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At NordPass, we believe that finding synergy between different teams and departments is what leads to success. The ability to be on the same page while facing different challenges is the secret sauce that makes your favorite password manager. Today we’re starting a series of posts that will introduce you to the different teams working behind the scenes of NordPass. We’ll start off with our amazing HR heroes, who are responsible for our growth, talent nourishment, and instilling our team culture. Without further ado, meet Sandra, Jurga, Ema, Ruta L., Ruta V. and Kristina.
Contents:
- What are the most challenging responsibilities your team faces that separate you from other NordPass teams?
- Does your team have any traditions? If so, tell us about them.
- What do team-building activities look like at the NordPass HR team? Tell us more about them.
- Could you describe what a typical team meeting looks like?
- Who is who in your team: tell us a bit about the team members – who is the loudest, funniest party person?
- How did you manage to stay both productive and connected as a team during the lockdowns?
- When it comes to team goals, how do you define success and how do you deal with bumps along the way? What motivates the team the most?
- What have been a few of the biggest achievements for your team over the past year?
- What is the main thing that you do to instill company culture? How do you nurture the company values?
- What would you tell a person who would like to join your team as an HR specialist? What can they expect?
- What or who inspires you the most work-wise?
- As a team, what is the next step for you? Where do you wish to improve?
What are the most challenging responsibilities your team faces that separate you from other NordPass teams?
Ema
I believe what makes us different from the other teams is that, while working together as a team, we are also very individual when it comes to our personal goals. We have our general team goals to achieve, but each person has different responsibilities and tasks, too. This way, our team members improve on a daily basis as individual professionals, and, at the same time, our team gets stronger from within.
Ruta L.
I believe our team has many different challenges in many ways, starting with understanding each team’s way of working, the vibe, and the values when selecting the right candidates to bringing the scaling mindset to all teams and understanding that, although the HR team is not bringing direct revenue to the product, we are the ones who nourish the talent mindset and bring and cultivate the right talent in the team, because it is our people who lead the product to success.
Ruta V.
Growth is our biggest challenge here in all aspects. We hire a lot of people, so the process has to be smooth and fast, but, at the same time, we need to maintain quality. After all, one of our Culture Deck rules is “Best Talent”, so we always need to make sure there is a balance between speed and quality (believe me, it’s a challenge).
Also, from the People & Business Partners team perspective, growth requires a lot of attention for it to be healthy. Imagine that, every Monday, you come to the office and see a lot of new people you have never met. So, we need to make sure that everyone feels welcome, establish a family-like atmosphere, and also be aware of what is going on within other teams.
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Does your team have any traditions? If so, tell us about them.
Ema
The thing we like to celebrate the most is our team members' birthdays! I believe we could call this a tradition.
Ruta L.
We are a very young team, so we do not have any particular traditions yet. However, during the lockdown, we used to spend evenings talking and laughing online. We also tend to meet live for all the quarterly plans and have team building without any intense activities so we could just hang out, communicate, and cultivate a closer connection. Summarizing all that, I would say it is all about connection in our team.
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What do team-building activities look like at the NordPass HR team? Tell us more about them.
Ema
Obviously, all teams at NordPass have a lot of challenges, but I believe our team has to deal with quite a bit of stress during every quarter! That’s why I think the best suitable team-building activities for our team are the ones related to relaxation: sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying (wine, for example, haha)!
Kristina
As we are very active and outgoing in our daily work, for the last team-building activities we chose to have more relaxing activities where we could unwind and have quality time with the team. A country house with a hot tub and a spa day were the perfect choices.
Could you describe what a typical team meeting looks like?
Sandra
Usually, we meet twice a week, and the topic of these meetings depends on the quarter goals. Normally, one meeting is dedicated to catching up with the team, and the other to something bigger to discuss, like projects on how to speed up or improve current processes from the HR or Recruitment perspectives.
Kristina
In addition to Sandra's comment, our team is focused on both hiring/attracting new people and retaining our current employees. Therefore, during every team meeting, we are trying to have a sync between both areas while sharing all the problems and required improvements. It’s important for us to be connected and ensure continuity within all stages of talent management life cycles.
Who is who in your team: tell us a bit about the team members – who is the loudest, funniest party person?
Sandra
I would say that the rational one is Ruta L. She always helps to rationalize all the possible situations and points out their pros and cons. The diplomatic one is Jurga. She’s open to any kind of ideas, topics, and always finding possibilities. Our problem solver, Kristina, is the person you can trust — there’s nothing she can’t solve. And, while we are pretty much data-oriented, here comes our creative mind — Ema. Ruta V. is the person who combines uncombinable dots, whenever you feel things are getting chaotic and out of control, Ruta is here to help and take control.
Ruta L.
Sandra is a precise and accurate person who focuses on data and insights. Jurga is the wholehearted one, always with a smile. Ruta V. is very supportive and hard-working. She likes to party and usually initiates not only HR’s but all the team’s gatherings. Kristina is the problem solver.
Ruta V.
Our team has a good balance. While some people (including me) are really loud, some are calm. In general, our team is very mature: all its members are very responsible, supportive, autonomous, proactive, and hard-working — these are people you can truly trust. What unites us all is definitely caring about what we do!
How did you manage to stay both productive and connected as a team during the lockdowns?
Ruta V.
Fun fact: our team grew during the quarantine, so it was a challenge to onboard and get to know each other when you don’t even know what height people are. But the fact that we are all still here shows that we managed to stay in touch with each other and find this team a nice environment to work at. Regarding productivity, the team itself is very strong and conscious, able to deal with hard situations without losing motivation. I’m really proud of that!
When it comes to team goals, how do you define success and how do you deal with bumps along the way? What motivates the team the most?
Jurga
Success for us is when we reach our quarterly team goals and go the extra mile to accomplish our objectives. When we meet obstacles, we do our research, come together, brainstorm, and work hard to reach the best results. Of course, having some fun along the way is always on our list as well.
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What have been a few of the biggest achievements for your team over the past year?
Ruta V.
Everything is a challenge in a rapidly growing company, but I would mention quarantine as the most impactful one (worth mentioning is the fact that the NordPass team grew more than 100% during that time). We had to learn how to switch all of our processes online.
Hiring people online is a challenge — you don’t have the possibility to meet the candidate in person, but we managed to set the process to get and give as much as possible to make the right decisions in hiring the best talent.
Also, onboarding has changed a lot. You need to create a connection while only seeing people on a screen. And the last but the most challenging one is communication while working remotely. We are constantly working on that and improving all the aspects of it so all NordPass people know what is going on around them and feel involved.
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What is the main thing that you do to instill company culture? How do you nurture the company values?
Jurga
First of all, we are looking for people who have the same values as us, who are ambitious, brave, hard-working, willing to learn and have a good time with colleagues. The main way we nurture our values and culture is by bringing in people that align with our values.
Also, we have a tradition to meet on Mondays and discuss thoroughly what is happening on the different sides of NordPass — development, sales, marketing, business, people. This keeps us on the same page and unites us all with regard to the vision and mission we have. Of course, I shouldn’t forget themed company parties, team buildings, ping-pong, and fun games.
Ruta L.
The HR team is the advocate of the culture, so we carry a huge responsibility of setting a good example by living by our values daily and in this way transferring them to our team.
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What would you tell a person who would like to join your team as an HR specialist? What can they expect?
Sandra
Prepare to grow, grind, and laugh a lot.
Jurga
Prepare yourself for strong cooperation, fast growth, fancy company parties, and Bun Thursdays in the office.
Ema
Expect to improve as a professional, meet inspiring people and, last but not least, have fun!
Ruta L.
Prepare to work hard, grow hard, learn hard, and laugh hard.
Ruta V.
Expect to learn a lot, gain a huge amount of experience in a short time. Also, expect to be supported in all aspects: knowledge sharing, the best tools you need for your work, deep cooperation with others.
Kristina
Whether you are new to the HR field or already experienced, in our team, you would have the freedom to explore and try out new approaches, have a direct influence on the future of the company, experience with rapid growth, and a constant encouragement to succeed not only as a professional but as a person.
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What or who inspires you the most work-wise?
Sandra
The team itself. For example, if we’re talking about recruitment, hiring each person can create a huge value for NordPass and help us to move forward as a team. So, since each quarter we manage to hire 30-40 employees, the next quarter you see the results and improvements that have been made, which obviously is a huge motivation for our team.
Ruta L.
Seeing that your hard work pays off in many ways, you not only see how the NordPass product is growing but at the same time you see how the people you hired are growing and how happy they are being here.
Ruta V.
Personally, I’m always inspired by others — seeing how they care about what they do is so satisfying. Our manager Jonas is always such an inspiration. He never gives up, so it also drives us forward. I also follow lots of successful companies that have an exceptional mindset — Netflix, Basecamp, and others.
Kristina
Success in all aspects of work. If business is succeeding, if the team is succeeding, if our HR processes are working well and are beneficial to the team, if people are building their careers successfully and more, then I have a feeling that my work has a higher purpose and it drives me to do even better every day.
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As a team, what is the next step for you? Where do you wish to improve?
Ruta V.
Now the plan is to scale the HR team as NordPass’s strategy is to grow even more. We are currently in the process of building a Talent Sourcing team as well as expanding our Talent Acquisition team and HR support. We will also need to scale our recruitment and HR processes so that everything works properly.
What’s worth mentioning is that our constant improvement is analyzing the current processes and tools — we don’t want to have it if it doesn’t bring any value and is just bothering us. We only focus on what truly matters and is valuable for the whole organization.
If you’ve enjoyed meeting our HR team, please let us know on our LinkedIn page. For more information on what it's like to be a part of the amazing NordPass team, please check out our People & Culture section on our blog.