panel of executive-level product leaders (EPL) will be exploring what they do, why they do it, and whether you need one in your business.

If you've ever wondered what EPL's do or maybe you aspire to be one yourself, then this event is a fantastic opportunity to find out more. Don't miss it!

https://www.meetup.com/producttank-wellington/events/291449940/

Executive Product Leaders Panel, Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 5:30 PM | Meetup Since 2018 the number of Executive Product Leaders (CPO/VP/Head) across New Zealand increased from 30 to over 150. This is an amazing indicator of the growth and success of

If you'd like to share some aroha today, consider donating to the Cyclone Gabrielle Community Support givealittle page.

In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, Stuff is calling for readers to support the Red Cross and Mayoral Relief Funds in affected areas.

Cyclone Gabrielle Community Support In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, Stuff is calling for readers to support the Red Cross and Mayoral Relief Funds in affected areas.

Happy 6-year PK anniversary to Dan, our legendary longtime iOS lead.

Dan is fulfilling a dream of working for PaperKite from Canada. When Dan became fully remote we did what any healthy, sane-minded co-workers would do and replaced him with a life-size cardboard cutout.

Cardboard Dan has developed a reputation for being "a good listener with a great smile" but on occasion gets feedback for being "not very productive" and "super non-billable".

As much as cardboard Dan is a treasured member of our team, he is startlingly 2 dimensional and definitely not as much fun or as talented as the real Dan. Just as good at giving us jump scares though.

Thanks for being such a pillar of PaperKite life DG, and giving so much of yourself to your mahi over the years. We're super lucky to have you.

-strategy-team

Got a few minutes? ⌚

We're looking for people to answer our annual Mobile Experience & Tech surveys.

From your responses, we generate a report with the findings. This includes answers to questions like:

- How often do other organisations in our industry perform user research to improve their offerings?

- Are other organisations taking opportunities to incorporate Indigenous knowledge, experience, tools, and skills in their mobile offerings?

- How many other organisations are prioritising accessibility when it comes to mobile experience?

You can opt in to being the first to see the report next month.

Complete just one of the surveys here: https://www.paperkite.co.nz/mobile-experience-and-mobile-tech-surveys-2022/

Mobile Experience & Tech Surveys 2022 We’re looking for responses from people building mobile offerings (e.g. apps) or who have responsibility for mobile offerings within their business. That sound like you? Complete one of our surveys and be in the draw to win a $125 Prezzy Card.

We don't think we're the only ones who want to know more about what's going on in the mobile experience industry in Aotearoa.

If you build mobile offerings (e.g. apps) or have responsibility for mobile offerings within your business, we'd love 4 minutes of your time. In return, you'll be the first to receive the report in early Feb.

You may even win a $125 Prezzy Card 👀 💰

https://www.paperkite.co.nz/mobile-experience-and-mobile-tech-surveys-2022/

We're on the hunt for talented Wellington-based Android and iOS Developers! 😊

In this role, you work alongside members of the PaperKite team – as well as clients and third parties – to develop quality software and systems that form the foundation of each digital experience we create. You are a problem solver by nature. You consider the longevity, quality, and end-user experience of what we are creating.

Apply here:
https://www.paperkite.co.nz/join-our-team/

We don't think we're the only ones who want to know more about what's going on in the mobile experience industry in Aotearoa.

If you build mobile offerings (e.g. apps) or have responsibility for mobile offerings within your business, we'd love 4 minutes of your time. In return, you'll be the first to receive the report in early Feb.

You may even win a $125 Prezzy Card 👀 💰

https://www.paperkite.co.nz/mobile-experience-and-mobile-tech-surveys-2022/