Putting people first helps sun to shine on Vapour Cloud

IT’S a growing technology company with an “old school” approach to achieving business success.

Elland-based Vapour Cloud is a firm with a growing reputation at the cutting edge as a specialist provider of cloud-based communications – but it still puts people at the heart of its operations.

“Staff morale and getting the culture right are very important,” says chief executive Tim Mercer.

That’s why less than a year after moving from Brighouse to more spacious offices at Lowfields Business Park they’ve already got the builders in. The work is being done to create a welcoming reception area for visitors and to provide a “breakout” space for employees to relax when they’re not busy at their keyboards and computer screens.

Says Tim: “The number one thing in this business is ‘people.’”

That means Tim and fellow directors Jason Sharp and Steve Dempsey hold regular briefing sessions with Vapour Cloud’s 30-strong team to discuss business strategy and listen to any suggestions and opinions.

It also means giving employees the responsibility to “run with” projects, fostering a distinct culture and work ethic.

And it means encouraging staff to speak to customers by phone, rather than email. Good old-fashioned customer service.

Fostering the right culture can take unusual forms. Soon after moving into the 4,500sq ft headquarters building, Tim asked everyone to name their favourite film.

He said: “We got some strange looks as if to say ‘why does he want to know that?’ Then we bought the film posters to put on the walls around the office.” Tim’s choice was American Psycho, the cult movie about 80s Wall Street yuppies in which characters produce their business cards in an hilarious display of masculine aggression.

The next thing will be to ask staff about their favourite album covers – copies of which will adorn the firm’s meeting rooms in due course.

Vapour Cloud’s move to Elland signals a serious intent, however. The company, which is celebrating its fourth year in business, was formed by Tim, Jason and Steve in 2013 to provide an array of secure cloud-based services, including network connectivity, hosted servers, voice and data communications solutions, as well as storage, back-up and replication services. The company recently received a £1m injection to support a nationwide expansion. The investment from Seneca Partners is enabling Vapour Cloud to put more money into continued innovation of its bespoke cloud solutions and boost staff numbers. “We have recruited four new senior people, three in sales and one in marketing,” said Tim. “That allows us to seek bigger clients while continuing to work with our smaller clients. We’re trying to make sure we have a diverse sales team able to manage businesses of all sizes.” Vapour Cloud also takes on apprentices. “We see 16 and 17-year-olds who don’t really

People like what we are doing, find it exciting and want to be part of our journey.

know what they want to do,” says Tim. “But give them some responsibility and you will be surprised what they can achieve.

“We work on the idea that if they’re good enough, they’re old enough. Hopefully, they will stay with us and they can progress with us. We want people who are bright and may come up with fantastic ideas.”

Tim adds: “Good sales people are in short supply. What they are looking for are firms that are growing. People have come to us because they like what we are doing, find it exciting and want to be part of our journey.”

The company, which deals mainly with resellers but also has a number of direct customers, now has its sights set on achieving £6m turnover by the end of 2018 – with the goal being to double that revenue by 2020.

The first four years have seen the firm cement its presence as a cloud technology specialist, maintaining its focus on the three areas of secure network connectivity, voice communications and data storage.

“The market is competitive,” says Tim. “It used to be driven on price, but now it is driven on security. You have to tick all the boxes in terms of compliance. But it’s also about the