Bhrett Hughes: "We can make the world a better place - or at least a better workplace"

Mission Possible

It's not often people get to work for a company they truly believe is making a difference in the world. But Bhrett is. He's our Head of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), and one of the main reasons he loves working for Omnipresent is that he wholeheartedly supports and believes in our mission to promote a global society. Because we enable people to access career opportunities regardless of their location, we give individuals greater choices than ever before. As Bhrett says, remote, global work and its flexibility benefit people and society in multiple ways, from financial security and wellness to improved mental wellbeing.

"Working for Omnipresent itself is the icing on the cake. Since we are an officeless organization, there is no penalty or career-damaging fallout from opting to work remotely," he says. "I'm convinced that this way of working enables employees to finally achieve the elusive goal of work/life balance. It allows people to focus on what matters and better divides their time between their job and life outside it."

A real asset to the team

Bhrett has a long and illustrious career as a qualified accountant and brings his 20 years of experience to his role at Omnipresent. Over the years, Bhrett has specialized in management accounting and financial analysis roles, and he successfully supported RFi Global through the sale of a majority stake in the business. He also helped them navigate the subsequent transition period as RFi Global embarked on new growth strategies.

At Omnipresent, Bhrett's responsibilities include financial modeling, managing improvements to the Finance team's reporting capabilities, and critically managing the budget. All from the comfort of his home.

Remote working is not new to Bhrett; he's been working from home for a couple of years now. So, what lessons can he impart to those of us relatively new to it?

“For me, the key to success and avoiding burnout is flextime. Working remotely facilitates this work schedule as you can select the times that best accommodate your needs and allow you to meet with team members in different time zones.”

Making time to develop team spirit

As the name “Omnipresent” suggests, we have a global footprint with teams dispersed worldwide. Consequently, our managers oversee people in multiple countries and time zones. However, Bhrett wants to ensure that his team knows each other as if they all shared one office space.

“Remote work can sometimes feel isolating, which is why establishing a connection between team members is critical. To build this, I hold regular video calls where we check in with one another and talk about work and non-work-related matters. This helps tremendously in building a rapport, creating a virtual community, and reducing the feeling of aloneness,” Bhrett says. “It helps establish a sense of belonging and enables the whole team to stay on the same page. Everyone knows what’s happening in the company - even if they’re not directly involved.”

Going, Going, Gong

In his personal life, Bhrett is an avid cyclist. One of his proudest moments was when he accelerated up a hill away from his cycling group for the first time. Of course, soon after, he got lost and overtaken - but let's dwell on the victory, not the defeat. Another feat he is justifiably pleased with is his Sydney to Wollongong bike ride to raise money for multiple sclerosis (MS).

“The MS Gong Ride is Australia's most epic charity cycling event. It takes you through the Royal National Park, by the incredible ocean views from Stanwell Tops, and over the breathtaking Sea Cliff Bridge, before finishing in Wollongong, amongst a backdrop of surf, sun, and sand.”

Clearly wheely good fun, but pretty tire-ing all the same.

(No) pun intended

As you can probably tell by now, Bhrett is a bit of a pun aficionado. He also loves a good spreadsheet. In fact, you could say he Excels at them (his words, not ours).