MYOB Product Manager Spotlight: Simon C - Employers AU
Good afternoon everyone!
Welcome to our 5th instalment of our Product Manger spotlight series!
This month we've got Simon in the light. After you learn more below, if you have any questions make sure to head over to our Q&A board to ask before 5pm 16th of June.
Name: Simon C
Role: Senior Product Manager
Product/workflow you manage: Employers AU
How long you have been at MYOB: 2.5 years
What inspired you to pursue a career in product management?
Starting out studying marketing and management at university I was always most interested in customer behaviour. I have always chosen roles where I can add to my understanding of the customer. Whether that has been by marketing, researching, analysing or building products it has always been centred on customer understanding and influence.
Can you share a little about your background and how you arrived in your current role?
My career path started in ATL advertising, then market research analytics, direct marketing and the technical implementation and utilisation of CRMs. In each role I added a little more to the customer angle. Product management is therefore the culmination of the skillsets I have developed and where I want to be.
What has been your favorite project or feature to work on, and why?
The final pay workflow that allows customers to offboard employees and pay out their unused leave was a really involved piece of work that delivers genuine customer value. We really needed to get under the skin of the customer and understand their pain points. Through in depth research and design testing we evaluated various options of how we could implement. I really enjoyed getting to understand the customer needs and building a product that was shaped for our customer needs and not a replica of anything else in the world.
If you could have any superpower to help with product management, what would it be and why? Mind reading. Is what customers say and do what they actually mean? What are their thought processes when they are tackling problems. Getting to know the real them would make product development so much easier.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? Any hobbies or passions?
Coffee is my thing. I like to roast my own beans. It’s similar to product development with dozens of variables that you can combine and test to get a great cup of coffee. Varietals, locations, processing type, roast time, air flow, temperature, mixing of different beans. Not to mention all the variables in how you make the coffee itself.
Outside of that I have started skateboarding so I can share my kids passion. Although at 40+ I tend to land a lot harder than the kids when I mess up.
What’s one thing you’d like the community to know about your product or team?
We are here for you. We’re driven by what you need and want in our products. It doesn’t always mean that we will get things right but our drive is to do the best we can for the most of you.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received that you’d like to share with the community?
Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.
It’s a simple idea, but it’s shaped how I work as a product manager. I’m naturally curious about why customers behave the way they do — what drives them, what gets in their way. The more time I spend understanding their world, the better the product outcomes. For me, it always starts with listening and learning, not assuming.
What’s a fun fact about the product that the community might not know?
It might not be fun, but a fact is that our product can do a lot. Our help is comprehensive and our community of MYOB customers have a wealth of experience going back as long as we do. Look around and ask for help. The thing you want to do might just be there already. If not let us know and we will do our best to solve your issues.
What’s the most exciting thing happening with your product right now?
We very recently released the ability to store employee documents with the employee record in MYOB browser. This integrates with any documents stored in the desktop product. Now you can keep all of your important information in one secure place without the need for a separate document storage solution.
What’s the most challenging aspect of managing the product?
The most challenging part is knowing that no two customers are the same — everyone brings their own way of working, their own goals, and their own challenges. I care deeply about making sure we deliver improvements that feel right and valuable to you, without disrupting what’s already working well. It’s a balancing act, but staying close to customers and really listening helps guide those decisions.
If you have any questions for Simon, head on over to the Q&A board now to ask.
This question board will remain open until 5pm on the 16th June, so make sure you post your question there before its closed.
