We’re the employees you would hire if you could. Responsive, helpful, and dedicated in ways automation simply can’t be. We’re your team.
Each month we recognize one of our Most Helpful Humans in Hosting.
From as early as she can remember, Francesca has always been a big fan of technology. She spent a lot of time as a kid on the family computer, teaching herself HTML and CSS so she could make cool websites with glitter cursors and blaring MIDIs in the background. Eventually she chose to turn that hobby into a career as a Web and Graphic Designer. Francesca graduated from Michigan State University in 2013 with a BA degree in Games and Interactive Media. After a few different positions, she landed a role with Liquid Web in 2017.
We wanted to find out what fuels her passion at Liquid Web.
Why did you join Liquid Web?
Funnily enough, I used to be a customer of Liquid Web. I worked for a small non-profit that didn’t have server admins on staff, so as the web designer, I was also responsible for managing servers. I spent a lot of time on the Liquid Web Knowledge Base trying to learn the ropes, but when things got messy, I’d call Liquid Web support in a panic. Luckily, there was always a calm, helpful person on the other end who could help get things working again! I always admired how friendly and knowledgeable the staff at Liquid Web were.
When a position for web design opened up at Liquid Web, I just had to jump on board.
What draws you to the hosting industry as a career?
As a web designer, I am always curious about where the websites I make actually live and what makes them work. I take a sense of pride in knowing I work at a place that powers business, entertainment, and content for our customers. To be at the forefront of technology is pretty neat.
Also, I’ve learned a lot about hosting since joining Liquid Web three years ago, and I’m constantly amazed at how fast the industry is changing.
Is there something specific at Liquid Web that you just love?
One of my favorite teams to work alongside is the Managed Hosting Product Team, which includes Jake Fellows. A few months back, we collaborated on a launch of our new flagship product for off-server backups, Acronis Cyber Backup, for our Dedicated and VMware Private Cloud customers. It’s amazing to be part of the public-facing side of a product launch, especially when that product is one that is the #1 remote backup service globally.
In your eyes, what’s the difference between Liquid Web and other employers?
Liquid Web truly cares about the well-being of its staff. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Liquid Web put together a Response Plan quickly to ensure staff would feel safe and supported while working from home. And leadership has continued to communicate with all of us about any changes that are coming, their viewpoints on the shift in the economic landscape, and what to expect moving forward. With all of the noise coming from the media constantly, it is amazing to be grounded in weekly knowledge that our company stands alongside its employees and customers during these trying times. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders knowing that my employer supports me and my family’s health.
Not only that, but we have an outstanding Culture Committee that has been putting on so many interesting and wonderful virtual events for us, including virtual happy hours, Euchre tournaments, virtual yoga (my favorite), gaming clubs, and more.
What is the biggest milestone you’ve accomplished?
I was part of the team that launched Liquid Web’s new site in 2017, which was a huge accomplishment. I was hired on in the middle of the project and it was “go go go” from day one. It was a busy few months, but I really got to know my team and work hard alongside them to make our launch date. And seeing the reaction to the new design, both internal and external, was so rewarding! Both our customers and employees were ecstatic about the changes.
Tell us about the most positive experience you have had at Liquid Web.
The most positive experiences for me at Liquid Web are when I’m able to help others with their projects. I love being a resource for others and helping to empower them to succeed. At Liquid Web, I’ve found that people take the mantra of being the Most Helpful Humans in Hosting pretty seriously, both for customers and colleagues alike.
What are you known for at Liquid Web? What do people specifically come to you for?
I work on the Marketing team as the Web/Graphic Designer, so usually people come to me with questions about our website, to help make an image more appealing, or put some pizazz into a project.
My all-time favorite project at Liquid Web was designing our 20 Year Anniversary logo. We placed the new logo on hoodies and gave each and every employee one. It was very rewarding to see the logo I helped to create virtually come to life physically on clothing worn by others around me at the office. It was also extremely satisfying to know that the logo I had a hand in designing was worn around the country and displayed at trade shows for our customers to see!
What is one thing you wish our customers knew about their hosting?
Backups, backups, backups.
If you don’t have backups of your site or data, you are tempting fate. There were several times that I was running what seemed like routine server updates at the nonprofit I worked at while a customer with Liquid Web, and everything started going wrong. Luckily, we had been keeping backups of our data and I was able to restore everything successfully. Without backups, it would have been a nightmare. Liquid Web offers local cloud backups for VPS Hosting customers as well as off-server backups from Acronis Cyber Backup for our Dedicated Hosting and VMware Private Cloud customers.
And with backups, it’s best to have at least two in case something goes wrong with the first one.
Work aside, what are some of your hobbies?
You can usually find me playing games on my PC or Nintendo Switch. My favorite games are Heroes of the Storm, Animal Crossing, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and The Witcher 3. I’m also an avid traveler, and have been to Japan, New Zealand, Australia, England, and Italy.
What is your favorite TV show?
Probably not the most original answer, but The Office. It’s such a timeless classic. Hilarious, relatable, and gives you the warm fuzzies every time. My favorite episode is the “Dinner Party.”
You can follow Francesca Compau on LinkedIn.
The post Meet a Helpful Human – Francesca Compau appeared first on Liquid Web.