We've proved remote working... works!
Alice Morgan
Director at ALTA Digital | Enterprise digital marketing strategist | Automotive | UX, SEO, Content | FCIM
When setting up a business partnership, it’s normal to imagine that you’ll be working in an office in one location. Together. Tamara and I knew, however, that we didn’t need to be in the same place at the same time to work well together. That’s because we’ve been working like this since 2006.
Chevrolet Europe
In her role as Digital Manager at Chevrolet Europe, Tamara faced a lot of challenges. Despite the fact that Chevrolet is one of the globe’s most iconic brands, establishing the brand in Europe was full of difficulties. People assumed the cars would be gas guzzlers, awareness for the product range in Europe was non-existent and we had no existing brand equity. Our media budgets and resources were extremely limited and it was nigh on impossible to hire more people to the team due to recruitment freezes and lack of money.
Tamara’s approach at the beginning was to hire externals but the problem was finding adequately qualified local hires with the right expertise. So she solved the problem by thinking outside the box and hired in London. She figured, as she was already working with an agency in Frankfurt, why not make it a remote working triangle?
Remote collaboration technology
When we started, we relied on conference calls alone, but as time progressed and we developed as remote partners, we embraced technology. Gotomeeting, Basecamp, Skype – all these and more became part of our day to day existence. And they still are.
Remote collaboration mindset
But it’s not just about technology. It’s about readiness to work remotely. Above all, it takes effort. What sets Tamara and me apart is the fact that we’re prepared to invest in the idea of remote working – to make it work. And a lot of that is that we actually talk to one another. A lot. This may sound like a strange thing to say, but we humans are talking less and less, relying on the convenience of email and IM. All of these things are great and we certainly use them too, but they are not a substitute for a conversation.
Offices in London and Zurich
The key take-outs for us are to think differently and be brave. Our ability to behave as if we are in the same room means that we can work remotely with great success. And it also means that we have offices in two major commercial European cities, with reach across the whole of Europe.