The topic of remote working versus being back in the office has been high on the MediaKind agenda since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Back in March 2020, our whole team was predominately office-based, from our hubs in the U.S., Canada, France, India, Israel, and the UK, as well as several different satellite bases across multiple continents. Back then, team members rarely worked from home, especially those based in our main hubs. And then it flipped 180 degrees overnight!
In the two years that have passed, many articles have discussed what the right office approach for companies might look like in a ‘post-Covid’ era. Some companies want their employees back in the office to recreate that connection and ensure a continued high level of productivity. Others have taken a fully remote approach. Employees are similarly conflicted. Many love the flexibility of working from home, but at the same time, they miss the daily interactions with colleagues and all the benefits that come from being in an office environment.
At MediaKind, we believe that the hybrid model best reflects the company culture that we want to continue to develop and instill wherever our employees are based around the world. So we’re excited that our journey to a fully hybrid working model is moving forward with great momentum! We are enabling our employees to work any way they deem most effective (within reason) because flexibility is an important part of our culture. We’re also aware of the importance of maintaining employee connections and creating environments that allow for collaboration and innovation. This Harvard Business Review article explains the benefits of the hybrid model in greater depth.
Embracing the new hybrid working model
With that in mind, we’ve used this as an opportunity to review our global facilities footprint, carefully picking new facilities closely aligned to our new hybrid working model. Being close to transport links, education establishments, and places for employees to socialize are key to supporting the flexibility to come into the office while maintaining that ability to work at home when they need to.
We’ve created new collaboration spaces in Denver, Dallas, Hong Kong, and most recently, Rennes. You can see some of the pictures of our grand openings below!
Coming soon will be a new collaboration space in Southampton, with a wonderful rooftop terrace overlooking the city. The newly refurbished UK office is close to the city center, train station, top restaurants, and main shopping high street. We consider all these factors important in creating a great environment for our employees to come into the office and collaborate.
We’re so excited but it’s just the beginning. As our CEO Allen Broome wrote in 2020, “change is the constant that ensures relevance and effectiveness, and this is what the best, most successful businesses and organizations do to achieve and ensure their longevity.” And that begins with how we work and nurture team culture.
Operating in a hybrid model allows our teams to work flexibly and agilely, maintain strong connections, and create an environment that supports innovation. We believe this will make MediaKind a truly great place to work – and we look forward to sharing the next part of our journey very soon!
