Revolutionizing Work Culture: A Case Study on HR-ON's Progressive People Practices
Last month, we had the privilege of interviewing Ali E. Cevik and Nanna Maria Mørch from the Danish pioneering firm HR-ON for the members of our platform. The interview was incredibly insightful, prompting us to distill the key takeaways into a ‘pioneering case’ course on the same platform. Here’s a sneak peek of what we discovered.
Introduction
HR-ON is a leading Danish IT company active in the SaaS Tech industry. They focus on creating user-friendly software tools for HR professionals.
The company employs around 50 people. They prioritize people and culture, emphasizing well-being and ensuring that employees feel respected and acknowledged.
The organization values flexibility and allows employees to determine their own working hours and locations. They have a decentralized approach to coordination and rely on teams to take care of each other.
They have implemented progressive people practices, such as self-management, transparency, and a warrant program that allows employees to share in the value created by the company.
Interviewing Ali & Nanna
The organization is led by Ali, who plays a vital leadership role but is actively working towards stepping back and allowing the teams to become more independent.
During the interview, we had the pleasure to ask Ali, and his colleague Nanna, all about the way of working at HR-ON. We distilled five key takeaways.
Takeaway: Fostering a caring culture
At HR-ON, fostering a workplace environment where employees feel valued, supported, and respected is paramount. Let's delve into the three main strategies employed by HR-ON to prioritize employee well-being and create a culture of mutual care and support.
1. Decentralized responsibility for employee well-being
All members of HR-ON bear the responsibility to care about their own and other's well-being, such as taking enough time off, handling sickness, and helping each other during tough personal times.
Ali explains that taking care of employee well-being is split into different roles within the organization, whereas all of these roles focus on a different level of well-being.
- The People and Culture Team
HR-ON's People and Culture department is key in supporting employee health. Made up of team members from different groups, they plan team activities and social events to make employees feel appreciated.
- Teams taking care of their colleagues
Besides that, also the teams take responsibility in taking care of each other. For example when they see that someone is not taking any time off.
In the video below, Ali shares an example of this.
- The role of Ali
Ali, the CEO of HR-ON, stresses the importance of having regular well-being check-ins with employees, they call it 'pulse-talks'. By having these casual talks every quarter, Ali wants to understand how employees feel and find areas where more help may be necessary.
2. A tool to track employees' well-being
HR-ON developed a unique system designed to measure how employees are feeling. They use this tool internally to check in on everyone's well-being.
So, in short, the tool tracks two things:
- Daily pulse measurements
Every day, employees use the HR-ON app to rate how they're feeling. It's super easy—just like giving feedback after a shopping trip. They pick a spot on a scale from "bad" to "good" to show how they're feeling that day.
- Biannual well-being measurements
Twice a year, HR-ON conducts more detailed surveys to get a deeper understanding of how employees are doing. They ask about work stuff and personal stuff to make sure they're covering all bases. Then, they go over the results carefully to see if there's anything they need to improve.
3. Fostering work-life harmony through flexibility
Another thing we want to highlight is the flexibility at HR-ON. In this video, Nanna shares her journey as a sales manager at HR-ON, emphasizing the importance of work-life balance.
This well covers the first takeaway. However, there is much more to learn from HR-ON.
Four other takeaways
In our 'pioneering case' course on our Academy platform we dive into four other key takeaways that give us a glimpse into HR-ON's unique approach to managing people and driving organizational growth:
Takeaway: Sharing information is key
Takeaway: Recognizing contributions through rewards
Takeaway: Finding people with the X-factor
Takeaway: The evolution continues
If you’re curious to learn more, consider becoming a member of our platform. Dive into these nuggets of wisdom and uncover all the secrets behind HR-ON’s impressive journey.
