In September, SME company Marketing Guys is going on a workation to Valencia. They booked this one through Working Remotely. In this guest blog, founder Elias Crum tells you why they will be working with the team from abroad and what it will bring them. At Marketing Guys, we help organizations deploy the right marketing & sales technology to make data-based decisions. We support organizations worldwide with the selection, implementation and deployment of, for example, marketing & sales automation, real-time dashboarding and revenue enablement. With our team of about 15 people, we are going on workstation in Valencia in September 2022. So we haven’t been there yet, but I am happy to explain in this blog why we are going!
Working conditions change with people
Since corona, the idea around hybrid working has changed with us. We are still a close-knit organization in which our 15 employees know each other well. That really requires regular physical contact. If that is your starting point, there is of course still a lot you can do around that as an employer to deal with the changing labor market. We have therefore made it possible, for example, to work from a different location one month a year. For example, you may want to take a trip and still continue to work. Maybe on the other side of the world, maybe part-time. So in consultation, that is possible with us.
Employer branding versus job postings: Recruitment = Marketing!
The current tight labor market is a problem for many organizations. People are changing jobs in droves and there are almost no replacements to be had. We help many organizations with the recruitment of new people and our credo here is that recruitment is a continuous process. Recruitment is no longer just an HR matter, increasingly the marketing team is involved. In that respect, the candidate-journey is also very similar to a customer-journey. Where it used to be rather linear (advertisement on a job board/website, then an email with application, interview and then terms of employment) it is now non-linear:
As a result, you can no longer get away with advertising only when you have a job opening. Compare it to a beer brand. They advertise all year long on a “low key” but as soon as there is a World Cup, they peak. This ensures that you are always top-of-mind and at the decisive moment persuade the buyer to choose you. We do this ourselves, of course. We have an ‘always-on’ approach. In this, the workation fits perfectly! Employees love it, and share it in their networks. This has an enormously positive influence on potential new colleagues via LinkedIn, for example. It also scores much better than other content in terms of interaction:
Workation or yet a city trip? Or both?
Before corona, every year we did a city trip with the team. This year we decided to make the team outing a week abroad. For those who want to, of course. We employ people between the ages of 22 and 55. Some have children, sports commitments or have other things to do at home. Not everyone can just go away for a week. We have therefore chosen to offer 2 options to everyone: a weekend away or the whole week (Saturday to Saturday). Everyone is free to do that. We see that about 2/3 of the people choose the whole working vacation and thus choose a workation.
Customers and suppliers are also changing
Whereas corona was initially very annoying and also had a negative impact on the results for us, by the end of 2020 that has been reversed. We are a marketing technology agency that previously had mostly Dutch clients. However, Corona made organizations realize that physical presence is not at all necessary for good service. So we received many more requests from all over the world, and now about 30% of our clients are international. For example, we support organizations in England, Scandinavia, Italy, Germany and even the US. Within such an international setting, the workation also fits perfectly, after all, it doesn’t matter whether we help a customer from Amersfoort or Valencia!
A working vacation something for you as an employer?
In September, through Working Remotely, we will spend a week working from a beautiful villa in Valencia. We are looking forward to it! Would you like to be kept up to date? Then check out our Instagram/LinkedIn.
Do you have any questions for me about this workation, working with us or marketing technology? If so, feel free to send me a message. Does a workation like this sound like music to your ears and would you also like this for your company? Click here for more information about the workations Working Remotely can provide or send me a message.
