Julia Shishkova: BrainRocket’s people are the cornerstone of the company

Julia Shishkova, Head of Social Life at BrainRocket, tells us about the award-winning company that was established on the island in 2020 and aspires to transform Cyprus into a leading software hub in Europe.

Can you tell us more about your company, when you were established in Cyprus and how many offices / members of staff you currently have?

BrainRocket is an award-winning company in the world of IT solutions established in 2020 in Cyprus. It provides and delivers a range of innovative software products for its global network of clients. BrainRocket’s people are the cornerstone of the company as it consists of over 700 of the brightest minds. For this reason, they invest tremendously in their company culture. The company’s primary objective is to transform Cyprus into a leading software hub in Europe.

What do you believe sets your company apart from its competition?

BrainRocket sets itself apart from its competition through its unique ability to find and recruit extremely talented professionals from all over the globe, relocating them to the very desirable island, Cyprus. As soon as staff is onboarded, they are immediately met with a very positive and encouraging company culture as well as a strong foundation of ethics that is promoted time and time again by management. BrainRocket also offers optimal support, not only to its employees but also their families and pets, through its Social Club.

BrainRocket is open to new and eclectic ideas from its employees and it also offers them countless growth opportunities that happen very quickly. This gives staff a chance to build their own teams, as well as launching completely new products.

The company has several very ambitious goals, one of which is for BrainRocket to become a well-known name associated with the brightest minds in the IT world. It is working toward these goals through its strong R&D department which is made up of a team of professionals that have also relocated from many different parts of the globe.

How has your experience of doing business in Cyprus been and would you recommend it to other foreign interest companies looking to relocate?

I would definitely recommend doing business in Cyprus as it is one of Europe's most significant commercial centres due to its geographic position.

Companies must also deal with the issue of taxation and in this case, Cyprus has an affordable tax system which allows us to operate cost-efficiently. As a matter of fact, the island has a territorial tax system, which means it only taxes revenue generated locally so the usual challenge of the double taxation of foreign companies is not an issue in Cyprus. In contrast, the country provides a very attractive tax regime, with several incentives.

When it comes to creating an optimal work environment, it is also vital to offer good conditions for the employees, where they can achieve the positive work-life balance as well as an ideal lifestyle that comes with living on a sunny island; the sea, the many leisurely activities, the picturesque views, the abundance of fresh food and Cyprus’ close proximity to Europe and Asia.

Of course, other companies are becoming more aware of the advantages of operating in this country so there has been an influx of new companies that have already appeared and many new people are looking to embrace life on the island.

What is your view of your sector (locally and on a global level) both as it is today and its potential for growth?

The world is becoming increasingly globalised as the boundaries between countries are more blurred through digitalisation. Going digital is becoming an integral part of our lives and it is leading to changes in communication, physical activity, intuition and their overall happiness. For these reasons, the next generation is embracing this change wholeheartedly.

Of course, the IT sector will continue to grow and expand across many different niches and directions. So as a company we see the importance of flexibility and we are constantly adapting to the changing world around us. BrainRocket continues to improve the processes in our tech teams. Recently, it also presented a new structure in its R&D department, making processes more convenient and efficient.

As the Head of Social life, I would definitely say that with all the changes in the IT industry and with the increasing competition between tech companies looking to hire the best staff, there comes the need to engage and retain employees as they are at the heart of every company.

We now live and work in an era where many employees expect their job to be more than just a pay check. The pay check still matters, of course, but employees seek out and stay in organisations that offer great working conditions, amazing products and exceptional workplace cultures. The more engaged employees you have, the faster your business will grow. Engagement happens when people feel happy and relaxed while doing their job.

The research by Wildgoose conducted among 1052 companies stated that "58% of people said happiness is more important to them than salary”. That is why the profession of Happiness Manager is becoming so popular worldwide. However, reaching this 50% friendship at work could be quite a challenge for big multinationals, given that the biggest part of the company’s staff has varying overall demography, along with many different mentalities. In the case of IT companies, most of the tech employees are bright and introverted people who are quite busy with their workflow (laughing).

So we had to look a little deeper into what employees really want, not just in the workplace but also in terms of their work and social life. We then began working to establish a community that extends outside the office building and includes husbands, wives, partners, children and even pets. This is essential for multinational companies with a majority of expat employees and they are tackling various challenges like:

- Diversity & inclusion

- Family members aspect

- Team collaboration

- Friendship and interaction

- Self-Realisation and recognition

- Lifestyle and wellbeing

A noteworthy example is how BrainRocket has managed to grow from 50 to over 700 people in the last 2 years. If we include our employees' family members, the community reaches over 2,000 people. This happened through BrainRocket’s ability to create a space where everyone's interests are met and accounted for. It also continues to achieve this by coming up with lots of initiatives to make people happy, starting from; delicious breakfasts and lunches, to introducing life insurance, a corporate gym, kids and pets areas, after work activities and regular family weekend events and much more. In my opinion, if all of the above is in place, the company will definitely grow its business indicators.

Where do you see your company in five years? Are there any immediate plans for your company you can reveal to us, for example new products, services, plans for expansion?

In five years, I am sure we will see BrainRocket become a global name with high brand awareness across the world, especially in the IT sector. Here is a strategy which the company owners implement, that I admire a lot; we are searching not only for a candidate to fill a specific position, but we are searching for a quality in a particular candidate and we will then help that quality to grow and flourish in the company.

What I really like about our culture is that our management is always open to unique ideas. In fact, our slogan is “Everything is possible!”, and this is then combined with our effort to comply with the legal requirements and with our company’s core ethical values.

Here is our formula for success; Discover talented people from across the globe and put them in a very favorable environment so that they can put their full attention on creating terrific products.

To conclude, I would proclaim the following; the better the ideas, the greater the chance to bring BrainRocket’s employees closer together as a team. The stronger the work relationships, the bigger the chance that we will attract and retain the best talent from across the EU. This will help Cyprus and Brain Rocket continue to be an incredible place to work and to live.

How much focus do you put on CSR and being part of the local community?

CSR has become one of my favourite parts of my job, which I do, together with colleague Marina Vasileu. This implies that companies should not only care about their revenue and profits, but they should also invest in their employees and the local environment. It is all about building a company culture of encouragement and creating CSR initiatives, not only for team building, but also to give back to the community.

I am very passionate about the CSR events the company creates and I get an immeasurable amount of satisfaction from being able to improve the lives of BrainRocket’s employees, their families, and the community as a whole. Through the company’s many initiatives and charitable works, it has become a leading example that other companies can follow both on island and worldwide. This is because, from the very beginning, the company and its people have devoted a lot of time to making the island a better place.

BrainRocket has participated in numerous noteworthy CSR initiatives. During the wildfire outbreak in Cyprus, BrainRocket teamed up with TechIsland to help replant greenery in the areas that were affected, as well as offering a much-needed donation of €50,000.

The company also organised blood donations for two years in a row. This year it happened in collaboration with Universal Life and 4i, the company’s medical insurance partners.

We also partnered up with the municipality of Kato Polemidia and the City Friends Club to organise a large-scale Limassol clean-up near the Kato Polemidia General Hospital. In the end, they sent 91 bags of PMD rubbish for recycling and got rid of 3.78 tonnes of residual waste.

The company has also led several education-related initiatives. A good example is the renovation of the media room at the Agios Neophytos High School where BrainRocket provided the equipment the students needed, including air conditioners, a large whiteboard, a new projector, and a Lenovo computer for each desk. BrainRocket also partnered with STUDY.UA, to provide 50 grants to Ukrainian children so that they can continue their education, both in Ukrainian and English at the STUDY.UA Lyceum in Limassol.

We organised local park renovation in partnership with the mayor of Mesa Geitonia in Limassol, on a project called NeighBROhood. In this, the company replaced the broken benches, painted the columns and the benches in its signature colours, and started the renovation of the fountain.

BrainRocket has also participated in lots of charity marathons. It launched the BRO Charity Marathon which is a fundraising campaign to support all those affected by the war in Ukraine.

These are just some of the many initiatives being continuously introduced by BrainRocket in Cyprus and I am proud to be a member of this team that is changing the world for the better.