Enabling global expansion with the new Toronto office

Back in 2019, it became clear we needed to scale and do it fast - with our customer database in North America increasing, and with a market potential for a solution like ours, we decided to build a team miles away from our headquarters in Brussels. 

Then 2020 happened, and with the rapid breakout of covid-19, this project has been put on hold. 

November 2021, with a global movement to return to the office, the Toronto office is now in place. We are excited to announce that Optimy has opened a new office in Toronto that will support our growing team and allow us to better support our customers  in the North American market. ‍

‘Toronto is the third office opening and I couldn’t be more excited’, said Kenneth. ‘The talents in Toronto are incredible and this office provides employees with access to facilities that will enable them to better serve our North American customers. Our plan is to grow our presence across the continent and get closer to our customers, and place our platform in the hands of many more organizations and corporations.’

Best in class customer support

That has always been our priority. For the past years, we have been working to staff our team across multiple time zones to make sure all our customers have the help they need when they need it no matter where they live, And so, naturally, we’ve rapidly started building a remote team across the ocean. 

Moving a remote team into an office and scaling the team while staying connected with colleagues in Europe has brought its challenges, and yet, here we are with a brand new office and team in Toronto.

From this adventure, there are of course lessons to keep in mind: 

• When you have multiple offices across the globe, the most important is to make sure people don’t feel isolated from each other. A daily meeting or weekly sync will help everyone stay in the loop.
• Hiring the right people is key - a mix of people who are eager to collaborate with an international team and who are passionate about supporting each other’s growth in a thriving environment is a must.
• Even though everyone was forced to work remotely when everything started opening again after the pandemic, most people wanted to go to the office a few times a week 
• Having a clear mission and strong company values help not only with recruiting, but more importantly, it unites everyone and helps them feel invested in the growth of the company 

A collaborative culture 

Many of our team members were drawn to Optimy by reading our values in their job descriptions. Something that popped out was the ‘customer first’ approach which is important in our industry. We have to deliver on a high-performance team that is well equipped to help organizations and corporations with freeing up their time to be able to focus on their missions. ‍

‘One thing I really like about the team is that they have diverse levels of experience. We have been really lucky that people are hungry to learn and eager to support the Optimy project. And the more experienced people have been very generous with their time and supporting people develop. This created a collaborative culture. ‘

The biggest challenge 

Keeping the team connected, especially the global team. Collaboration was the key to overcoming this challenge. The managers have been incredible at maintaining this collaboration. The pandemic has been a challenge but also an opportunity to reinforce and build strong collaboration amongst the teams and team members. 

Investing in the future 

We are invested in the mission and the business direction. We truly believe we are one of the best platforms on the market and that there is so much potential in this space. We had people coming from large organizations, and that played a big role in how the team is being shaped. I think the teams are really passionate about the product we are selling and the impact it can have on society. 

About Optimy

Companies and organizations use Optimy to streamline their operations and track their social impact activities. The all-in-one platform is on a mission to design outstanding experiences around different areas of social impact. Optimy has offices in Brussels, Belgium and Toronto, Canada. It also has a partnership office in Manilla, Philippines. For more information visit: https://www.optimy.com/.