How SoWork Saved Pencil 9 Hundreds of Dollars Per Month

The Problem

Pencil 9 is a software development and consulting company that works in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. They are a small team of 5 people that are distributed globally, with teammates in Atlanta, Denver, and London. Here’s how Tim Reckseen, the cofounder of Pencil 9, tackled team connection and efficiency challenges while saving on costs.

Team members felt isolated and lacked chances for casual interaction, leading to a disconnect and decreased morale.

Communication mainly happened through email and messaging apps, causing delays and misunderstandings. This affected productivity, slowing down revenue-driving work due to distractions or team members blocking each other. Lower productivity meant reduced revenue potential.

They had tried many of the team collaboration apps on the market, but could never find the right fit.

At first, Tim tried Teams and Google Meet to try and bridge the gaps they were experiencing. Though it video calls were helpful, something was still missing.

To address these challenges and foster a more cohesive work environment, Pencil 9 decided to integrate SoWork into their daily operations, and finally, things began to take shape.

The Solution

Things feel more natural, rather than only connecting in scheduled calls. We have the sense of truly being in an office together - we take great pride in our SoWork workspace, and feel connected to it.

SoWork allows Pencil 9 to come together, collaborate, and communicate in real-time, regardless of where they live.

By having one central place to work from, the team became much more productive and felt like they belonged again.

These changes were crucial for the company's growth. With SoWork, they could make decisions and solve problems faster, without the usual delays from traditional tools and unproductive meetings.

Employees could easily talk to each other, share ideas, and collaborate on projects without waiting for emails or scheduled meetings.

How Pencil 9 Uses SoWork

We spend our entire day in SoWork. It simulates going into an in-person office, and entering SoWork is the first thing we each do each day.

Working together here has saved us crazy amounts of time, and it’s more fun. We invite external folks and clients in for meetings too - they love this tool and are totally mind-blown.

It’s been awesome, and exactly what we were missing.

Tim’s teammates felt more connected and engaged, spontaneous interactions were fostered, and a sense of camaraderie began to form.

Pencil 9 designed their Office with company logos, food trucks, gaming areas, lush gardens, parks, and several meeting rooms and Workspot areas.

SoWork’s productivity tools allows his team to freely ideate and brainstorm, driving huge leaps in innovation, efficiency, and profits.

The more we design and customize our virtual workspace, the more pride we take in it. We love tailoring our individual Workspots to create a personal vibe that we’re connected to.

We’re so proud to call SoWork our virtual HQ.

SoWork Benefits

Productivity Tools

Pencil 9 officially eliminated the need for back and forth meeting scheduling, and can maximize their time after meetings by using SoWork’s automated meeting summaries and action items, data analytics, meeting recordings, and in-app chat.

Tim’s team benefits a lot from Sophia Bot, an AI Office Assistant in SoWork. It helps by summarizing meetings and tracking tasks, saving them time and energy. This makes problem-solving and decision making faster. As a result, their processes became streamlined, leading to a boost in efficiency.

Conclusion

SoWork improves how my team can interact in numerous ways, which is of course, critical for our distributed team. We can work side by side, and get things done in a way that was never before possible.

Tim and his team have addressed their connection and efficiency challenges. They now have a more cohesive work culture, with improved collaboration and communication.

They now have opportunities for spontaneous connections, and team members don't feel disconnected anymore.

Building and maintaining relationships within the Pencil 9 team has become easier, boosting their sense of belonging and pride. As a result, their team’s productivity increased, resulting in better financial outcomes.