Making quality hires by strengthening workplace culture

When Kristin Heckersbruch, Nolk’s Culture and People Manager, joined the company, the importance of culture was made immediately clear. In fact, one of the first tools she was shown was Workleap Officevibe.

Working remotely — but not remotely disconnected 

When the team transitioned to working from home, Kristin says she and Nolk’s co-founder used Workleap Officevibe more than they ever had before.

“It played a huge role in transitioning, especially in terms of flexibility. We were able to really adapt, case-by-case, to every employee’s needs using Workleap Officevibe metrics along with the Feedback they gave us in the platform.”

Nolk wanted to ensure that work satisfaction stayed high, and that their people stayed connected. Using Workleap Officevibe to track their success, they launched a variety of projects and virtual gatherings to boost morale, which came from comments received in Workleap Officevibe. The platform also helped them to see things they’d usually notice in person at the office, but couldn’t, given the new distance between them.

We came up with different initiatives to keep the team knowledgeable and aware of the health impact and the wellness part of working remotely, and created a recognition program through Slack. All of these initiatives came out of our Workleap Officevibe results.

Preventing turnover 

Nolk uses the platform as an extra channel for employees to speak directly to HR and to the company’s co-founder, who both check Workleap Officevibe every day. They respond to comments and feed an active back-and-forth that otherwise wouldn’t take place. Kristin says it’s a practice that helps them maintain their culture of transparency and their tight-knit community.

“I can speak personally: I come from a big corporate background where we didn’t have anything like Workleap Officevibe. We had those annual surveys, but those are only once a year. They don’t give you consistent feedback, which I find so important. On the one day that you take that survey, it’s possible you’re in a bad mood. You really can’t rely on those results. That’s why I love Workleap Officevibe – it gives consistent results across the board.”

A healthy culture leads to strong recruitment 

Nolk’s employees are strong ambassadors of their workplace – an important asset, given the speed at which the company is growing. Their strong culture and core values are reflected in the people referred to Kristin by staff, helping her to find the right people to grow with.

Having this kind of culture - which I find is enhanced through the use of Workleap Officevibe – makes people ambassadors. We get a lot of team referrals, because they can see through Workleap Officevibe that they’re bringing people into a great culture.

Kristin also uses Workleap Officevibe to show her potential recruits Nolk’s scores across metrics – which all sit above 8.7/10, a nearly unequaled achievement in the platform. Their Relationship with Peers score in particular is an indicator that really hits home with potential hires.

“I’ve been a recruiter for a long time, and [Workleap Officevibe] has been an amazing tool for showing people who we are, and that we’re only getting better. They see the Relationship with Peers metric and know they’re coming into a place where they’re going to be connected to their people.”

In fact, if Kristin could offer any advice to new users, she’d say Workleap Officevibe’s greatest asset is in its ability to connect employees to each other, to their culture, and to their managers.

“There are always comments coming in [to Workleap Officevibe] that are very impactful. Sometimes it’s just showing you what you’re doing well, but it also shows you what you can improve on. Check them daily. And make sure you use Workleap Officevibe as a means of communication with your employees. When they get a response and see the impact of their words, that’s when it’s really working.”