How to Create a Happy Workplace

More than 60K specialists wanted to join Kilo Health last year. From what it looks like at the moment, we will achieve and surpass the number this year. But our goal to reach 1,000 employees in the nearest future is just a part of the equation. The key is ensuring that this is a happy workplace in general – everyone on every team is happy, confident, and excited to build Kilo Health together.

How can we reach this goal? With a razor-sharp focus on the quality of employee experience. 

Today, we chatted with Ilona Bernotaitė, Chief People Officer at Kilo Health. She told us more about the key things job seekers look for in a workplace – and what companies could do to keep their people happy.

What is, in your opinion, the key to a happy workplace?

A happy workplace for each individual can mean different things. For some people, it would be flexibility, good relationship with colleagues, and perks. For others, it’s all about career opportunities, the ability to use their full potential, find meaning in work, and get recognition. We are all unique, and different things make us feel content.

The overall goal is to ensure people have a lasting positive experience. 

We want to help our superstars grow, challenge the status quo, and never get bored. We seek that our rockstars enthusiastically stay with us for years, consistently building up the foundation of Kilo Health. 

Also, we want our grandmas to talk about Kilo Health with their friends over a cup of tea and cookies. Make sure our grandpas know it’s more than just a job where we “work with computers.”

And even when our people decide to challenge themselves and decide to go work somewhere else, we want to know that we helped them become their best professional version. That we provided them with every growth opportunity available. 

We don’t see ourselves as a family. Kilo Health is a community – and a strong one.

Families have traditions; communities have cultures. And the Kilo Health culture is something our people genuinely appreciate. 

Kilo Health was recently named the most popular employer by the MeetFrank recruitment platform. What are the main things that attract talent to your company?

We offer an ambitious work environment, flexibility, freedom, growth opportunities, cool office spaces, thrilling company events, a kitchen full of food, private health insurance, and health programs – of course, these are the standard things that most startups provide to their people. 

However, there are several ways I believe we are different from others. We put our people first, accepting that each has different needs and priorities. Naturally, we try to have a personalized approach to everything we do.

For example, if someone from the team has a wedding, we don’t just send a flower bouquet – we book their favorite band and make it a surprise on their special day. If someone gets ill, we send them a personalized “Get well soon” parcel with their favorite chocolate, a postcard signed by the entire team, some ginger tea, and food supplements to speed up their recovery. 

You probably think, “But that takes a lot of time and effort! It’s impossible for companies with hundreds or thousands of employees.” Well, we believe that it’s possible, and personal touch to each and every person pays off. 

Our people tell us they appreciate our efforts – maybe that’s why we quickly became the most popular employer.

What primary health perks work best in an office setting? What perks make the most sense for remote/hybrid workers?

We offer all our employees to use the digital health apps we create. It helps build the proper foundation and learn about healthy habits, nutrition, weight management, sports, chronic conditions, mental health, stress management, etc. 

I believe it’s the base that every employee at any company should have access to because we cannot be our best selves if we feel unwell. So no matter the industry, digital health solutions are the key that makes health accessible to all.

We also have private health insurance, in-office gym space, and healthy food options in our office fridges. Our people can use 5 additional days off to rest or recharge, no questions asked. Of course, we offer remote or hybrid work options for people who want to work while traveling or simply prefer to spend time at home.

I do not believe that choosing only one of those perks would solve the problem. But the combination of all of them makes miracles. 

You can’t offer only one app for mental health and expect that people will forget about the stress in the workplace. 

Some people prefer only in-person meetings with their psychotherapists. Others, due to tight schedules or personal responsibilities, prefer digital solutions. And then some people want to combine both – sometimes meet with the doctors and sometimes have additional digital alternatives to keep themselves on track daily. 

These days when only-office work is not so standard anymore, we as a company want to offer an equitable benefit package to both in-office people and our remote colleagues. 

Various digital solutions allow us to achieve this goal. No matter in which part of the world they live, now they can enjoy and take advantage of our various employee benefits.

Why is it essential for an employer to offer a health benefits program to their teams? 

It’s 2022 – the time after the pandemic that made us reevaluate our life goals, prioritize mental wellness, and take care of physical health. We are also in the middle of the Great Resignation, which shows that people are unwilling to deal with unappreciative employers. 

You must invest in your people if you want your business to flourish. Even if you can have the best product and the most loyal customer base – your employees are still your most valuable resource. Plenty of great products failed because they couldn’t keep their teams happy. 

Your people have plenty of options to choose from, and if they choose to work with you, it’s only natural that you try to create the best environment for them. 

If everyone around you includes similar solutions in the employee motivation package, you will quickly fall behind. Today, it’s all about health equity – providing a fair opportunity for everyone to be healthy. Digital health solutions allow you to offer personalized health programs for each employee, no matter how complex their needs are. 

Finally, if your team is healthy, it is more productive. That means fewer sick days and doctor’s appointments – which has a direct impact on business results.

What is the role of digital health solutions in an employee health benefits program?

Digital health solutions co-exist and complement the existing wellness benefits a company offers. They help create a unified and personalized ecosystem that helps connect these different benefits and ensures overall health.  

For instance, there are plenty of options on how digital health solutions such as mobile apps can help:

• If you already offer a workout class at the office – a person can achieve better results by using mobility workout videos at home.
• If you seek to encourage work-life balance, the employee can explore stress management and destress techniques tips.
• If you offer healthy food at the office – the employee can find beginner-friendly recipes to spice up their lunches.
• If you are just starting out and do not have benefits – the employee can find plenty of ways to improve their health free of charge or expensive equipment.

How do you measure employee satisfaction? 

We run an employee satisfaction survey at least twice a year. We seek to find out what matters to them most and what suggestions they have for improvement.  

In this survey, we ask our employees to give us eNSP scores and check in with them on whether our current perks and benefits still make sense. Our eNPS score based on a survey launched in June 2022 is 48. Anything above 0 is already good enough, and based on various surveys, an average eNPS score for Global Tech companies is around 33, meaning that we score way above the average. 

What worked during the pandemic peak months doesn’t necessarily make sense for people now. It’s always important to check with your people to see if you are still offering the right things to reflect on your people’s current needs.

In the survey, we also asked our people to rank our benefits to understand if we are offering them the right things and see whether we need to improve our employee benefits package. Right now, our people identify the company’s culture as the most motivating element at Kilo Health. That shows us that tangible benefits are only a bonus and the strongest motivation comes from the Kilo Health culture.

For instance, here is the list of benefits that our teams value the most right now:

1. Kilo Health culture
2. +5 additional days off
3. Learning opportunities
4. Work content
5. Workations
6. Events
7. Free food in the kitchen
8. Taxi budget
9. Office perks

Our future goal is to have a personalized benefits basket where each employee could choose the benefits pack that motivates them the best.

What is the one thing the HR team can start doing today to create a happy workplace?

Make sure that everyone in your organization, all your key stakeholders, understands that your People are your company’s biggest asset. Your goal is to take care of them so they can take care of your business. And then you’ll have to walk the talk. 

Don’t print the “People first” slogan on your office wall and forget about it. You must care about your people’s needs and ensure they feel your efforts. Every detail matters. 

Would you like to see what this looks like in practice? Join Kilo Health – find a position that fits you best on our careers page.

Ilona Bernotaite

Chief People Officer at Kilo Health

Lived in 50+ countries. Chose Lithuania as her home base because she fell in love with the Kilo culture.

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