Welcome to 2016! As one year ends and another begins, I’ve had a bit of time to reflect on all the changes, growth, and lessons learned in 2015.

In the last year, Tivix has grown significantly, nearly doubling our number of employees. We’re starting 2016 with 3 more offices than we had just a year ago, with the addition of Portland, New York, and London locations.

From this growth I’ve observed a few things:

1. In an era of seemingly unlimited methods of communication, we miscommunicate an awful lot.

We’re growing, we’re spread across 4 different time zones, and we switch up methods of communication frequently. Sometimes it’s seamless and other times it shows. I’ve come to really appreciate the transparency we have and are still constantly seeking.

2. Synergy. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” – Aristotle

With multiple offices spread across the world, it’s important to make intentions clear so we can move as a cohesive unit instead of being disjointed, which causes frustration.

3. Address problems and nip them in the bud.

Growing as a company means plenty of trials and errors. If something isn’t working or isn’t consistent, be straightforward and address it immediately so the issue can’t fester and risk being blown out of proportion later on.

I found a good example of all of this change in our onboarding process for orienting new employees, which started out as a relatively simple, informal process that was a rough but functional work in progress. As the company began to grow, flaws in communication emerged, like failing to designate someone responsible for ramping up a new employee on their first day. It might turn out that no one had ever briefed the new employee and their first week at Tivix had passed before we realized that our poor employee had no idea how certain things worked.

We’ve realized this process should be the same pleasant experience for everyone that starts at Tivix, no matter which office you’re in or who is ramping you up. So with some trial and error and after gathering feedback, we’ve put together a simple handbook and guide on how the process should go and who is responsible for each step.

Growing pains are inevitable as a company keeps improving itself. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s necessary and we’ve come out on the other side better for having gone through it. Here’s to 2016!