People Ops from the Top: Rachel Gimbert, Head of Operations at KOPE

In this ‘People Ops from the Top’ we talk about; competency frameworks, bi-annual team retreats (at the very lovely Birch Hotel), trust, and being a people pleaser. 

Rachel Gimbert is Head of Operations at KOPE. What is KOPE? KOPE is the first, purpose-built software platform for offsite building, bridging the gap between design, manufacturing, and construction. 

 

 

I’ve had a pretty varied career, to be honest! It was always my dream to work in Children’s Publishing because I value the magic of reading and how it can shape young minds, so I spent my early career in Architecture just trying desperately to get out of that and into a publishing House… I eventually succeeded and once there I realised very quickly that it was my operational focus and drive for systems improvement that would be most useful, so I assisted Penguin Random House with the merger of their children’s divisions. 

 

After 5 years I moved on to work in charity, as a programme manager for women and girls stuck in displacement camps in Iraq. I realised the charity sector was not for me and I ended up working with Mark and Dave at their start-up Designtech, back within the Architectural engineering and construction industry, within Operations preparing them for acquisition by a firm in the US. After seeing that through I moved to Berlin with my partner and followed my other passion for equality in female health and landed an incredible job working at Clue, a period tracking app. I spent 3 lovely years there working with the Founder and co-CEOs to assist with people operations, exec leadership, and fundraising strategy. Alongside this, I trained as a coach with the ICF. 

Once I left Berlin with my partner, I was given the opportunity to come back to work with Mark, Dave and Radu here at their second start up KOPE.ai and I jumped at the chance to work with them again. So, I’m here as Head of Operations and everything from HR, People Ops, IT, Learning and Dev and logistics falls under me. I get to bring all the skills and passions I’ve learned along the way into one incredible place where exploration and innovation are so celebrated and I’m loving every minute! 

 

 

We are creating the future of the built environment. KOPE is the only purpose-built software platform for offsite construction. We enable the transition from traditional construction by integrating processes and products. We instantly apply real-world products directly to design models, allowing the worlds of design and manufacturing to come together as one. We are building a better future.

Tell us something about “People and Ops” that you are implementing in your company that you are excited about? 

 

Gosh, so many things! The joy of coming in during the early stages is that you have a blank canvas to start with which is so exciting. I think one of the things I’m most proud of seeing develop is our commitment to our employee’s growth. I’ve developed a competency framework that works for all employees across all levels and roles within the business that gives them something to use to set SMART goals, growth plans and KPIs for themselves. To accompany it, we also rolled out a learning and development plan with Pluralsight and Udemy Business, giving them access to the tools needed to upskill and push themselves. We often work at pace and so far having that structure and support has been really well received by the team. 

 

We’re remote first, so all our in-person interactions are really crucial. We have bi-annual team retreats in the Spring and Autumn and I cannot stress enough how important that time together is for all of us as individuals and as a team. Knowing that we’ve got 3 days to work and have some fun means that the team has strengthened those bonds and is all pulling in the same direction when we’re all remote and online again. We put a lot of thought into the activities we do – which range from treasure hunts to blindfolded painting to creating new product features using only AI, and from the last team event we implemented all of the ideas into our product that the team came up with – so these events also help to inform our roadmaps. (10/10 would recommend Birch Community as a venue for this kind of event!) I wrote a blog about our most recent one here in case you want to pull anything from that too.

 What is your company’s policy on hybrid, remote, and office working? And what would be your top tips for making your solution work? 

 

We are remote-first and have a flexible culture that is heavily based on trust. We have employees across the EU and UK and allow remote working if you want to tack on a week somewhere after a holiday. 

 

 What's something that you would not scrimp on? 

 

The Learning and Development opportunities for your employees. They are your biggest asset and you’ve got no company without them, so it’s an underrated benefit that employees tend to value way more than free snacks or fun stuff. Knowing that you are working in a company that cares about your professional and personal development can completely shift your mindset into wanting to push yourself in your role. We give our employees the option of either Pluralsight or Udemy (role dependent) and alongside this, we set bi-annual goals and have regular performance reviews to ensure they’re getting the support that is needed. It can even be as simple as setting up internal mentoring or opportunities to shadow roles or even just weekly lunchtime learning sessions from your internal subject matter experts. All of these things combine to form an environment of continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

What’s the most helpful thing anyone’s ever told you about maintaining/building company culture? 

 

To truly listen to your employees. They will regularly tell you what they want and need! It can’t be forced, it’s something that also develops and changes over time as needs change. 

 

 

Seeing a process work smoothly….. is that too lame?! Seeing when I’m making a real difference to a whole team of people. I’m a people pleaser at heart so seeing the team happy, or working efficiently because of a process I’ve put in place brings me so much joy! 

 

For more from Rachel, follow her on LinkedIn.

Tally Workspace knows that People operations are crucial for any organisation looking to create a positive work culture, attract top talent, improve employee engagement, and drive business success. moreover, a company offsite can be a valuable tool in achieving these goals by providing employees with unique experiences, fostering team bonding, and promoting personal and professional growth. By investing in people operations and organizing regular company offsite, companies can create a thriving workplace that benefits both employees and the overall business.