From left: Shane Nolan, head of IDA’s content, consumer and business services group; Vanessa Tierney, co-founder of Abodoo; and Orlagh Nevin, director of sales, marketing and service with Open Eir. Image: Marc O’Sullivan
With more and more people now working from home, Abodoo – a new global jobs platform – comes to the fore.
The world of work is changing, and one of the major areas where this transformation is taking hold is remote working. Abodoo is an Irish company that wants to harness this change.
The advent of new technologies and more flexible working conditions in many industries means that working from home is a reality for many people. For working parents, those in rural areas and the disabled, doing their job from their kitchen or living room removes a massive obstacle.
A lightbulb moment
Abodoo was founded by Wexford couple Vanessa Tierney and Ben Wainwright, with personal experience of working from home a key factor in their origin story. “In 2011, I ended up in hospital in the UK with a severe virus, which took months to recover from,” said Tierney.
“I was unable to commute to the office, but I was still able to work from home. That was my initial ‘lightbulb’ moment, when I began imagining the possibilities if people could access strong career opportunities through remote working.”
Tierney explained that there are three main variations of remote working: people who work full-time at home, those who work in a hybrid home or office model, and those who work in a hub with hotdesks as needed. Hotdesking in particular is taking off in Ireland, with hubs popping up around the country.
A solid business case for remote working
The business case for remote working is strong, said Tierney. The trend towards working from home is spearheaded by some of the world’s best-known brands. “Dell, for example, has set a goal of having 50pc of its workforce working remotely by 2020. Cisco makes $277m annually in productivity savings by allowing remote working.
“And, here in Ireland, the likes of Shopify and Amazon all have substantial home-working teams,” added Tierney.
Revolutionary tech advances such as screen-sharing, cloud computing, high-speed broadband and instant messaging have contributed to the positive attitude towards remote work.
Abodoo has partnered with Open Eir for its connectivity requirements. Director of sales, marketing and service with Open Eir, Orlagh Nevin, said: “We are delighted to support Abodoo, and keen to help people take full advantage of the potential that our connectivity brings.
“We fully support this kind of remote-working initiative and encourage companies to take advantage of our technology, and to truly make use of the amazing skills of people across the island of Ireland.”
Matching skilled workers to jobs
Abodoo aims to intuitively match jobs to each remote worker’s specific skillset, and workers remain anonymous until an employer selects them for the job, allowing them to apply in confidence. It also offers resumé building services, unique job results based on the talents of each individual applicant, and handy tips from recruitment experts.
It has attracted support from both Open Eir and IDA Ireland, and plans to launch in the UK over the coming months, with global expansion on the cards further down the line.
Infographic: Abodoo
