How a leader uses Kumospace to double revenue and save $100,000 a year on rent

Does remote work actually work?

The only businesses that survived global shutdowns due to COVID were those shifted to remote work overnight. But this massive change didn’t come without challenges.

Meet Joshua Clark, Senior Vice President at Primerica, a financial services company with over 100,000 licensed independent representatives. Like most other pre-pandemic businesses, Joshua’s team was fully in-person before 2020, limiting both clients and new talent to his team’s geographical region in Akron, Ohio. 

When Joshua found a potential customer in another state, his only option at the time was to hand them off to a different team. In other words, his team was actively losing money on those leads.

Facing opportunities and challenges

As the world changed, so did the company. His entrepreneurial spirit knew that the only choice was to adapt in the face of uncertainty. But still, Joshua grappled with bona fide fears. Was his business doomed to go under because of a lack of accountability because of remote work? How could he ensure that team members would stay motivated when the only thing keeping them connected was a computer screen?

Despite his concerns, Joshua's business grew in 2020. Leaning into the remote world propelled his team to success, helping to more than double their six-figure revenue. Meanwhile, costs for the physical office costs were slashed. 

Now the question Joshua and Primerica faced was no longer if they should be a remote company, but how to be the best one?

Zoom out: the problem is clear

Initially, Joshua used Zoom as their remote work tool. He created a Zoom Pro account, hoping the extra features would bring efficiency. He opened multiple breakout rooms thinking it would be the solution to decaying morale. He even tried giving the rooms clever and catchy names. Despite these efforts, frustration ensued.

Kumospace: building culture from the Floor up

When a colleague showed Joshua Kumospace, an immersive virtual office software, he was shocked at what they'd been missing out on. He stayed up until 3:00 am that night exploring the ins and outs of Kumospace because he was so excited about the potential for his team.

Joshua described building his team’s Space full of excitement, saying “it's similar to the Sims... but for business. It’s the gamification you hear about in tech talk.” He loved discovering Kumospace’s cool features like the tablets, YouTube TVs, and specifically the gong that his team hits every time they achieve a sales milestone or obtain a new license. 

The celebratory gong inside Kumospace underscores the tangible impact of fostering company culture. It's a favorite feature from in-person office culture, brought to life inside Primerica's virtual office. Joshua notes that

Culture is everywhere

Joshua notes that after he leads a Primerica development meeting, 30 team members break off from the big training room. Instead of logging off into invisibility when a meeting ends, team members stay inside Kumospace and head back to their virtual offices or coworking spaces. Some hang around in the hallways for chit-chat after the meeting.  Those who witness fellow coworkers hanging back will do the same. This helps spark unexpected conversations and social connections that were otherwise lost when the team was using Zoom.

Always open for business

The Kumospace office is open 24/7. This “always open” culture allows people to feel more connected and gives teammates the freedom to come in and out of the office, hassle-free. And they choose to do so because it’s fun, and helps stave off feelings of isolation. Employees enjoy logging on to Kumospace and maintaining the relationships they’ve built (often over a virtual drink).

Teammates learn to work remotely, together

Formerly, Primerica’s remote team members felt like they were all off on their own islands when they were using Zoom, feeling disconnected and missing out on team unity. Implementing Kumospace was met with warmth and excitement from people, fueling stellar company results.

Parting ways with the physical office

With the onset of remote work, the company garnered such positive results that Joshua knew his team was ready for a monumental change...

Cutting costs

Joshua's Primerica team had previously operated from a physical office. They’d pay thousands a month in rent and expenses to upkeep a 10,000-square-foot office. Now, Joshua pays just $250 for a mailing address and many, many times less for Kumospace than he did for a physical office. In total, the move from a physical to a virtual office saves him $100,000 every year.

Business is growing now that they are no longer limited by geography, while office expenses got cut big time–resulting in a 90% profit margin. But beyond just saving money, Kumospace enables him to provide team members with the freedom to work from anywhere while building a culture to sustain their connection.

The Kumospace office snapshot

The transition to full-time on Kumospace was natural for Joshua’s team. They were excited about making the space their own. Joshua knew this, and so he took it up a notch. To create a sense of team ownership within Kumospace, Joshua implemented office-related incentives. Once an employee gets promoted to a full-time district leader, they get a pay raise, and move into their own Kumospace office! And competition is fierce. From the get-go, part-time teammates who join Primerica are already striving to get their own office.

Virtual onboarding

Primerica’s onboarding used to be a lecture-style Zoom meeting with videos that team members watched on their own time. Now with Kumospace, virtual onboarding is a dynamic experience. In an area designated for onboarding, TVs automatically play the orientation videos for new team members to watch together. By onboarding in Kumospace, new hires can easily mingle with one another and organically acclimate to the office setup, people, and culture.

Clients’ POV

Primerica’s teammates aren’t the only ones who love Kumospace. Clients who enter the Space are also blown away by the innovation, and it’s written all over their jaw-dropped expressions. Before a sales pitch even begins, clients are intrigued. Could you ask for a better first impression? 

To paint the picture clearer, clients see 40-60 team members in their Kumospace office, hard at work. Primerica’s branding and logo permeate the Space. They feel safe and trusting. And it’s exciting for clients to see Primerica on the leading edge, doing something other companies are not. The innovative Kumospace office paints Primerica as an innovative company– and rightly so.

Recently, Joshua invited a client seeking retirement onto Kumospace. He gave the client a tour and offered a drink from his bar cart, leaving the client laughing with amazement. Ultimately, Joshua made them feel comfortable retiring and growing account sizes, all because of the Kumospace atmosphere.

Manager’s Advice

By leaning into remote work, Primerica is an innovator in their industry. And thanks to Kumospace, leaders are able to strike a healthy work-life balance for teammates, all while maintaining productivity. People have the flexibility to work from home yet run their own daily schedule as they would in person. Joshua has found that this sense of freedom is what drives motivation for his team members.

Visibility

It’s crucial for teammates to see their leader being present and attentive. And just as important, leaders like Joshua must be able to see their team. Joshua knows that individuals present on Kumospace are working, and assumes those who are logged off, aren’t. In the remote world, ownership and accountability are a matter of visibility. And Kumospace simplifies it.

Vision

To continually inspire remote employees, managers should set a clear vision.

And so Joshua paints a picture of the Kumo-Skyscraper for his team. He envisions his team on one Floor, with 10-20 Floors built higher and higher housing new VPs and their teams. He sees a future where teammates can move between dozens of floors to learn from each other, compete, and set goals. It’s a vision that inspires excitement: team members even tell their friends and family about it. 

Through Kumospace, Primerica’s teammates build connections to be a part of something bigger than themselves. And that’s a future worth working toward.

Try Kumospace

Sounds exciting, right? It’s time to get behind the wheel and try out Kumospace for yourself. Test the platform out for free. Need some help scheduling a demo? Want to talk to an actual human about Kumospace? Reach out and we’d be happy to chat.