November 2020:
Even though Allsee Technologies has been relatively successful in 2020, Baoli admits that there have still been challenges when it comes to managing a team during a downturn.
“The sales team are driving hard to get a result, but we’re still not [where we were],” he said. “The sales team spirit isn’t there right now, so it’s a challenge.”
Baoli said that he knew he needed to do something to keep the team motivated, even when customers weren’t buying as much as they used to.
“I needed to keep them together,” he added. “There is still no growth, so you need to build something to create new hope. If you don’t have a target, people will lose that drive.”
In response, Allsee Technologies started to develop new digital products for its range. Not only did this further diversify the company’s risk, but it also moved them into a B2C sphere that the sales team could now engage with.
“I just wanted to do something that will keep the staff together, that will keep the staff interested,” he explained, pointing out that their new product was well within their capabilities to create, but that it was more about inspiring his team again.
December 2020:
When we caught up in mid-December, things had changed slightly at Allsee Technologies.
“Last week, our first colleague tested positive. The mood immediately got more tense again,” said Baoli. “We’re almost back to the worst time in March – everyone is wearing masks, there’s sanitiser everywhere. We’re back to treating people’s health as the high priority.”
As for many companies and individuals, regulations around coronavirus slacked during the summer months.
“If we look at our journey since March, our people’s health was the priority, but then as the rules were relaxed, this became less and less important,” Baoli explained, in a move that many others will recognise.
“We’ve always followed government guidelines as much as possible,” he added, but that now a colleague had tested positive for the virus, things needed to change in the office for staff to be and feel safe once again.
“I started with myself, as a leader,” Baoli said of the new implementations that the company brought in following the positive result.
“I started wearing a face mask around the office, but I didn’t ask anyone else to wear it. I put the mask on myself and told staff that we needed to do more to protect ourselves. The next day, I came into the office and everyone was naturally wearing masks.”
By leading by example, Baoli was able to help his colleagues feel more secure in the workplace again.
“People feel more secure. They feel that we are doing something different,” he added. “Even it’s just a symbol, you have to show that you are making a change,” he continued, explaining that they had now put further detailed measurements in place to safeguard the welfare of everyone working in the company.
January 2021:
Following the Christmas break, Baoli said that his priority was sitting down individually with each member of staff.
“The main reason I spent fifteen minutes to half an hour with everyone was to give them hope,” he explained.
“After almost a year of the pandemic, people are feeling terrified, so I have to talk with them, and give them encouragement [to keep going].”
He went on to add that having these conversations wasn’t always easy, and that his staff often had more worries than he did because they didn’t know what the business was planning or what to expect in the future.
“After finding out more about their problems, I tell them my plan, the company plan, which gives them more hope,” he added.
“Then they know that the company is planning to do a lot in the coming years, which means more opportunities for them.”
Baoli believes that, by informing all his staff about the plans, it builds encouragement and gets everyone united behind the direction the business is going.
“They will always ask; how can I help? They want to be part of that new development.”
“If people don’t know what they’re going to do next month, or next year, that affects them a lot. When you give them hope, you’ll find that, even in the meeting, they change.”
He said that being transparent with the business’ finances was also key to reassuring staff and motivating them for the next steps.
Baoli strongly believes that a company is responsible for the welfare of its staff, but that this ethos had caused issues in the business during the pandemic.
Asking him to reflect upon 2020 and the measures he’d taken, Baoli said that he had made the wrong decision when it came to the furlough scheme.
“In April 2020, we lost £70,000 of our sales,” he remembered, “so we had to put some people on furlough. We decided to top up salaries to 100 per cent, so furloughed staff got full pay.”
“That was a wrong judgement because, during that time, the people who weren’t furloughed were working full-time and they raised some complaints that they weren’t getting any financial rewards.”
Baoli said that this reaction from staff initially disappointed him, even though he could understand the concerns of the staff that were continuing to work.
“From my point of view, we have these staff so we should give them 100 per cent of their salary – it’s a good gesture from the company and everybody should like it, but some people felt it was unfair,” he said of his stance on the situation.
“It was a bit of a disappointment on my part, but I understand as well,” he went on. If I were to [furlough staff] again, I would make sure there was a difference [in salary].”
“Company culture is one of the most important things” - March 2021
March 2021:
Throughout the pandemic, the majority of the Allsee Technologies workforce worked from home.
Although the business had continued to function well during this period, Baoli had noticed that some things were changing amongst his team. He decided it was essential to readdress and reaffirm the company’s culture before everyone returned to the office.
“The business was quiet during February because of the lockdown, so I had time to sit down with the management team and we concentrated again on the company culture,” he explained.
“The culture definitely changed [during lockdown] and the mentality is different now.”
Instead of overhauling the entire culture in one go, he and the team decided to focus on the key components of the culture that would be necessary during the first few months of the business’ rebuild.
“We looked at staff taking responsibility, the importance of teamwork, using initiative, logical thinking – just things that have got lost during the pandemic,” Baoli said.
He went on to say that, prior to the pandemic, he hadn’t felt the need to write any of these key components down as the culture had existed without a need for reminders or motivators, but that now there was a definite requirement.
“We feel that, because people have been working from home, it would be a good idea to write [the key company values] down and have them in big fonts somewhere in the building,” he explained.
“That way, people can always look at them and remember that. Very soon, hopefully in the next few months, we’ll have something in our building to show our culture key words.”
“For me, company culture is one of the most important things.”
Baoli went on to explain that the productivity of businesses stems directly from company culture. In his experience as a leader, he had noticed first-hand how, if the culture changes, productivity drops or increases in quick succession.
He was also keen to emphasise the importance of the team being united in the same goal.
“I need to know that my team have the same vision so that we can all work towards the same goal,” he said.
“If I can feel that culture, where everyone takes responsibility, it makes my job much easier,” he added. “People manage themselves to achieve a goal. I don’t want to have to give goals to each individual person because it takes a very long time and it’s not very productive.”
“With ownership, everyone is much more productive and much happier as well because they can clearly see the progress.”
Baoli also mentioned that introducing the idea of “company culture” could be difficult as individuals sometimes felt that it was something they didn’t need to care about, as the culture would be driven by management.
“People think of it more as a textbook word than a practical solution,” he said.
He added that, due to that reason, reemphasising the importance of company culture and designing it so that everyone saw a difference was essential for all businesses.
Baoli also spoke to the issue of bringing everyone back into the office physically after such a long period of working from home, and he had some advice for other leaders who may soon start considering the same move:
“First of all, you really need to make sure that they are comfortable coming back – you really need to talk with them,” he began. “People need to understand that, eventually, most of the staff will need to come back to the office to increase productivity, and I’ve made that very clear.”
He also emphasised the importance of a trial run, or a staggered return system, as staff will have got used to the routine of working from home.
“They will probably have forgotten where their uniforms are!” he added.
Baoli was keen to bring people back into the office, utilising social distancing, as soon as possible, as he predicted a busy year ahead for the business. This projected increase in activity had led him to reassess his role, and to also restructure some teams.
“We are still recruiting for one business development manager, which is good for the company as we want to prepare for when we come back [properly after lockdown],” he said, “And we’re still recruiting for an apprentice.”
“We’re still fully optimised, so after the lockdown, everything will come back.”
“Last year, I did a lot of management, but this year I want to help the teams and drive through some big projects,” he went on. “I enjoy doing that, and also the team will feel that I’m on the frontline and we’re working together.”
For the on-going electronic price tag project, Baoli had created a dedicated team with a dedicated lead that would commit fulltime to fulfilling. As well as driving the production through, they would also work on getting the marketing aspect ready and begin liaising with partners.
“The company is still expanding,” he said.