In the marketing sector, human connections and relationships are essential to success. Not maintaining strong, meaningful connections will lead to short term clients and a low rate of customer retention.
This same philosophy that is applied to clients should be applied to a business’s in-house team. A human connection between co-workers, both internal and digital, is essential to the growth and success of one’s team.
Daryl Kennedy, Founder of BUA Group, is an entrepreneur who hired Hippo Business Services to systemise, outsource and scale his business. With teams expanding across two states, Daryl understands the importance of maintaining a relationship with all his staff.
He believes good business practice lies in the knowledge of human psychology.
“Whether a staff member’s in-house or overseas, the question you should be asking is, ‘How can I keep this person as close to their best as possible in terms of performance'”, says Daryl.
“I believe intrinsic motivation is a part of that, and feeling part of a team, like you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
“We can all forget that sometimes and it’s important not to assume it.”
With his experience working across multiple states, Daryl had no hesitation in taking his team global. His success in maintaining a strong company culture across cities allowed for him to establish and maintain a strong relationship with his global employees.
“People can lose sight of what they’re working towards and what’s important, so I think that’s why it’s necessary to keep that connection,” says Daryl.
“What we do is, simply, ensure that we’re sharing with Carla [our virtual assistant] the same things we’re sharing with the rest of our staff – as much as we can.
“Everyone knows the plan, everyone knows the vision, and everyone knows that we’re going to get there.”
Although there may be land and sea separating the team, the connection felt between both employer and employee is consistently maintained.
“I don’t know if we just got very lucky, or more likely Hippo is just very good at matching people up, because Carla was the first VA that we worked with and it was an instant hit,” says Daryl.
“It’s going really well, and as I mentioned before we feel like Carla’s part of the family now. We get updates on how her family are, what she’s doing over there. It’s been really good.
“She seems to be right behind what we’re trying to do and the kind of culture that we’ve developed.”
As Daryl had previously worked with HIPPO directors, he didn’t hesitate to jump into a new business onboarding experience.
“I’m in a fortunate position to know some of the members of the Hippo team, and their commitment to serving their clients – I just know how seriously you guys take that commitment,” says Daryl.
“It’s one of the reasons why I feel very assured and confident working with you guys now and into the future.”
Daryl left us with some parting words for anyone feeling concerned, or questioning whether to hire a VA.
“It’s often more efficient to be decisive and make a decision, and go with it, and circle back if it’s not working for you than it is to procrastinate and do nothing,” says Daryl.
“I always like to ask myself the question: ‘What’s the worst-case scenario?’ The worst case is that I learned something did or didn’t work for me, rather than wondering what-if.”
