Our success rests on our flexible business model, which was highly commended at workingmums.co.uk’s recent Top Employer Awards.
Everyone at Convosphere works flexibly because flexibility is at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is to provide a team of experienced social intelligence professionals across the globe to clients at a moment’s notice, so we required a unique approach to building our team and business. Providing the required flexibility is crucial to our business model as this is an essential factor in helping our clients achieve success. Offering flexible working is therefore not just a “nice thing to have” to attract and retain our staff; it is central to our business model.
We have grown rapidly and nearly 90% of the team work part-time and over 90% work remotely. Our operations director, Louise Jones, says it is good for the company that the staff are able to travel home to renew contact with their countries and update any cultural references, while maintaining their language skills. It also means our employees get to see their families. Other members of staff are ‘digital nomads’, combining travelling and working, which works for all of us.
We have flexibility at all levels, as we need people to work on projects as soon as they come in and often to a tight deadline. Working across different time zones is essential for a global company. Convosphere uses communication and tracking tools to enable flexibility. The current favourites are Zoom, Proofhub and Teambook. Louise manages the company’s flexible structure, tracking progress and finding out where any gaps are and how they might best be filled.
At the centre of the flexible approach is an openness to different ways of working. “People come up with suggestions on how they can make different patterns work and we are open to suggestions. It is about being good at planning and communications and about trust and respect,” says Louise. An ability to self-manage is crucial and the business is clear to make sure that employees know that they do not have to be constantly on call.
Read more here to find out more about successful flexible working with Convosphere.
With a background in PR, communication and journalism, Moa heads up Convosphere’s content marketing, blog and social media channels.
Before joining Convosphere, Moa worked as a PR and brand consultant for agencies including The Future Laboratory, LS:N Global, Canvas8 and Stylus, with a focus on packaging, retail and technology trends in the UK and Scandinavia.
