I started my company with my business partner, Damon Chapple, back in 2012. Over the last few years we’ve successfully navigated our business through a change of direction, increased our staffing levels, attracted external investment and improved our customer base and turnover. And we’ve managed to do this while maintaining an engaged and happy workforce, too.
But it might surprise you to learn that we’ve managed all this with 150 miles between us. Damon heads up our Cardiff office, while I’m based in London. Has it affected our business? Not at all – because we follow a few key principles. Here’s my advice for running a business across multiple locations, and making it a success.
Recruit the right people
As is the case for all businesses, recruiting the right personnel is essential. Without a strong senior team and employees who enjoy and even thrive on flexibility, you’ll struggle to make your business a success.
We’ve discovered how important it is to get people onboard who share our vision for the future, and we’ve invested heavily in an experienced team of directors who can help us get there. Without people who are on board with your decision to run the business from different locations, you’ll stumble at the first hurdle.
Meet up in the cloud
We’ve designed our company processes to be largely cloud based, which means the whole team can operate effectively from multiple locations, not just London or Cardiff. With our operations in the cloud we can remain in constant contact, hold meetings and share information at the drop of a hat, wherever and whenever we have an internet connection.
Our weekly board meeting, for example, is held using Google Hangouts, while applications including Trello and Slack ensure that all team members remain closely aligned on all the projects they are working on. And with our files saved in the cloud, we make sure employees can access and work with the same documents in real time so collaboration on projects is easy whether they’re in Cardiff, London or working elsewhere.
The flexibility this allows works well for our business – it’s a great incentive for our employees, showing them that we trust they can get on with work outside the offices. It also empowers them to work when they’re at their most productive, despite where I am, where Damon is or where they are based.
Maintain a sense of team
We might work in different places, but as a team we’re always together. It’s all too easy to lose sight of the importance of the team in building a cohesive business when you’re usually only connected through the web, and we’ve worked hard to maintain a strong sense of teamwork. Social events, regular catch-ups and calls all contribute to our employees’ happiness and willingness to work together, and help us remain a young, vibrant company.
Communicate
Wherever your staff are, you need to maintain strong lines of communication with them and keep these open all the time. By holding regular meetings, online and face-to-face, and giving individual employees regular appraisals you can make sure that everyone is aligned with your wider business objectives and understands how their role fits in to your plan.
We offer key personnel equity in our company too, as Damon and I believe that this helps staff stay engaged with us and each other, and keep working towards our common business goals. We’re also developing a new bonus and personal development scheme that will enable our employees to get an equity share in the company when they join the team.
Whether you’re running a business located in London and Cardiff, or anywhere across the globe, there is nothing to stop you from making it a success. Damon and I know from first-hand experience that it’s not always an easy ride: you’ll need to work hard to retain cohesion and promote the philosophy that everyone is on the same team, regardless of where they are. However with the right technology in place and a brilliant team behind you, your business can succeed no matter how widespread your organisation becomes.
Richard Prime is CEO of Sonovate.
Further reading on office locations
