On 23 June 2015 I signed a contract with FRISS for a job as Support Engineer. I started work at 1 September and still enjoy my work. I like the informal culture and all the nice colleagues. FRISS is still a young company, reminiscent of a start up. This gives more flexibility than an older, more formalised organization. In FRISS taking ownership of issues is welcomed, which I greatly appreciate and take advantage of.
Of course, it’s not all moonlight and roses. While I had grown used to TOPdesk in previous jobs, FRISS uses the software of AllSolutions, a small Dutch company. Its software is an ERP system, a jack of all trades and a master of none. We use it for financial administration, projects and service management (issue tracking system), but except for a few persons the vast majority of employees isn’t satisfied with it. I think it’s wholly inadequate for service management when compared to more refined software from competitors. This software is the equivalent of giving a chef in a restaurant a blunt knife. Due to the lock-in and difficulty of migrating to something better, I’ll have to endure it for the foreseeable future.
Another disadvantage is that the commute to work is quite long, three hours for a return journey. Fortunately the public transport connection is quite good, I spend my time in public transport productively with reading the newspaper. A third issue is that there isn’t a single euro for education budget. This is in stark contrast to my former employer OGD, where I got certifications in ITIL and PRINCE2. And on OGD I was on a temporary contract, with FRISS I have a annual contract.
Even with these downsides, FRISS is a company for which I’m motivated to give my best. I look forward to starting up a few projects in the coming months to improve our processes and efficiency.