This was 2020

New employees, new clients, and new plans for the future: Datashift’s CEO looks back at 2020

2020 was a year like no other. With the COVID-19 pandemic controlling our way of living and working, the past twelve months sure have challenged us all. But luckily, that’s not all this year had to offer. Datashift’s CEO and founder Nico Huybrechts looks back at his 2020: “Even though these were some weird times, this year still had a lot of good moments business-wise and on a personal level”, Nico says.

Pretty much every company in the world feels the effects of COVID-19 in one way or another. That’s no different for Datashift, admits Nico. “Some of our clients are active in the retail and aviation sector. They have been hit hard, so inevitably that influenced our business as well”, he says. “But still, we signed on new clients from other industries, so that softened the blow for us. We managed to increase our growth by forty percent compared to 2019. Sure, it’s less than we had anticipated at the beginning of the year. But in a year like 2020, I’m happy with where we’re at now.”

At Datashift, we always strive for strong long term relationships with our clients. We’re there for them in the long run. Not just when things are going great, but also, maybe even more so, during the difficult moments

A team effort

Datashift will end 2020 not just with good numbers, but more so with great pride for his team and his clients’ teams. “Let’s put it this way: a lot of people have put a lot of effort in a lot of projects”, he says. “Many employees on both sides of the aisle had to dig deep into their energy reserve this year to make sure a project could run smoothly. Open communication and mutual respect are two key elements here - they always have been at Datashift, but in a difficult year like this, these factors become all the more important.”

Datashift’s founder looks back on great team efforts and collaborations. “At Datashift, we always strive for strong long term relationships with our clients. We’re there for them in the long run. Not just when things are going great, but also, maybe even more so, during the difficult moments. That’s when you can really make a difference for clients. That’s when you know you have a strong bond. And this year we sure have seen the examples of our strong bonds with these companies. We never once had a heated discussion or a difficult negotiation with a client who’s in a tough spot due to the crisis. We simply had normal conversations during which we were all looking for the best solution, for the win-win. Remarkable, isn’t it, how people always come together in the tough moments?”

A big welcome

According to Nico, Datashift’s team adapted quickly to remote work. “Working from home has never been taboo at Datashift, so many people were already used to it on some level. Of course, working from home on a daily basis is an entirely different level, but the team put a lot of effort into making it work for the company and for our clients. We’ll come out of this year stronger as a team. There are forty of us at Datashift, but we’re a very close, tight-knit group. And it turns out we really miss each other”, Nico chuckles. “Seriously, we miss seeing each other face-to-face, so we’re hopeful that 2021 will bring us back together in our offices. That would be great.”

It will especially be great for Datashift’s new employees, as some of them have only seen the other team member on video calls. “We’ve hired quite a few people this year. Ironically, two of them started the day after the first lockdown kicked in. Of course, we had all imagined our new employees’ first day differently, but I’m very pleased with how well they integrated with the group. To be honest, it’s kind of in our DNA to give a big welcome to new employees. To us, it’s no effort; we just do it. We make sure they’re settled, we introduce them properly to the rest of the team, and we check in on them regularly to see how they’re doing. The only difference now is that all of that had to happen from a distance. But it’s not because they haven’t met everybody in person yet, that they are any less part of the team.’

I witnessed my daughter’s first crawl, and a little later, her first real steps. I would’ve missed that if it weren’t for the coronavirus forcing us to work from home

A new strategy

Growing Datashift’s team is not the only thing that kept Nico busy this year. He took the time to lay down the organization’s strategy and plans for the next five years. “We had a big team meeting in June and already rolled out a few of the ideas that came out of it. For example, we started our ‘competence centers’ this year. These centers are groups of people who work on expanding a specific piece of technology. We also started our newsletters for employees to keep them in the loop of all things Datashift. But the management team also tackled big picture stuff: the division of roles and responsibilities for the coming years and our ambitions. All this is to make sure we can continue to grow. In numbers, certainly, but even more so in experience and knowledge. Because we don’t necessarily want to be the biggest data partner, we want to be the best.”

So for Datashift, 2020 has been the year of successfully adapting to the infamous ‘new normal’, welcoming new souls to the family, and tinkering away at the organization’s foundation to continue on the path of growth. All in all, a good year business-wise, concludes Nico. As for his personal life, he enjoyed more time at home with his daughter, who’s now a little over one year old. “I witnessed the first time she crawled, and a little later, her first real steps. I would’ve missed that if it weren’t for the coronavirus forcing us to work from home. I sure am glad to finish 2020 with the memories of my baby girl taking her first steps or the many times we went on walks together on a nice sunny day. That’s nothing less than fantastic.”