Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 21.03.2022 
All of us at Pebble are absolutely over the moon to have been shortlisted as finalists for the Remote Team of the Year award! To be recognised in this way is a testament of the brilliant efforts of every ‘pebble’ to deliver the best they can, all in the midst of a global pandemic!
Pebble brilliantly delivers world class automation, tv channel playout and management solutions to the broadcast community, whilst supporting their transition to IP-based technologies.
We have 89 employees and 32 of these were recruited remotely since October 2020.
As an organisation we all work by these company values:
- Be the expert – we are proud of our expertise and enthusiastic about sharing knowledge. We are always learning.
- Find a solution – We are agile and versatile. We will not give up.
- Do the right thing – We operate with integrity, openness and honesty to earn and deserve trust.
- Success through partnership – We are passionate about the power of collaborative, supportive relationships.
- Every pebble matters – We embrace talent, treat each other with respect, and work to build a friendly, supportive environment.
Transitioning into a remote first business
After careful consideration and following a staff survey, Pebble decided to move permanently to a remote working model early in 2020. Over 40% of staff were already based outside the UK and during lockdown we successfully remotely designed, delivered and took to air 128 TV channels and over 196 different projects, with up to 60 to 70 projects happening concurrently. Upgrades, support and training continued virtually too. When restrictions eased last summer, we moved towards a remote working model that was sustainable for us and our customers. Becoming a remote first company isn’t the same as simply continuing working from home, so we took the step of recruiting a Head of Remote to help us intentionally transition to a remote first operation.
We now have access to a much larger pool of talent to support our growth, as new ‘pebbles’ can be located wherever their lifestyle takes them, be it next to the beach in Biarritz, in the fells of Cumbria, or in São Paulo, Brazil! Other new recruits are from Spain, Russia and Croatia as well as various locations across the UK.
Remote working brings its own challenges. Communication and collaboration between our teams and customers has never been more important. One of our core values at Pebble is ‘every pebble matters’, and regular check-ins, as well as access to support for any mental health issues have been key.
Through regular communication, we create a friendly and supportive environment in which our teams can flourish. Every week our CEO sends a Friday update email highlighting how teams and individuals have collaborated and achieved across the week, with staff contributions encouraged. This helps everyone stay connected and is an important weekly acknowledgement of how everyone makes a positive difference. Our CEO also hosts regular online ‘Coffee Conversations’ with small groups to maintain connection and keep lines of communication open.
Making it as finalists is a fantastic achievement in the first instance, particularly as we know how seriously the judges take each award entry. And it would be even more fantastic if we were to win!
As a specialist B2B technology company our bespoke solutions ensure broadcast channels stay on air. Our software makes TV happen for millions of viewers worldwide. Each installation is developed in a collaborative and consultative process and can take months to design and longer to implement. Doing this effectively as a remote team takes dedication, discipline and determination, and our 2021 trading results are testament to the team’s success.
Becoming ‘remote first’ was a collaborative decision; we collectively agreed this was the right way forward for the business. To transition effectively we recruited a Head of Remote to examine all our systems and processes, and to ensure every ‘pebble’ has a voice.
Using our company values to guide our decision-making, we have built on our resilience as an organisation, providing staff with clear communications, bold decision-making, and demonstrable continuity in how we operate as a business. Every individual has a £300 allowance to create the optimal working from home setup, and a monthly allowance to cover remote working costs.
This modern, forward-looking strategy removes the slog of a daily commute to give all ‘pebbles’ a better work life balance, resets the rules of how we effectively manage meaningful communications, and delivers a level playing field to each ‘pebble’, allowing every one of them to live where their heart lies and not where our HQ sits.
To win the award for Remote Team of the Year at the UK Company Culture Awards would be an amazing way to champion our ‘pebbles’ and celebrate our company culture via such a prestigious public platform. Thank you to the judges for shortlisting us…here’s hoping we win!
You can find out more about Pebble online via their website and on the following social platforms:
