How We Pivoted as a Team

It has been 6 months since we officially declared “Work from Home” status. Like other organizations, we have had to adapt to many changes during this time. There were some aspects that were relatively seamless and others that posed bigger obstacles to overcome. But throughout these highly unpredictable times, it became increasingly evident how resilient we are and how much stronger we are as a team.

Operationally, we were primed to transition to a remote working scenario. In our shared vision of a world where all stored value cards are digital, we were a largely paperless office with many Buyatabers working from home 1-3 days per week. Our migration to AWS and adoption of cloud-based applications a couple of years ago allowed us to tackle one major hurdle easily: infrastructure. The use of other types of applications such as Zoom and Slack supported us to maintain the flow of collaboration and company communication. After quickly putting our heads together and rush ordering a few new laptops, we were off to the races!

The greater challenge was ahead of us. As one of the fastest growing companies in Canada, our team was used to change, but this was unprecedented. We extended our support and gathered resources to better prepare managers to begin enabling their now fully remote team members – offering ideas for supporting mental and physical health in our sometimes isolating and uncomfortable makeshift home work stations.

Knowing that interpersonal connections are essential to a collaborative, productive team, Buyatabers channeled what was so characteristic of our culture: genuine support, keeping everyone motivated and productive during sprints.  Requests of mid-day game sessions and virtual happy hours flooded the Social Committee’s inbox. From simple guessing games to making hummus together and expanding our bartending skills with classic “Jozitos”, we continued to laugh and interact throughout each day.

At Buyatab, we strive to continuously maintain transparency and clarity, especially during this ever-changing situation. Each week, the Management Team provided updates to ensure the team was informed of any changes or updates, and highly encouraged questions and discussion. We also increased the frequency of some meetings, 1:1 touch points, and cross-departmental check-ins to ensure alignment, define responsibilities and ownership, and maintain connections (camera on is encouraged, but zoom fatigue is also a challenge!).

Although our leaders work to build trust and offer assistance, we believe the key ingredients to building our team’s resiliency and capability lay in our values: the ability to create inventive yet practical solutions, the entrepreneurial attitude to identify an opportunity and get things done, or to genuinely offer support wherever needed.  We know that as a team, we can conquer anything together.

We are curious how these circumstances will continue to disrupt traditional business models and what it will mean for the future as Buyatab evolves. While our office doors are now open, we continue to encourage working from home for those who may be at risk or who don’t have a private means of transportation – and so we press on operating remotely and supporting each other virtually. Above all, we believe that fostering a culture comprised of genuinely supportive people with an entrepreneurial and collaborative mindset who are finding creative solutions is at the core of how we continue to persevere, re-invent, and adapt along with emerging technology and any future challenges.