Jim Rae, docs24 CEO: “We strive to unleash the power of our team and cultivate a company culture that will help us fulfill our mission”

docs24 was started to help a financial services client streamline an out of date document production process, ultimately moving a central responsibility to a local level. They were producing millions of documents and distributing to their branch network, however the documents were changing faster than they could be used, resulting in high wastage, repeated production costs and little control if branches had not trashed inaccurate info or were sending out of date information to customers. The tech platform that was created meant that the financial services company moved to zero obsolescence, no regulatory fines for sending out inaccurate info, a much lower cost and happier staff.

docs24’s document management platforms provides process intelligence and on-demand capabilities that can be used across distributed workforces which produces measurable improvements in efficiency, quality, compliance and controls, resulting in cost savings and greater satisfaction for clients and project teams. The company’s goal was to disrupt the way companies created, produced and distributed company content, by creating an easy to use interface which took processes, which may take days and weeks down to minutes. docs24’s motto was and is to return lost time back to its clients as this is the thing you can never get back once it has gone and Jim Rae, CEO of docs24 is happy to say that, today, the company successfully returns tens of thousands of hours per year back to its clients.

In conversation with Jim Rae, CEO of docs24

Q. According to you how crucial is Brand Asset Management to the success of a business?

Managing the brand of large corporates can be very difficult, especially when employees are in different countries and are using different ways to interpret and use corporate documents and imagery. It is so important for the companies’ profile to manage consistency across the brand and across countries as without this, the company has less believability and control in the services it provides, especially if it is seen that it cannot manage its own brand. Loss of brand identity also becomes confusing for staff, investors and customers. If you have great brand control and a strong message, then the logo does the work for you. Just think of the Nike swoosh. The swoosh is just as recognizable as the name. Now there is a company who has managed its brand incredibly well.

Q. What are the obstacles that you have faced in your line of business? What professional qualities helped you overcome those setbacks?

Apart from the global pandemic we have all been living through for the past couple of years and the fact that our team had to work from home for a number of months, which was challenging for a collaborative business like ours, the main obstacles we have faced as a business is the continued speed of growth the company has been going through over these last two years, both in the UK and in the US. Managing, coaching and developing colleagues in different time zones has been more challenging, especially when we were not allowed to travel because of country restrictions, however Teams and Zoom have been incredibly helpful and very welcome as this has given us the face to face interaction which is so important to the culture of our business. Our culture book became even more important to us during that time and re-enforcing the qualities which make us, as a team different certainly helped overcome the obstacles. We have employed 50% more people during the last 18 months and having the culture as the bedrock of our business has meant that we have retained all of our colleagues as they also believe passionately about the culture which defines us as a company.

Q. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful CEO?

For me, the top three skills are spotting talent (sometimes from the most unlikely of places), as we need to continue to bring new people in to our business to make it consistently stronger. Being incredibly brave in making decisions that not everyone might like but understand and having an unbreakable vision for the business and how to get there. Stick to your principles and don’t flip from one thing to another as this causes confusion both internally and externally.

Q. Do you have any new services ready to be launched?

We will be launching two new digital solutions to our Life Sciences clients in the early part of 2023. Can’t say too much about these at the moment; however we are very excited as to the further value that we will add to our global clients.

Q. What does the future hold for your company and its customers? Are exciting things on the way?

Our clients are always at the centre of our mission and vision and our team look after our clients’ requirements with the upmost care and attention. That ethos and culture will never change. We will continue to develop new solutions that further enhance our client experience. As mentioned, we have new solutions planned for launch in 2023. We occasionally develop these solutions in partnership with clients to make sure we are always hitting the mark, and this is always a lot of fun. We will continue to build and develop our US team as we see the biggest area of opportunity for the business being in the US. We are extremely excited with the people who have joined us recently. They have already won two new clients, and we are thrilled to be working with them.

Meet the leader behind the success of docs24

Jim Rae, CEO of docs24 is the original architect of the company and has led and shaped docs24 since 2013. He brings in 25 years of experience from Document and Information Management sector. Jim started his business career in Xerox, which is where he completed his sales, marketing and management training. Jim has worked in senior leadership roles in both multi-national and small businesses. Having managed his own businesses since 2005, Jim’s entrepreneurial and solutions-focused mind-set helps companies communicate more efficiently and effectively with their clients. Jim’s original career was as a pro soccer player and he recently captained the Scotland National Team (over 40’s) in the Senior World Cup in Thailand. Jim has been married for 30 years and has a 28 year old son and 25 year old daughter.

“The docs24 tech platform and our pre-vetted global vendor network manages the brand of a client no matter where they are with the same consistency, quality and SLA’s anywhere on the planet.”