Bazaarvoice: The total package for companies expanding overseas
The Texas-based company Bazaarvoice decided to expand its operations to Lithuania. Read how the office space and related services were organized from overseas.
Challenge
Bazaarvoice is an international company headquartered in Austin, Texas that wanted to open a customer support office in Europe. The office and all necessary services had to be set up and managed from the USA, while the location had to be somewhere that assisted Bazaarvoice in finding and retaining the kind of talented employees they were looking for.
Solution
Technopolis designed and furnished 735 square meters of office space for Bazaarvoice in the Penta building of their Ozas campus in Vilnius, Lithuania. As well as providing Bazaarvoice with much of the equipment needed to get started, Technopolis’ solution includes the everyday use of amenities such as reception, meeting, and cleaning services. The connected, modern nature of Technopolis Ozas also gave Bazaarvoice the perfect base for their future employees.
Bazaarvoice seeks customer support office in Europe
Founded in 2005, Texas-based Bazaarvoice is a digital marketing company that connects brands and retailers to consumers. More than a billion consumers view and share authentic content every month in Bazaarvoice’s shopper network.
Bazaarvoice decided that they wanted to expand their operations in the European region by opening a new customer support center. Starting with a shortlist of 20 potential destinations, they eventually decided on Lithuania.
Greta Bačenskaitė, Human Resources & HRIS Administrator at Bazaarvoice Vilnius, explains:
– The US team was invited to Vilnius by Invest Lithuania, where they were able to visit other international companies that had expanded here. They were impressed by their success stories, as well as the young, talented people and their work culture.
Once Vilnius was chosen as the site of its new customer support center, Bazaarvoice had to find a suitable office and manage the practical issues of beginning operations in Lithuania.
Finding the right overseas office solution
As a first step, Bazaarvoice hired a broker that introduced the American team to all the business incubator solutions that were available in Vilnius.
Finding the right match is essential for management teams that are based overseas, as they often require more than office space to help them find their feet in an unfamiliar country. One requirement for Bazaarvoice was to find a well-connected partner that could provide the kind of comprehensive services that allow a workplace to run smoothly, especially in its early days.
The above reasons played a significant role in Bazaarvoice choosing Technopolis from the shortlist of options that were presented to them.
Invaluable services for expanding companies
The US management team ultimately decided that Technopolis’ Ozas campus was the ideal place to base their new customer support center.
– The campus was in the perfect spot, says Greta. It’s located beside the beautiful Ozo park and is close to lots of shops and restaurants. The campus also has great public transport connections, which was an important factor when considering the convenience of future employees.
Bazaarvoice agreed that Technopolis and their external partners would design, furnish, and fully equip two workspaces for them in the Penta building of their Ozas campus, which at the time was a month away from completion. In the meantime, the Bazaarvoice Vilnius staff of around 10 people temporarily moved into a separate building on the same campus.
Greta believes that the services that Technopolis provided once they moved into their own office space were invaluable. This included the hiring of accountants, the management of Internet contracts, and the purchasing of dishes, cups, glasses, and other office essentials.
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Bazaarvoice's new office space in Vilnius
New office space fosters community spirit
One year after expanding to Vilnius, the American and Lithuanian teams have been delighted with the results. Bringing along two or three members of staff from the USA when the office opened, the team has now grown to a total of 77 employees. The vast majority of this group are local talent that are able to enjoy the benefits of Technopolis’ office space solution.
– Technopolis has created a community that really helps our employees to flourish. Different companies are brought together for community events, which might involve guest speakers, or to celebrate a special occasion, such as Earth Day. Events like these are something that we wouldn’t have the time or resources to organize ourselves, states Greta.
The community feeling of Technopolis Ozas also extends to Bazaarvoice’s office, which features a kitchenette that is commonly used as a gathering place. Every two weeks the team gathers there for a company-wide catchup called Global Gong.
– Global Gongs lets us talk about new products, services, quarterly results, future events, and anything else we feel like discussing. We also celebrate five and ten-year anniversaries, plus all new hires have to “gong in” and share a fun fact about themselves with the rest of the company, Greta explains.
Perhaps this kind of team spirit is one of the reasons why Bazaarvoice has been so impressed with the Lithuanian team. The latter has received great results in a recent engagement survey and the possibility of the Vilnius office expanding in the future is very much on the cards.
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