Culture

Women of Elastic | Rita Jhaveri

Want to know what Life @ Elastic is like? You've come to the right place.

In our Women @ Elastic series we’re interviewing the women who make Elastic what it is today. In this edition we introduce Rita Jhaveri, Director of Customer Success, and hear her take on self-actualization, the importance of work/life balance, and so much more.

Early in my career, I didn’t really think about the hurdles women face in tech. My mother and father never coddled me — my attitude was always do the work and it will happen.

When I was at my previous job at Salesforce, I was the only woman in a team of six in enterprise sales. Against all of my own expectations, I ended up on the leaderboard. In fact, after a while I was asked to teach others what I was doing because what I was doing worked.

However, once I had kids the hurdles became clearer — the men around me, they worked all the time! I have three kids, a husband, a dog, and a household to take care of, and still, I need to keep up with their pace. It’s a challenge to maintain that level of energy.

Still, my attitude is: do it. Do something about it. If you have passion, make it happen. You don’t need 25 people to achieve your dreams. If you’re going to climb that mountain, you’ll climb it alone. That’s how I was raised, how I’m raising my kids, and how I drive my team forward.

When I was at my last job I had to ask myself where I wanted to go in my career if I would leave. Well, the time came, and I realized I didn’t just want to do something for the heck of it. I was curious about big data and how we all can make meaning out of it. I decided that for the next step in my career I would join a company that helped other companies make sense of that data.

At Salesforce, I was asked if I wanted to be part of a new team called “Customer Success.” This was the first role of its kind, and little did I know that Customer Success Management (CSM) would soon become a profession!

Many people wonder what the Customer Success team is. When a customer makes an investment to buy Elastic, it is up to the CSMs to ensure they start the customer’s journey on the right path. We know customers are making an investment, and in return, we onboard our customers and arm them with best practices and tips to be sure they are not alone in this journey. I think the main skills for a CSM is to be a good listener, a team player, and most importantly, a problem solver.

So, I chose Elastic. Why? I wanted to do something big. I saw that Elastic had an opportunity to help businesses make sense of their data and do amazing things with it. The CSM role is really important for a company like Elastic. We want to make sure we keep our customers happy and that they’re achieving something of value with our products. CSMs have to work with their regional counterparts to understand the territory and what requires the most attention. As a CSM, you know you are doing a good job when your customer is super enthusiastic about how they are utilizing the Elastic Stack and our solutions. If they have that feeling, they’ll stick with us for a long way down the road. When they’re successful, we’re successful. It’s mutual.

In the same way, I’m responsible for the success of my team. At Elastic, a good work/life balance is something that we value. I feel it’s part of my job to tell my team to stop working, go have dinner, take time to meditate — and only then come back to it if you need to.

I remind myself to do the same thing. I take time to join Elastic Pause (a 15 minute meditation block done over Zoom). I work out. I have blocked time in my calendar to make and have dinner with my kids and my husband every evening. I first feel grateful for ME. Then I start to realize the amazing opportunity I have to make a difference for Elastic, our employees, and our customers.

Want to learn more about Rita and her career path? Watch the video to hear more of her story.


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