A worldwide trend and a novelty for many companies, the Anywhere Office concept—an English term that can be understood as “office anywhere”—has been a reality at PhDsoft for many years.
“We had already transformed, many years before the pandemic, the entire operation into something we still need to name,” says Duperron Marangon Ribeiro, CEO of PhDsoft. “To give an idea of how far this can go, I have never met my longest-standing partner in person,” he jokes.
“Anticipating the future, we had already been working in a decentralized way since 2013. With the creation of the headquarters in Houston in 2014, contracts in different countries, and representations around the world, this way of working naturally took hold,” he observes.
“We work from home, but with set hours and daily interactions, using a virtual office that simulates the physical premises. In this way we have interactions among people, we make use of body language, and we develop connections, trust among people, and team spirit,” he explains.
With the pandemic, this model became more pronounced. “Because we were already adapted to remote work, our activities did not suffer as much from the shutdown,” he says. “Because of that, we were consulted and we supported many companies that were facing difficulties and were not prepared to operate under these working conditions during the pandemic,” he states.
Diversity is one of the benefits for the company
For Duperron, adopting this format brings a range of benefits for companies.
“The vast majority of our colleagues see only advantages and are very happy this way, because of the greater flexibility and the time gained for personal interactions with family, friends, and neighbors,” he says. “Because the anywhere office allows the company to count on professionals from anywhere in the country, or in the world, it means we are open to talent regardless of geographic barriers. This brings a great diversity of thought, which is extremely important for a disruptive environment devoted to delivering innovative solutions, which is PhDsoft’s focus,” he assesses.
PhDsoft today has a diverse team, with different backgrounds, and colleagues in Brazil, the United States, China, and India. “Today our recruitment is worldwide, and we have been obtaining good results with it,” he says.
According to a survey carried out by the Talenses Group in partnership with Fundação Dom Cabral, 50% of companies believe that home office practices will remain in full or in part after the COVID-19 crisis. The trend, therefore, is for many companies to make the anywhere office permanent.
“I also see the anywhere office as one more reflection of digital transformation and of the change in mindset taking place in the world today,” Duperron concludes.
