Here is the next in our series of Skype for Business case studies. This time it is the world famous surf and fashion brand Rip Curl. Watch the video and read below to see how Rip Curl have adopted Skype as their key business communications tool. Skype video calling is used to help with the creative design process and all staff members have a Skype account which they use as their main form of communication across the company.

Company background

Rip Curl is a highly popular international surfing equipment and fashion manufacturer, with over 3,000 employees across the world. The company was founded in 1969 by Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer in Torquay, Australia, where the company still has its head office. Doug and Brian were keen surfers who wanted to support their lifestyle, and decided the best way to do so was producing surfboards. Nearly 40 years on, the company is an international success story.

International organisation bringing people closer

As Rip Curl grew across the world, it became increasingly more difficult to get hold of people from different continents and time zones. Brian Singer discovered Skype, and introduced a global company initiative for all employees to communicate using Skype for all text, voice and video communications. Standard Skype IDs were created as a matter of course for all staff, and now Skype is the sole internal communication vehicle, be it from across a room, across a beach or across the world.

Sharing and showing

Rip Curl's designers and manufacturers are often located in different parts of the world (Australia, Asia, California, France...) meaning different time zones and different languages. Skype's free video calling facility is regularly used to show designs, corrections, suggestions, patterns and ideas. Dummies and drawings are placed in front of web cams to show off new designs and to request changes, leaving no room for misinterpretation, while saving on international travel or lengthy written and verbal explanations.

Also, fast file sharing means everyone on a conference call can be sure to have the right document in front of them at the same time - and again, it's all free.

Mobility

Skype is used "on the go" by Rip Curl. Staff members attending surfing events and competitions can keep in touch with the office for free from their laptop, immediately updating their colleagues by sharing files, images and video.

Presence

As previously mentioned, Rip Curl straddles different time zones. Skype's presence means everyone can immediately see when their colleagues are logged on to their computer, meaning no wasted calls or lengthy voicemails to people who are in bed.

Creativity

Rip Curl is all about "The Search" - for the next big wave, the next cool surfing hot-spot and the newest and best way of doing things. Skype means Rip Curl can take advantage of their teams' creativity and immediacy without having to worry about complicated processes and systems.