For 8 years now, I have been running a digital marketing agency called Kahill Insights Company limited (K.I) that focuses on creating engaging and interactive content items that return on clients’ desired outcomes and investments. I started this company out of pure passion and curiosity for how digital platforms connect, market, and build relationships that are long-lasting both for individuals and companies.
My interaction with digital platforms started when I was a teenager trying to connect with my pen-pal in Austria. After being frustrated by the length of time a letter took to reach her and the response back to me, we decided to join internet communication platforms to keep our relationship going with no interferences We could waste a lot of time on discussing just one topic because of the deal with letter delivery. With a dial-up connection on my father’s PC, I got introduced to the internet and my life changed ever since. I was opened to the possibilities and opportunities the internet offered.
As an introvert who uses 15% of my extrovert self to engage, interact and create relationships, I found that working from the comfort of my home was the best viable solution for me and the business I had started. I didn’t really need to work in the same traditional office environment set up, same as the team I was going to hire. My concept was (still is) that work does not need to be done in a specific place to be executed successfully. So I developed what I call Mephina.
Mephina is a remote working model that forces on the team’s needs as we work mainly with creatives who from experience I have learned need ample time to reboot and rest before their next assignment if one needs a rich and original creation from them. This might be a good blog, copy for a flyer, design work, creative strategies, and ideas. Working back-to-back non-stop kills creativity, yet creatives need to socialize themselves with the elements and environment that boosts their inspiration to create.
As a founding objective for K.I commuting to an office each day to work was looked at as an expense that we couldn’t afford our team on a daily. But having them get on to Mephina was a flexible way to design their days so that their professional and personal lives can be experienced to their fullest potential and coexist peacefully.
Mephina has been structured in this way: –
> 3 working days a week at the office and 2 working days away. The away is anywhere one feels comfortable and free to work, and still deliver on their assignment.
> While at the office each member spends strictly 6 hours on company assignments. This is measured and recorded for analysis and assessment. Though some members tend to give more out of their own will.
> When working remotely, one has to be available online via mail, WhatsApp, and phone to receive assignments and follow-ups.
>Every employee is encouraged to have a personal development something they are doing with the support of the company done during the free moments they get when not on K.I assignments.
Implementing this model and developing its culture has not been hard as I once thought because many people fear change and venturing in the unknown. Working from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and sometimes on Saturday is normal and Mephina was the alien… But every member of K.I now and past has expressed the freedom the model gives to be productive and creative enough to the level the company expects and beyond.
The model runs purely on personal discipline, commitment to the job, passion, and curiosity alongside one’s willingness to be productive and challenge self. This is seen in the determination of the team to lead in their different assignments and build each other’s potentials and skills through the available systems set for this model to be sustainable, empowering, and enabling.
K.I continues to benefit wholly from this model in the following ways;-
Employee Engagement
Because they are happier than non-remote employees and feel valued by the employer, they give their best to the company. K.I is happy not just because of the fewer expenses faced that increase profit margins and higher quality work but the employees are more engaged in the business as projected while starting to use Mephina.
Cost savings
Yeah, the bottom lines are great.
Better health and wellness
Our team is less stressed. We tend to have few or no health concerns in the company.
Do you know that commuting causes a lot of stress to employees? Mephina eliminated 40% of it and this has nurtured less stressed-out employees. Happier, healthier employees produce better work and feel more committed to their companies.
Flexible lifestyle
Our employees focus more on things that matter to them outside of the office because the work schedules are flexible. This has enabled our employees to start their own small businesses. Because of the flexibility, they are able to grow their own passions deeply like pursue further education and grow their desired skills.
Higher productivity
One of the most touted arguments for remote work is the increased productivity that comes with its flexibility. Remote employees are more likely to put in extra effort in their jobs, going above and beyond to get their work done in comparison to in-office employees.
To close this insight in our working model Mephina at Kahill Insights Company Limited, remote working doesn’t create lazy employees nor does it divide the team but rather grows them in areas they didn’t know they could and relieves them of all the stress associated with getting to a physical office. And for as further as the company is concerned the model continues to be our desired one for our operations. We are continuing to build it up as we grow to have it functioning beyond just us.
