When we founded Facilitated Work Hub 20 years ago, we had a vision. We wanted to help Norwegian tech companies scaling up by hiring skilled software engineers abroad. Not as sub-contractors. Not as remote teams hidden behind a project manager. No. We wanted to fill permanent long-term positions abroad with equal colleagues, collaborating and communicating directly with their Norwegian counterparts. Our theory in 2002 was that his model yields the most effective development results — and the happiest employees. Now, in 2022, there is absolutely no doubt that our vision is justified and proved right.
These days, many other companies have mimicked parts of our colleague structure. You see so-called “dedicated teams”, and direct communication is definitely getting more common. But still, traditional “outsourcing” is marred by stumble blocks like vertical hierarchy and sky-high staff turnover. And the equality bit is usually lacking.
WHY INTEGRATION BENEFITS YOU
FWH was among the very first to implement full equality between colleagues, has always done it, and never considered doing otherwise. Many of the senior developers and QAs at our hub are key employees in their Norwegian co-employers´ software departments. Several have been with the company far longer than anyone at the HQ in Norway. We see Vietnamese developers assisting in recruitment interviews even when the co-employer hires in Norway or Europe. This is a result of long-term thinking from day 1, with onboarding and assimilation into the company culture. Without feeling part of your own company, there will be little sense of contentment, commitment or loyalty. That’s why culture is every bit as important as the flat structure.
CULTURE FIT
At FWH, we have no pool of staff sitting on the bench, ready to step in if another co-employer starts up a team with us. We recruit specifically for each job opening. This way, we can cherry-pick candidates that we think will thrive in an environment based on openness, trust and responsibility. It does not mean that we hire similar characters every time. Diversity, after all, fuels innovation. But we do look for engineers who are not just expecting to receive a list of specs and instructions to be fulfilled. We want you to use all your skills and fully participate in the development cycle, from idea to product launch. Be creative, give input, criticize, solve problems together. We look for candidates who are willing to take part in a sharing culture. This is a central part of our cultural values at FWH.
WHAT DOES OFFICE LIFE LOOK LIKE AT FWH?
Recently, our co-employer Noria AS from Sandefjord, Norway, sent a delegation to visit us. This was just weeks before the Vietnamese team traveled the other way, to attend workshops and company events in Sandefjord. During Noria´s visit in HCMC, we got their members to explain how their collaboration with their Vietnamese colleagues actually works, not in theory, but in real life. As part of our joint sharing culture, they happily obliged to go on video and tell it, with their own words. It’s a good watch offering insight into both environment, culture and how equality is integral to the business success they have achieved over the years. In addition, our CEO and co-founder Øystein Baeko elaborates on the same topics, with talented engineers like you in mind. Please have a look. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time!
GROW YOUR CAREER WITH US
We want you to enjoy growing your career with us over time, not needing to switch jobs constantly in order to make career progress. Engineers can always learn new technologies or create new applications. With us, too. The day you think you are done learning; you are just done. What you can’t achieve in a short time, though, is deep product knowledge. With this experience-based weapon in your arsenal, you will reach levels of importance and indispensability that serial job hoppers never do.
If you’ve made it this far in this blog article, you probably feel some connection to our way of thinking. Right? If so, we invite you to check our careers page frequently. We have just acquired a new co-employer client, construction software specialists Infotech AS, and other teams keep growing. In other words, there are, and will be, job openings with us. Open applications are also welcome; our new Talent Manager Ms. Trinh would always love to hear from you.
In Norway, we have a saying which goes “Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others”. It’s used to explain failure and corrupt processes. Equality is actually so integrated into our culture that it will never go out of fashion. Not back home — and not at Facilitated Work Hub. We are eagerly looking forward to our next 20 years, in close collaboration with Noria, our other co-employers, and most of all, our colleagues here at the hub.
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