Company expansion – more than finding the suitable office space?

One of the main ambitions of every company is to grow, and the expansion is usually a long process that requires expertise, internal concentration, and external consultations. The first thought of the expansion is just the beginning of every growth project that involves wisely calculated steps to call it a success. Ruptela, a company with HQ in Lithuania and already five branches abroad, this year opened offices in Mexico City, Mexico, and the state of Florida in the US, and has no plans of stopping.

Thinking about abroad branches establishment yourself? Follow the steps:

• Opening the branch starts way before the official opening date. First, a project group is formed to discuss the scope and every step ahead. In this stage, business development and sales departments have a huge role – they bring the vision and analysis of numbers. When the project is confirmed, the implementation stage starts with the physical address and dedication.

• Step by step, more departments are getting involved, besides HR and Sales. Product people, engineers, supply and support, get into a discussion of onboarding, sharing knowledge about products, and designing the successful flow. Diverse questions are answered in this stage – whether to have a local warehouse, what products are planned to be the best sellers in the branch when support should start providing new colleagues training.

• The establishment of a legal entity is followed by recruitment. Usually, the first one hired is the local Head of Branch, who is later involved in hiring, the legal part, and the future branch strategy.

• The local Head of the Branch is introduced to the standard processes – HR, supply, sales. All of which are customized for branch alignment with HQ policies. The same logic is used for employees onboarding, culture, documentation, and recruitment, to make an abroad branch a part of Ruptela, not just another office. Usually, as a company, we tend to give a reasonable amount of freedom and autonomy in decision making. Ruptela company strategy provides a direction with the guidelines to act, and eventually, branches decide which milestones and KPIs are the most relevant according to local culture and business needs.

• When the local team is fully formed, the cultural alignment comes in handy. Cultural differences, when expanding, is not the thing to change, only accept. Some personal qualities may do wonders abroad, compared to local HQ understanding, making the whole company group much more potent and flexible. Our team at HQ makes sure that common company values – courage, care, and evolution – are not forgotten because it is the best measure to feel the fit during hiring.

In the end, the Lithuania office act as the knowledge center for branches worldwide. When time zones are moving further away from each other, cultural diversity is increasing, and challenging plans are ahead – similar thinking keeps people together. Strong internal communication of the company’s vision, mission, and values create the right Ruptela culture that is gluing teams globally.