Summary:
Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast!
Rahul Chauhan joined the Startup Junkie crew for this episode of the podcast! Chauhan is the Group Managing Director of Foresight Digital as well as an NFP Board Member and RMIT Career Mentor. He came on to discuss how Foresight Digital cultivated a remote work environment that has created a better experience for clients and employees!
Thanks for tuning in!
Shownotes:
(0:58) Introducing Rahul Chauhan
(3:58) WFH, Pivoting and Hiring Internationally
(11:02) Worldwide Talent Search
(14:56) Creating Healthy Communication Systems
(21:04) A Talent Retaining Culture
(27:07) Advice to Younger Self and Closing Remarks
Links:
Special Host: Grace
Quotes:
“Transparency is a huge part of our culture.” (5:30) – Rahul Chauhan
“The ability to deliver something, manage outcomes, and have your own emotional regulation typically comes with time and seniority.” (12:07) – Rahul Chauhan
Marketing in the Digital Age with Rahul Chauhan
Foresight Digital is an organization focused on digital marketing. They specialize in providing training and workshop sessions for startups along with global digital marketing services for various organizations.
Chauhan’s professional journey was that of a nomadic serial entrepreneur. His experience in cross-cultural e-commerce, retail marketing, and agency hopping led to a digital marketing position as a Group Managing Director of Foresight Digital.
Foresight came to be two months before the pandemic, and as tensions were high, it made an extremely bold choice to pivot. Foresight knew it needed to scale online, but it did not have the staff and talent available locally. As a result of the pandemic and skill hunt, leadership chose to transition towards a primarily work-from-home company. As they hired staff nationally and internationally, they realized that it did not matter where you live. With staff members from Melbourne, Princeton, Chicago, London, Auckland, and New Zealand, the business became a guinea pig for the work-from-home era.
It’s safe to say that Foresight jumped on the work from home bandwagon before it was cool. Like any major transition, there were good, bad, and unexpected factors that would affect the company and its employees. Three main points of contingence were:
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Fighting to remain a transparent company
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Cultivating trust with clients
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Organically and intentionally creating a healthy company culture
Chauhan explained that it took at least a year for the team to begin to understand online empathy, digital culture, and a sustainable work-life balance.
“While being a part of a variety of different geographies and feeling like you’re part of this one engine, this one entity, that’s been really difficult.” (7:01) – Rahul Chauna
The primary way that Foresight created a solution to these problems was through investing in their employee experience. When funds were no longer needed for a physical building, the business had newfound space in the budget for increased spending on the employee experience. Through incredible professional development programs as well as physical and mental health benefits, the company became a place you would want to work at in the midst of a pandemic.
When restrictions began to lift but a return to normal life did not appear on the horizon, the WFH model was put to the test—would employees still want to work in this way if a traditional work environment was available? The resounding answer: YES.
Foresight was able to be on the front of a global trend to work a remote, balanced life, and offer competitive benefits. Learn more about what they are up to today by visiting their website.
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