Working in an office and communicating with others became almost impossible due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. People from all over the world had to switch to remote work in order to prevent and slow the spread of the virus within the workplace. Quarantines and lockdowns changed the work routine, and many employees changed their way of thinking and started to like to work from home who became the new normal working trend. Some people became more productive and enjoyed the flexibility; however, others feel disconnected and overworked. 

Oivan has worked with a decentralized remote work model since 2009, even if it was rare back then. Oivan kept the same policy and gave flexibility to its employees and freedom to choose whether to work at the office or from home. In addition to working in different Oivan’s premises in five various countries to discover other cultures, meet new people, and collaborate with local companies. Also, to encourage the employees to get familiar with different technologies and use the right communication tools at the right time. 

By traveling, employees have the chance to broadens their minds, release stress, discover new skills, and break the monotonous routine. Usually, some job titles require creativity most of the time and always need to get maximum ideas and insights for a specific task. A great example of this is Tiia Tamminen( Lead UI / UX Designer), who chose remote work even before the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Oivan believes that remote working and enhanced distributed teams (EDT Model) are the future of digital service development. Covid-19 epidemic proved that while the revenue of Oivan increased and exceeded the budget target during the first quarter of 2021. Before, it was hard to believe in remote work and convince clients to get out of the standard way of working. But now, people are starting to get more familiar with the new digital solution and willing to change their way of working and trying the EDT model. 

Oivan is a multicultural workplace where communication is essential. Therefore, employees should always contact each other and avoid social isolation during this challenging time. There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the business landscape, and as a result, employees get distracted and less productive. So, Oivan organizes weekly online coffee breaks where employees can see each other and have some live discussions via Zoom. Also, Oivan offers an active exercise game called Rehaboo, which helps fight inactivity and avoid physical and mental problems. 

Remote work had no destructive impact on Oivan; it was beneficial to the company. Firstly, because Oivan was always thoughtful about technology, all the communication tools were always aligned and smooth. Secondly, all employees have access to data and documentation, so that everyone can benefit from it. Those two reasons helped in making remote work more accessible and not complicated. 

Oivan’s values are responsibility, fellowship, and reliability. Those three values were enough to push the company to move forward, whatever the circumstances. 

If you are interested in joining Oivan team if out our open application below or head over to our Careers page to view our open positions.