We’re a Remote Agency and Proud of It

I’m writing this from France, where I’ve stayed on for a week of work after a family holiday.

And honestly? Nothing is different. Apart from the view.

Yes, the time zone is an hour ahead, but that simply means I get a 60-minute jump on clients back home. The Wi-Fi is strong, when it isn’t being drained by children and PlayStations, but that’s no different from working at home during the summer holidays.

The calls still happen. The work still gets delivered. Clients can still reach me. The team still collaborates.

Remote working allows us to change our environment and give our families a change of environment, while still getting the job done.

Collaboration isn’t a location

Large agencies such as WPP have called people back into the often citing collaboration as the reason. I don’t buy it.

This week, I’ve collaborated with our clients and the Shift7 team daily—sometimes hourly. We’ve used WhatsApp, Teams and video calls, just as we always do. My being in France has changed absolutely nothing.

Of course, meeting in person is valuable. It helps build relationships, creates a different kind of energy and can make certain conversations easier. But every day? Or three mandated days every week?

That starts to feel like the workplace equivalent of forced fun. Whenever someone orders you to have fun, it rarely is.

Real collaboration comes from good communication, mutual trust and people who genuinely want to work together. It doesn’t appear automatically because everyone has been instructed to sit in the same building.

More productive hours and better coffee

Running Shift7 as a remote agency is incredible.

There’s no commute, no sweating on a packed train and no wasted hours travelling to and from an office. The chair I’m chained to is at least my own chair—and it’s comfortable.

When I leave it at the end of the day, I don’t have a battle on my hands to get home because the trains aren’t running.

The coffee is better, too. I never skimp on the beans.

More importantly, remote working opens up more productive hours. I can start the day focused rather than frustrated. The time that would have disappeared into a commute can go into client work, conversations with the team—or simply having a better life outside work.

Clients care about results

Our clients don’t care where I am.

When they need me, I’m there - whether that’s on WhatsApp, Teams, a phone call or in person. They know they can reach me, and they know they’ll get the same commitment and the same results.

That is what matters.

Being remote doesn’t mean being unavailable. It means being deliberate about communication and accountable for the work you deliver. If you get those things right, the location of your desk becomes largely irrelevant.

Will Shift7 ever get an office?

Maybe one day.

Will it be anytime soon? No.

Remote working works for us. Our sales consultancy team already spends much of its time in clients’ offices, while our PR team continues to deliver great work remotely. We can recruit talented people without worrying about how close they live to a particular postcode and we don’t have to waste money on ridiculous office rent just to prove we’re a “proper” agency.

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Shift7 isn’t defined by an office. It’s defined by the people in it, the clients who trust us and the work we deliver.

This week, I just happen to be delivering it from France.