We are back again this week with another look at how companies from the Rubicon are adjusting to working at home. This week we spoke with Stephen Wilson Downey, CEO of Spéire. Spéire provides completely customisable website themes for their clients and place a great emphasis on the importance of building lasting relationships. They have worked with clients such as Beara Distillery, Cork City Council and Fine Gael to name but a few. Spéire delivers a range of services in the areas of branding, website development and media. Now in its third year of business their client list continues to grow and this is no doubt due to their commitment not only to the business but their customers too.
Maintaining a regular routine is important when transitioning to working from home. Stephen believes that maintaining a positive mindset keeps morale high. By regularly reaching out to see how coworkers are doing it ensures that no one is overburdened by their work. The open culture that exists in Spéire ensures that no one is reluctant to share their feelings and instead they voice any issues they have from an early stage. This is something the business has already been practising prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but they now feel it is more important than ever. It is important to ensure that no one burns out during this time as this will not only have an effect on personal positivity but it will also affect their productivity and deliverables as a business.
Navigating work during these times can be challenging. For Spéire the technology has always been in place that allows for them to work at home which has made this transition easier. When the business originally began they operated remotely before eventually transitioning to an office setting as the business grew. Stephen also notes that he can essentially run the business from an app on his phone which also helps with managing the business during these uncertain times. While Stephen doesn’t see the business facing any negative impacts themselves Stephen said it is hard to see their customers struggle during these times. A lot of their customers have unfortunately grind their businesses to a halt due to the current regulations in place. As Spéire have established close relationships with all of their customers, seeing them suffer is something that is currently affecting them.
When it comes to ensuring that business and the team can run as normal as possible regular communication is important. To do this Spéire are using messaging systems such as Slack and WhatsApp for rapid communications. Weekly they hold two Zoom meetings on Mondays and Fridays in which they discuss their objectives for the week and then reflect on how the week has gone. It is essential that when working from home issues are detected and highlighted immediately so that they can be addressed. It is important that each individual is aware of their responsibilities and that they continue to ask questions regardless of how big or small an issue may seem. Stephen says it is important that he doesn’t hear what he wants to hear but what he needs to hear in order to get things done.
Remaining positives in these uncertain times is of significant importance. Stephen notes that it is important to realise that these changes overall are temporary. Economies always recover after a downturn. Making an effort to be thankful and generous for what we have and the people around us is important in keeping a positive mindset. For Spéire being available to lend an ear to their clients and being able to help them during this time is something that is helping with positivity levels. Their business has always focused on a personable approach when it comes to business so the majority of the time they will be taking calls with their clients as opposed to exclusively communicating through emails. Prior to this crisis they always made a conscious effort to talk with clients on the phone so there was no immediate change there. By doing so this has helped to maintain strong customer relations. They are receiving some calls for advice during this time, which they do not charge for. Knowing that they are helping others spurs them on. Focusing on taking each day as it comes is also important to keep positivity high.
While there are some changes their relationships with their customers is something they are focused on maintaining. They now run workshops with clients over Zoom as opposed to within an office as they previously would. The change from office delivery to online has not caused any major upsets and it is being received well by all those involved which helps. Keeping in close contact with people is at the forefront of Spéire’s business. For Stephen, the lifetime value of relationships with clients means a lot more than the economic value of their work.
If you would like to find out more about Spéire’s services, or look at their portfolio of work visit www.speire.ie
