How This Company Doubled Their Staff In The Pandemic with Tom Box, Blue Zoo Animation Studio

Summary 

Managing Director of Blue Zoo Animation Studio Tom Box joins Kursty to discuss how they almost doubled their staff during the pandemic. They talk about how to successfully set up a hybrid working environment, ensure you are true to your corporate values, and what doesn’t work well when going fully remote. 

Tom Box is the co-founder of Blue Zoo Animation Studio and AnimDojo. Blue Zoo animation started when a few friends at university decided to start an animation studio from their bedrooms. Today, Blue Zoo has been responsible for creating some of the most popular children's TV animations. Their clients include Nickelodeon, the BBC, Disney, and many more.

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Timestamps

[00:35] Episode overview: Growing an animation studio in the pandemic.

[02:01] Who is Tom Box, and how has he doubled the size of his team during the pandemic (Blue Zoo Animations)?

[05:24] What allowed Blue Zoo animations to thrive during the pandemic (satellite studios and company values)? 

[09:50] Why you should never send a blanket email to all your staff about following the rules.

[12:00] A litmus test to check if you have a culture of trust in your workplace. 

[14:56] How can a creative animation studio run on remote working? 

[17:37] How Blue Zoo adapted to the pandemic (technology, communicating with clients, mental health). 

[20:52] Lessons learned from running a fully remote animation studio in the pandemic. 

[24:06] Why this animation studio will NEVER go fully remote. 

[27:37] The undocumentable learning experiences you miss out on if you only work remotely. 

[34:11] 3 things to consider before setting up a hybrid workplace.  

[39:32] Making physical changes to your office to make it more democratic. 

[42:00] Why companies who won’t figure out hybrid working will lose out. 

[43:55] The future of Blue Zoo, B Corp certification and sustainability.

[46:16] Do you need to know how to draw to work in animation? 

[48:51] How to connect with Tom Box. 

5 Key Highlights 

1. Trust and diversity can make your company resilient in the face of a storm (like COVID-19). Ask yourself: Why do you force people to work in ways that aren’t suitable for them? 
2. If you want to authentically build trust in the workplace, ask yourself, “Does this rule treat my staff like children?” before you establish any office rule. If it doesn’t pass that test, then you must have a strong (pretty much legal) reason to implement that rule. 
3. People really thrive by seeing each other. There is a tonne of value in having meetings without an agenda.  You need a good balance between social communication and project communication. 
4. Working remotely does not bring to life the physical movements and nanosecond facial expressions crucial to bonding, creating, and communicating. 
5. Getting your sound set up right and having enough screens to facilitate good eye contact are two important aspects you need to consider before setting up a hybrid workplace. Ignore this, and you'll turn Zoom meeting participants into second-class citizens. Experimenting is how you get hybrid working right.

Links 

Young Animator of the Year UK: Website