An award-winning e-commerce company in Bristol has offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at how it retains its top tech talent.
Huboo was founded in 2017 by CEO Martin Bysh and CTO Paul Dodd to help online businesses grow by taking care of all their e-commerce order fulfilment needs.
Since then, the up-and-coming firm has become well-known in business circles for its culture of fairness, openness, collaboration and fun.
Martin explained: "At Huboo we strive to create an environment where people can be themselves, and work and have fun together.
"We're passionate about nurturing our talent and keen to ensure all colleagues are given equal opportunities to build their career here.
"All we ask is that you bring your authentic self to work each day and love being part of the Huboo family."
As such, it's no surprise that Huboo is sponsoring the Best Place to Work category at the Bristol Live Business Awards 2021.
Hiring great people
Company culture is a complex topic and almost impossible to explain. Martin suspects it all comes down to creating a pleasant, fun environment full of great people.
"Our services are for anyone and so is our workplace. We hire the best humans, provide them with excellent training and then set them free.
"Huboo is full of people who care passionately about their work and our customers; who want to fix issues without being told to; and who have an inherent ability to always do the right thing.
"We actively encourage the bringing together of people with different backgrounds with views that differ from ours, listening to them and using our hypothesis-friendly culture to constantly change and improve.
"That’s how excellence and a great culture happens."
Committed to its values
Commitment to the cause is a huge part of the culture at Huboo and everyone pulls together to get the job done.
Martin revealed: "Recently when a team decided to work late to reach one of their commitments, people from other teams stayed with them to help. This is the level of camaraderie that has evolved at Huboo.
"Our people have the courage to do what is right and to say when things are not as they should be.
"However, this is always done with respect as well as care and this courage means that everyone holds themselves and others to a high moral and ethical level.
"We are absolutely committed to our values - integrity, focus, ambition and solidarity. These underpin everything we think, do and say."
Work and play
But it's not just about hard graft. Huboo's new office space in the city centre boasts a working bar, climbing wall, fully functional kitchen, rooftop balcony, games consoles... and even its own radio station which hits the airwaves on October 15.
That same day, the HQ will also play host to an evening of drinks and networking to celebrate the end of this year's Bristol Tech Fest.
Martin said: "As you can see, we constantly strive to make Huboo a great place to work. Right now we think it’s a really good place to work but we want to do more to make it great.
"Our leaders at Huboo really encourage people to have fun at work. We are all here for seven, eight or nine hours a day so if we can’t or don’t have fun it’s going to suck."
Flourishing sector
In short, Huboo has come a very long way since 2017. Martin and Paul have discovered their hub model applies to all kinds of e-commerce business, and have grown their team into the hundreds, with plans to expand globally, despite the unprecedented times.
Martin said: “It's been an incredibly difficult 18 months but we've been quite lucky in that we are in a sector that has flourished during this period.
“The growth of online shopping has led to a boom in demand for third-party logistics solutions. They’re the quickest and cheapest solution for e-commerce and high street retailers looking to grow or diversify.
"From starting our operations with two secure storage rooms at a Safestore in Bath, we recently took on our fourth warehouse in the Emmersons Green area. We're also looking to hire another 200-300 people in the Bristol area.
"This growth is resulting in scores of new employment opportunities in the South West – offering job vacancies and career progression to many in the area who may have faced redundancies or lost their jobs due to the pandemic.”
Find out more?
It only takes minutes to sign up to Huboo's free software platform. For further information, call 0330 8080 909 or see www.huboo.co.uk
Nominations for the Bristol Live Business Awards close on Monday, September 27. The glittering awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, December 15. For more details and to nominate, see the website.
