HubSpot: Inbound through remote

Almost all companies in 2020 are toying with the idea of remote work for a significant time or forever.To help on that journey, we present the top 10 global companies who have aced remote work. To learn more about:

  1. What is remote work?
  2. Twimbit’s e-tact framework
  3. Our selection criteria

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#4


Twimbit’s top 10 global companies to ace remote work
Company: HubSpot
Industry: Software
2638 employees | Hybrid | Around 6% remote workers (200+/3387)

Ethos

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HubSpot’s mission is to help millions grow better through inbound marketing. They have created a platform uniting software, education, and community to help businesses grow better every day. HubSpot offers a full stack of software for marketing, sales, and customer service, with a completely free CRM at its core.

  1. HubSpot proudly maintains a culture code which hovers around autonomy and flexibility
  2. Result orientation rather than time spent
  3. Influence, independent of hierarchy
  4. People should be given enough freedom on how to do a work

Talent Strategy

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HubSpot had remote workers for a very long time but in small numbers. But for the last three years HubSpot is actively working on their remote work strategy under the leadership of Katie Burke, Chief People’s Officer.

  1. Presently HubSpot attracts talent from different markets and retains those who decide to move to a different part of the world.
  2. Continually building more remote work support
  3. Transparent communication of the limits of remote work to employees
Hiring process
  1. Review applications
  2. Second step is a phone interview
  3. Next step is a short ‘take-home’ assessment, like a role play or content assignment
  4. Next interview with manager to assess skills and interests
  5. Lastly, an in-person / video interview with 3-5 HubSpotters who have prepared to ask you thoughtful questions.
  6. Share thoughtful feedback if decision is to not hire
Retention Schemes
  1. Dedicated resource space – RemoteSpot
    • Quick access to programming and support
  2. Focus on communication:
    • A mix of video calls and other mediums to foster a sense of belonging
    • #remote-brains-trust Slack room in which they share stories and advice
  3. Impartial treatment – Office perks available to remote workers too

Customer Centricity

2 ways in which HubSpot makes customers stay with them are:

  1. Educating Customers:
    • Education is one step towards a long-term investment with a customer
    • HubSpot Academy offers free marketing, sales, and customer service training videos and certifications
    • While some contents are exclusive to HubSpot customers, the rest is accessible to anybody who visits their site
    • The exclusive offerings encourage the HubSpot community to stay engaged
  2. Apologize after making a mistake:
    • According to a research by HubSpot, 96% of the respondents will continue their habitual buying if the company apologizes and rectifies the situation.

HubSpot consider education as a way to customer centricity. Would you like to know how a company in education sector handles remote work? Check out VIPKid.

Here is an example of a public apology that was also sent privately to customers via email.

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“Talking to customers is probably the most important thing I do all week. While there’s a level of product development that requires you to take a stance and anticipate needs — it’s impossible to do that without an understanding of your customer’s current situation.”

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J.P Morgan, CTO of HubSpot

The 7 steps of customer centricity at HubSpot:

  1. Anticipate Customer Needs
    • If you ask a customer what he/she wants next, the person would most likely talk about an upgraded version of the product. He/she might not be able to think of an alternate solution which will be far better than the current product.
    • The responsibility of developing this product is vested on the company’s shoulder. As a first step to this HubSpot has taken the effort to define 16 types of customer needs
  2. Collect Customer Feedback through:
    • Survey
    • User testing
    • Direct Calls
  3. Stay accessible and connected to the customer
    • Make the ‘Contact Us’ page highly visible
    • Ensuring it answers common customer queries
    • Digital and physical events (when applicable)
  4. Proactive Customer Service
    • Give customers the resources to solve their problems in advance to enable them solve problems on their own
    • Liberate them from the waiting periods
  5. Adopt Customer Service Tool
  6. Look Beyond the Purchase
    • Extend customer benefits beyond the point of purchase
    • Help customers achieve their goals and create a more memorable customer experience
  7. Create an onboarding process
    • Introduce and explain your products and services to the customer
    • Personalize the onboarding process

Merger and Acquisitions

Belgium startup PieSync offers a platform that connects a plethora of cloud applications and syncs contacts stored in those apps two-way.

  1. HubSpot acquired Piesync for $5Million on November 4, 2019.
  2. PieSync already supports syncing with 16 apps including Podio, Pipedrive, Mailchimp, Google Contacts, Nimble, OnePageCRM, and SalesForce, to name a few.
  3. Piesync claims they can add a new App within 2 days.

Tools Used

  1. Zoom- for video conferencing
  2. Slack- for team communication
  3. Loom- for screen recording and sharing

Awards and Recognitions

  1. Best Places to Work in 2019 by Glassdoor
  2. #1 Company for Employee Happiness by Comparably
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Curious to know about other top picks by Twimbit?

Appen | Automattic |Basecamp | Lionbridge | Magellan Health | Microsoft | TranscribeMe | Twilio | VIPKid



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Experts

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