Generates 10% to 25% savings on projects
Does the work of one full-time manager
Creates a 30% increase in the value OneIMS can offer to customers
25% cost savings for eliminating wasted tasks
25% cost reduction associated with bad hires
Improves retention by giving top-performers data they need to get promoted faster
Marketers, designers, and support teams can live and work anywhere in the world. But finding and keeping great talent in these areas creates modern success. Nowhere is that clearer than in the work of OneIMS, a U.S.-based agency that builds speed and flexibility by embracing remote work.
Staying nimble, trusting people, and offering high-quality work with strong returns is how it continues to grow and excel. We sat down with Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS President and Founder, to learn more about his operations, growth outlook, and how Hubstaff supports that success.
“We love remote. We love work-from-home. We love the flexibility it offers,” says Solomon.
Remote work has become a core part of the OneIMS brand, but that was an outgrowth of unplanned changes due to the pandemic in 2020. Top staff moved away from the areas where OneIMS had offices and demonstrated that they could get work done without needing to be in the same physical location.
“It occurred to me that this was a good thing,” says Solomon. “I realized I needed to build a business that could thrive no matter where my team was. And we started to incorporate more contractors to give them flexibility. Other companies can want people to come into the office, but if you don’t adapt when people want something else, you’ll become a dinosaur.”
OneIMS relies on Hubstaff to support its diverse talent around the world. We enable them to scale up and down to fit customer budgets. Hubstaff is also a go-to option for creating a baseline understanding of a new person’s capabilities. You no longer need a manager watching over someone’s shoulders to see what they’re capable of or what is standard for their productivity.
“For roles that don’t interact with customers, such as our developers and video editors, they can live anywhere in the world,” says Solomon.
“Working in different time zones is okay. We don’t care where you live as long as you’re good and get the job done. We use time tracking for international teams for payroll purposes because we can make sure that people are not unproductive or wasting our time.”
OneIMS can then use Hubstaff to see team members' successes and allow them to control their day, providing flexibility and enhancing employee engagement. It enables the company to let someone take an afternoon off after finishing their day’s tasks.
“Hubstaff helps us hire and have people all over, which protects my business,” he says. “So if there’s a natural disaster in one part of the world, my people can focus on being safe while folks in other places can pick up the work. That wasn’t possible for us before, but today, I can build a team like that.”
The platform also provides data that OneIMS can use to improve operations or check in on people. It’s a way for managers to create understanding and highlight successful operations.
“If productivity is really low, it might be that someone doesn’t have enough work or they’re waiting on someone else,” says Solomon.
“And sometimes people are shy and don’t know how to raise their hands. We’ve always got other things for people to do if they get stuck or need a mental break. Hubstaff helps us offer that.”
“Onboarding is the biggest area where Hubstaff provides savings because it’s so easy,” says Solomon. “Onboarding is so easy. I give them an email address, an account to chat with our teams, and a Hubstaff account for payroll purposes. With those three critical things, they’re ready to start working the very next day.”
“Hubstaff does one full-time person’s job for payroll and onboarding.”
Team members must use Hubstaff to get paid, while manager-side controls allow companies to set hours for roles or projects. That helps teams get started quickly and avoid payroll issues down the line. Solomon credits these controls for some of the flexibility his organization can offer new and existing team members.
“Hubstaff helps our managers know who the A, B, and C Players are. That’s what its value to us,” says Solomon.
“We’re looking to promote people, and this helps us know them. We can also see who you coach up and who you coach out. Hubstaff makes who to coach up very evident.”
He defines A Players as those who perform well and ask the right questions. That shows they’re engaged and means Solomon doesn’t need to worry about their activities. Hubstaff is there just to track hours and ensure A players get paid.
“But if there’s an issue and we need to investigate, we use Hubstaff, especially if the player is located in another country,” says Solomon.
“We work in a lot of different industries, so I can’t always know what’s a 45-minute task and what’s a four-hour task. With tools like Hubstaff, you can tell. You then decide if a whole project should’ve taken 16 hours or if someone is just not the right fit.”
When asked to quantify what this means for his business, Solomon noted that Hubstaff provides;
25% cost savings on bad hires, enabling OneIMS to identify when someone isn’t a strong fit and part ways sooner.
25% additional savings when using Hubstaff to review the organization and projects to identify ‘pockets of waste’ in tasks.
“If I can save 10% to 25% on a project because I put it in the right hands of the right people, that’s amazing for my client,” says Solomon. “That can turn one of my clients from being a fair business to a leader in their space. If I can do that for them, that’s amazing.”
“Our clients are paying us for marketing and lead generation services. So, I need to be a good steward of someone else’s investment. I have to maximize their budget. To do that, I need to ensure every penny is accounted for,” says Solomon.
The best way to spend that penny wisely is to have an autonomous team where people are trusted to work based on the client’s needs and budget. Reducing managerial layers and administrative burdens allows OneIMS to allocate more funds to problem-solving instead of personnel.
“Hubstaff easily adds 30% to the value my customers receive due to the structure we can use,” says Solomon. “I don’t need to hire that upper or middle manager to handle things. And if we ever get a bump in that customer budget, we don’t need those managers to fill out more paperwork. I ask the client what they want us to do, thank them, and then get going.
“And then we go check a few boxes in Hubstaff and update the hours available for that project. With just a few clicks, we’re ready to get to work.”
Solomon sees 2024 as a time of plenty of opportunity but a lot of work to grow in the right way to capitalize on it. Like many other spaces, AI tools and increased competition are ready to strike.
“For my industry right now, if we don’t change and add value for our customers, AI can do the job for almost free,” warns Solomon. “The cost of creating content is zero — literally because ChatGPT is free. You can ask it to create as much content as you like. So, I have to give my clients a greater return on their budget than from before OpenAI made this tool. That’s something we all need to do regardless.”
His answer this year will be expanding into areas like strategy and analytics, where AI tools aren’t a full competitor. OneIMS also plans on adding AI capabilities to its own offering to increase its value further compared to those free options.
“Anything that we can do and incorporate AI — without calling ourselves an AI company — is where we’re growing our marketing offering. We want to do more with less, remove the monotonous and boring work, and automate. That’s what keeps me on my toes every day.”
Hubstaff is proud to be a part of that journey, supporting leaders like Solomon and companies like OneIMS on their continued journey to growth and prosperity. If your company wants to discover the productivity of teams, flag potential issues, and do more for your clients, it’s time to give Hubstaff a trial today.
Discover how productivity metrics, time tracking, and other Hubstaff features can help your remote team reach new heights.