The rise of hybrid work in recent years has brought many benefits to both employees and employers. One key benefit is that it has opened the door to a greater pool of talent outside regional boundaries, a welcome boost for sectors such as technology that have historically struggled with skills shortages and struggled to hire outside of major cities. At Sopro, this growing need for technical talent, combined with the ambition to become a global leader, has seen the Brighton business expand into three territories in just eight years. With sites in the UK, Macedonia and the US, the Brighton-based brand has a diverse workforce of programmers, developers and writers
Think globally, act locally
Implementing a comprehensive people strategy when you have three very different territories to navigate can be a complex process. First of all, the strategy must comply with the labor laws of each country. This is a vital first step and can sometimes be overlooked if you are trying to apply British norms to international locations. This was a lesson we learned early on at Sopro, when we realized there was a skills shortage in the UK and started looking overseas for technical talent, in countries like Macedonia. But beyond the regulations, it’s vital that the view of your strategy as an employer remains fair and consistent throughout.
Our commitment to ‘Think Global, Act Local’ underpins our people strategy and dictates every move we make from an HR perspective. Everything we do, from creating contracts and benefits packages to running staff engagement events, is based on how it will affect our colleagues at the local level. For example, as a UK-based business, it can be tempting to create a benefits package that appeals to British ways of working by benchmarking items such as paid annual leave and benefits against national averages and then rolling it out to colleagues in all locations. The danger of this is that this approach does not take into account the vast differences in cultural norms and legislation in the territories in which we operate. In the US, the average number of days of paid leave is 10, while statutory leave in the UK is 28 days (including public holidays). Taking our “think global, act local” approach, we first consider the sentiment behind our benefits package and then align it to each location. We want to offer an above average holiday allowance to all colleagues as we understand the importance of personal life outside the office. So that global premise is part of our people strategy, and the practicalities of how many days are included are then decided locally.
Embrace your differences
We know that our people are our greatest asset and we welcome a diverse range of people into our business. We encourage this spirit amongst colleagues, with our National Inclusion Week theme being ‘put your whole self into work’. This approach is applied across the business, from our software developers to our customer success team and everyone in between, wherever they are based. We use a variety of internal communication tools, such as our global intranet, to allow colleagues to showcase their passions and personalities by learning more about their colleagues in other offices. We have various committees of champions at all levels of the business whose role it is to promote their particular passion or interest to their colleagues. From wellbeing to community and D&I champions, these committees are vital to Sopro and their roles are taken seriously, requiring line manager approval and a commitment to a minimum number of projects undertaken each year.
For Pride month in June, our D&I Champions have planned a calendar of events to mark the event in each location. In Brighton, where Sopro was founded, Pride is an opportunity to have fun while recognizing the importance of the occasion and what it means to the LGBTQ+ community. From a Pride playlist takeover to themed food and treats, Brighton’s plans reflect the demographics of the workforce and community around us, and we work with a number of local businesses as part of our in-house celebration plans. In Macedonia, D&I champions focus on education and information, with multiple resources available on our intranet to explain the basics of Pride Month and encourage conversations about what it means to our people. In Miami, colleagues present the famous Miami Pride Festival and reflect on its origins. There will also be a nominated charity across the business for donations to related causes. This localized approach to a global event means we can connect with colleagues and respond to their diverse needs, while recognizing the importance of celebrating and celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride.
Listen and learn
Sopro is a business that is built on data; we operate the largest B2B company database of its kind and have more than 230 million “clean” contacts. So perhaps it’s no surprise that data is also at the heart of our global people strategy. We have various methods of surveying our colleagues that give us a wealth of insights in both quantitative and qualitative reports. Monthly anonymous surveys provide statistics that we can use to compare trends. They take less than five minutes to complete, and the results give us scores on a number of key topics. The data is reliable and allows us to question ourselves as a business. Trends – both positive and negative – can be analyzed and changes made where necessary.
We also have longer interviews at different stages of employment, from recruitment to exit interviews and the newly introduced ‘retention interviews’. They allow us to have open and honest conversations with valued colleagues before they reach a point where they would consider moving on, helping to identify areas for improvement and ensure we are meeting their needs as an employer. This is especially important as a global brand and the learning we receive from our colleagues overseas is invaluable. We have participation rates that are consistently above the industry average, which shows that our employees understand the importance of this research as much as we do.
The past few years have been challenging for both businesses and their employees, and team spirit has been vital to our continued growth. Staying true to our core values and meeting the needs of our people locally has allowed us to navigate this period and emerge stronger than ever.