João Santos, COO at WYgroup gives an interview to LinkToLeaders about WYgroup’s areas of talent, operations, media, and communication.
1. After almost two decades of activity, what is WYgroup today?
It all started 20 years ago with ByDesign, a company with 3 entrepreneurs focused on design and branding, which has become the largest and most solid national group of customer experience services, being an international “One Stop Shop” in the areas of Creativity, Design, Technology, Media and Data. Today, WYgroup is a holding company of 7 different companies – Bliss, Bloomcast, BY, Fever, Performance Sales, NERVO, and White – that work in the national and international markets, independently or synergistically, to add more value and have a real impact for your customers. More generally, WYgroup is today a transnational company of Portuguese origin with consolidated growth and success, which exports its know-how, expertise, and services to various international markets in multiple geographies, while taking advantage of this acquired knowledge in more competitive markets to improve delivery to national customers. It is a unique ecosystem in this market in our country.
2. Is the synergy between the seven companies that make up the group a reality? Are they complementary services?
WYgroup is, in essence, a group based on a unique combination of creativity, technology, and data. Each company has its intrinsic characteristics, and the synergies of operation within the group are a reality when they generate more value for our customers. We know that the differentiation is made by the ability to understand the real needs that the client presents in its business and the true value is in knowing how to put at his service the strengths of each of our agencies in an integrated and articulated way, which help to enhance their business more effectively and efficiently. Our in-house skills and talent cover all aspects of the consumer experience, from strategy, design thinking, creation and development of websites and creative content to e-commerce, through digital media, data, SEO, branding, and design, etc. But it is the capacity and know-how that we have to add internal competencies in a dynamic and agile way that allows us to offer integrated business solutions that fuse technology, innovation, creativity, and data in digital services, and that, consequently, generate more value. There is immense potential in the combinations that can be made within the scope of the consumer experience and in integrated communication, and if WYgroup companies develop high-quality work, when we do it in a synergistic and complementary way in their valences, what we deliver is much larger than the sum of the parts. Above all, our synergies save our customers time and costs, as we are the ones who care about the integration of what we offer, and not the customer who has to manage a set of suppliers with different objectives.
3. What are the most emblematic business areas in your service offer? Why?
I will be purposely generic talking about digital services. In the last year, we have seen a very large amplification in the need and delivery of digital services, namely in terms of Social Media, e-commerce, Data, digital products, content, and everything that has allowed brands to communicate and interact with their consumers during this period that we have been confined, and sometimes accessible only through digital. This fact created an opening and reinforcement of the communication and sales channels of companies across the market, and the digital transformation or digitization of companies has evolved much more quickly. Here, we are not just talking about developing a beautiful website, but about a whole digital touchpoint strategy with effective impacts on all business variables, and often on the company’s business model. This is where we can bring more value to the customer, as we are not limited to a circumstantial reading of his needs in a certain area of our competence, but rather, we have managed to have a holistic view of his reality and needs.
4. What additional challenges did the pandemic bring you?
In a completely unexpected pandemic context, we were forced to rethink holistically our work model and adapt in record time, mainly because the creative processes are sustained in an intense collaboration, hitherto physical and close, which now has ceased to be. I think we all learned from it and we were no exception. We know that it is the human connections that we create and shape – whether between employees, or with customers and other stakeholders – that give rise to the consolidated growth and success of the group and that impact all levels of our structure, so, immediately, we tried to adopt good leadership practices to a digital world, giving priority to the management of expectations and constant contact with our employees, feedback, flexibility, empathy, and understanding, based on a fluid and transparent communication, without blocking information on organizational adaptation to a new reality. We are, by definition, “Shaped by Curiosity”, curious people who instinctively defy norms, drive innovative ideas, and encourage entrepreneurial and visionary thinking. The collective culture of this enthusiastic spirit, of wanting to know more, to do, to experiment, and to learn, is part of us and has helped us a lot in the reinvention of processes and the daily motivation of everyone. The professionalism and help of all the incredible talents that are part of WYgroup are the reasons that we have successfully overcome this period. We have also been postponing the epic opening party of our beach house in front of Santo Amaro de Oeiras beach, a 3000m2 open space with the best view in the world and incredible facilities, which is ready to welcome all of our teams. We are all counting the days to finally get together and celebrate this space that was made and is dedicated to all our customers and talented people!
5. What are WYgroup’s plans in terms of growth, acquisition of new projects, and entering into new business areas?
In 2020, WYgroup grew 21%. All the companies in the group achieved their goals or surpassed them. After 20 years of operation, I believe that a unique basis was created to continue thinking about the new and the future. We have many new projects for the expansion of business areas, which have been very well thought out and aligned with our entrepreneurial vision and integrated approach. News coming soon, very soon, but always within what is our identity matrix: offering the best service that we can provide to the market and that is always a facilitator and a simplifier of a real problem that our customers face. We have 3 identified of them and that will mark trends for the future.
6. It is a fact that the technological and digital area has a deficit of talents. How is WYgroup retaining, and hiring its talents?
We believe that human capital is fundamental to our business: teams with a positive approach to work, happy and healthy, are more productive and the best assets of any organization that wants to be successful. The future of work will coexist between home and office, so for us, it is imperative to invest in promoting the experience of employees, whether remote or on-site, privileging the creation of a positive work environment, well-being, sustainability, collaboration, interaction, and proximity between people. We are preparing, more and more, for a more humanized work, focused on empathy and oriented towards learning, growth, and the sharing of culture, which we believe will attract and retain the best talents. We are committed to building the future alongside the best. This year alone, we have already hired more than 40 people with incredible talent. Today, we are already 330 people with more than 15 open positions, and we expect to reach 400 by the end of the year. If it is difficult to recruit, then the strategy involves retaining, but also – and at this point, we have made great progress – we must be a desired place to work. We will only have the best if we manage to attract them and make them want to stay with us.
7. Human capital and technology. How do you balance this relationship across your companies as a whole?
Technology, by itself, is just an enabler of connections and interactions. It is the combination of human capital and technology that makes all the difference. That is why the relationships that are created between people, empathies, proximity, and culture shaped over the years at WYgroup are so fundamental. The collaborative structure that is at the origin of the group is visible not only between companies and shared expertise but among all people in the companies and support services, which gives rise to a strong collective culture, with ties and histories (and sometimes families!) that are created among those who work side by side. Of course, this “way of life”, so oriented towards the optimization of experiences, is part of our identity and is reflected in our modus operandi. With a focus on Customer Experience, we assume ourselves as designers of experiences, combining the human touch with technology, creativity, and innovation. We are creative, analysts, designers, engineers, developers, strategists, and marketers, but above all, we are designers of experiences.
8. What areas of activity are your main customers from?
We are fortunate to work with fantastic customers, across all business verticals, both in B2B and B2C. I believe that there is no relevant economic sector that we do not touch, but I have to highlight the strong expertise that we have in sectors such as banking, pharma, retail, distribution, or the automotive sector. We think this transversality is very important and very relevant, because, in the same way, that our international experience allows us to learn in one geography what can be applied in another, the same happens with the various sectors. After all, there are always those that adapt faster to a certain trend and that, in some way, help us to understand paths and to propose solutions to others.
9. How was the group’s performance last year in terms of financial results? And expectations for this year?
We had the best year ever for the Group. It was a very solid year in terms of business, and the more than 20% YoY growth of 2020 answers this question perfectly. Our bet, since the beginning of this year, on recruiting more than 40 people who fit our values, answers the rest of the question. In other words, we expect another record year for all our units and, at the end of the first quarter, all indicators point in that direction.
10. Is internationalization a priority for the group? In what geographies? Through partnerships or your own offices?
Internationalization is not a priority because it is already an assumed reality. We cannot have and retain the immense quality talent that we have if we do not offer them the challenges that only the most competitive markets in the world can provide you with. We have business units where 50% of its customers are outside Portugal. The internationalization of our talent is a priority for WYgroup, for all the challenges of more advanced and competitive markets bring us as a learning model. Only in this way can we be even better. But the most curious thing is that in Portugal we are a local company, but abroad, we are an international company. We have to change this mindset inside. At WYgroup we are truly transnational as we work for the world from Oeiras. Whoever works for the client in the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Netherlands or Germany also works for the client in Portugal. With the same tools, the same knowledge, and the same creativity. And that in Portugal nobody can say that – here there are no global accounts, there are only implementations of global strategies in places. While in the large multinationals, their branches work with local customers, in WYgroup we work with international customers locally, with the same tools, the same talent, and the same expertise.
11. In the last year, globally, what have been the most significant changes in the universe of marketing and customer experience services?
The pandemic was not a disruptive factor in the customer experience, but an accelerator in the implementation of digital models. From all of them, whether from a commercial model to brand management or recognition models. The world has not changed in this regard, the implementations have accelerated and in this sense have gained preponderance and relevance. The presence of digital channels, more than a necessity, was a matter of survival for many businesses. However, this digitization, to be successful, implied the reinventing of business models and the need to be truly relevant and differentiating. Therefore, the pandemic has also brought about a drastic change in the need to use Business Intelligence, Data, and Analytics. It is curious how nowadays nobody thinks that we talk about science fiction when we talk about AI or machine learning. Most companies have already understood what they need so that they can be faster and more competent in making critical decisions for their business.
12. And what trends do you foresee for this sector of activity?
Unexpectedly, the pandemic has created a unique set of challenges unprecedented in the world of marketing, which has brought us an unknown future – it will never be business as usual. The markets and behaviors have changed intrinsically, and as a result, the needs that we want to be answered. Resilience and agility will be part of this new future, and we will probably see new business models, innovations, partnerships, and ecosystems that will require not only elasticity, but an effective marketing strategy capable of finding customers wherever they are, reimagining the consumer experience in a post-COVID world, to identify new pain points and, consequently, develop innovative ways to reach new real business opportunities.
13. In the national case, how do you evaluate the process of digital transformation of companies? Positively or below what would be ideal?
I believe that in the last year, a lot has been done and that there has been exponential growth in the digitization of companies in Portugal, but there is still a lot to be done. The most important thing is not so much to see what we have achieved, as all countries have gone through the same trend. What we do know is that if we want to be more productive and more competitive, we have to go even faster. There is still a lot of room for growth in the Portuguese digital ecosystem, and there is no shortage of projects. And to differentiate ourselves as companies, as a destination, and as producers, it is essential to be at the forefront and be, international, digital pioneers. Interestingly, the world opens up when there is the perfect combination of product, communication, and visibility. We have sectors in Portugal with enormous potential where the first derivative, the product, is of enormous quality, but which fail tremendously in the other two. It is urgent to change this process, I would even say that the best help for the internationalization of Portuguese companies has to go through a demanding process of support for digitization, other than making the site “beautiful”, but rather intervening deeply in the digital ecosystem starting with the model itself business.
14. You took over as COO at WYgroup earlier this year. How is this challenge going in times of a pandemic?
Personally, it was extremely challenging. Moving to remote work a few days after being integrated into the company, brought some associated difficulties: there was a lack of people’s vision and feeling, that little conversation that makes so much difference and that sometimes guides knowledge. The possibility of that contact is very much needed – because there it is, the connections that are created and shaped are a structural basis. This required enormous adaptability from everyone, but it also boosted the creation of small moments of sharing and empathy in our daily lives as a team, to give space and opportunity to these important times of connection. There has to be creativity and agility in reinventing ourselves to grow, both personally and professionally. I think that this past year has been a huge growth opportunity for all of us, not only because we help companies in their digitalization and digital evolution, but mainly because we were well prepared to grow and respond. We are grateful to have customers who make us go further, make us think again, break with the established, and go further, and at WYgroup, we believe that this is the best way to evolve, building the future every day. We have done so much and yet there is still so much to do. And as always, we’re just getting started…
Originally published on LinkToLeaders.
