Overcoming Remote Work Challenges: CEO of Intergiro

At Web Summit 2021 we caught up with Nick Root, CEO at intergiro, an all-in-one online banking platform, to find out how he manages teams that deliver impact while facing the challenges of remote work.

Nick oversees a highly-distributed company, with 140 people spread out across nearly every nation in Europe. Since its inception in 2014, intergiro’s employees have worked remotely, operating out of regional hot desk hubs in order to lower the costs of hiring.

Be mindful of additional strain on your teams

Nick has found that while the turn to all-remote work during the pandemic introduced an increase in productivity, it comes at the cost of putting additional strain on the team. The company has had to make sure that its team members don’t burn out by being much more proactive now that the work day is more flexible.

Intergiro solves for this problem by ensuring its employees take holidays and breaks. The management of mental health is now a priority more than ever before.

Management style is more important than management tools

The intergiro team does utilize collaboration tools and a tight HR system to manage the different employment laws across the many countries in which they operate. However, Nick puts more stock in management style.

In order to manage his teams well and keep them productive, Nick puts empathy first when it comes to the issues his teams care about. He realized that he had to change how he ran the business; it’s not the same as running a normal business, just “from home.” A lot of training and much trial and error has gone into moving towards a management style that works for everyone.

Meetups—both in-person and virtual—add more social experience

The company tries to get people that interact frequently remotely to meet up in person where possible. While the whole company hasn’t managed to get together yet, there are frequent regional meet ups where they can have a drink together and enjoy themselves.

Intergiro has experimented with different remote team-building activities to try to support more interaction across the company. While the company’s attempt to do Friday night drinks remotely was a massive flop, their remote book club turned out to be a great way to get people talking and interacting together outside of business meetings. Each team is different, and what’s important is listening to the employees’ interests.