Productech’s history as an example of adaptation to external changes
IT ClusterProductech is a consumer electronics company that develops and distributes products in the US and Europe. The team makes sure that a product from the «common» category goes to the «bestseller» status. What did Productech change internally to continue growing externally? Kharkiv IT Cluster will tell about it.
In normal, peaceful times, the company worked offline all the time, and even the lockdown did not force them to switch to remote work.
«When public transport was not working in Kharkiv during COVID, we organized a shuttle service for the entire team to the office, but after February 24, we had to adapt to the new conditions,» says Daniel Mykytchenko, Productech’s CEO.
New work realities
Today, the entire team is scattered around the world: 40% of the team is abroad, 40% has traveled all over Ukraine, and only 20% of the employees remain in Kharkiv.
By switching to a remote work format, the company has not only become more mobile and flexible but also expanded its base of potential candidates. Previously, Productech had a principled position to hire employees only from Kharkiv or those who were ready to relocate. Today, the company is open to Ukrainian specialists living anywhere in the world.
Upgrade of internal processes
Due to the transition to a remote work format, the Productech team optimized some internal processes:
🔝 created business process maps and described their rules in text and video instructions;
🔝 automated onboarding;
🔝 abandoned all Russian services and platforms used in her work and replaced them with Ukrainian or Western analogs.
New recruiting
Due to the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, many people lost their jobs, and the number of responses to some Productech vacancies is off the charts, reaching 500 candidates for one position.
«The quality of candidates has declined, so to fill the team with people who meet our requirements, we have created a new selection process. Now we conduct not only technical interviews, but also test candidates additionally, checking their personal competencies and skills in perceiving textual, verbal, and numerical information,» Daniel Mykytchenko comments.
Growth perspectives
In 2022, Productech was forced to pause all its development projects and launch new products. However, now that the company has adapted and gotten used to the new conditions, all suspended projects are active again. Today, the team sees potential for growth and plans to update its product portfolio. In 2023, the world will see 8 new products on sale.
“We are ready!”
Despite all the stress that surrounded the company during 2022: evacuations, work from bomb shelters, and constant power outages, Productech maintained its sales at the level of 2021 and did not lose market share.
«Paying attention to the general economic trend of the US market, where we directly operate, we understand that 2023 will be a difficult year, but we are trying to be optimistic about the future and are acting now,» Daniel Mykytchenko said.
The company primarily focused on:
📌 cost reduction;
📌 optimization of internal processes;
📌 redistribution of employees by areas.
2022 has shown that the Productech team is able to adapt and is ready to face the challenges of today, so the company is confident about its future.
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