FRONT ROW AT THE BACKEND
Great that you have arrived, these are the best seats in the house! Just tuning in? Listen to the first episode about the program here (Front Row at the Backend EP 4)
FROM HERO TO MENTOR: INSIDE ESSENT'S DEVOPS TALENT PROGRAM
At Essent, a DevOps energy tech company, the Crafts’ Heroes program is transforming how developers grow from mid-level to senior positions. In this exclusive interview, Mark-Danney Oonk, Lead MLOps Engineer, shares his unique perspective having experienced the program both as a participant and mentor.
THE POWER OF DEDICATED GROWTH TIME
One of the program's distinguishing features is its commitment to professional development. Heroes receive 20% of their work week – a full day – dedicated solely to their growth. As Mark-Danney explains:
"The Heroes program is marketed as having no budget, just go wild. But of course there is a budget... It's more of a wake-up call to people like, 'hey, we actually have a lot of programs to help you grow.'"
MENTORSHIP: BEYOND TRADITIONAL GUIDANCE
As a mentor, Mark-Danney's role goes beyond simple guidance. He serves as a bridge between the Heroes and program sponsors, helping participants think bigger and overcome challenges. During his tenure, he faced an unexpected challenge when the group hit a summer slump:
"It was a very nice experience to get them out of there... that was not something that I had ever done in my professional life. It was really interesting to do that retrospective, to talk to the group like that."
PERSONAL GROWTH THROUGH LEADING OTHERS
The mentorship experience proved transformative for Mark-Danney himself. While the time commitment was manageable – "as a mentor it's maybe an hour or two per week" – the personal development opportunities were significant:
"That interpersonal stuff, that is something that you can't really learn from a book... With the year as a mentor, those learnings actually just clicked for me – it all fell into place finally."
KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND COMPANY IMPACT
The program's benefits extend beyond individual growth. Heroes share their learning through:
• Blog posts on it.essent.nl
• Company-wide master classes
• Implicit knowledge sharing within their teams
As Mark-Danney notes:
"Having that knowledge, having that inspiration can greatly help with [growing from mid to senior level]. If you take that and bring it into your team, bring it into your division, then that makes it a lot easier."
A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING
The Heroes program exemplifies Essent's commitment to continuous learning and development. While the program provides structured support, it also highlights the broader learning opportunities available to all employees. The challenge now is helping more people take advantage of these resources.
Mark-Danney's journey from Hero to mentor showcases how the program not only develops technical skills but also nurtures leadership capabilities. His experience demonstrates that at Essent, learning never stops – whether you're a participant or a mentor.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The next episode of the Essent Front Row at the Backend podcast we will continue to talk about the Crafts Heroes program. This time with (former) Hero Luca! Stay tuned.
Edit: The episode is now live! listen here, Episode 6: A Journey of Growth