Given the setbacks to the global economy from the pandemic, the year 2020 is being widely pronounced as a lost year. Every business—small and large—faced the wrath of the pandemic, and Arkose Labs certainly wasn't immune to it. It was a test of our resilience. With the support of all our people, we responded to the trying times and ensured that Arkose Labs came out stronger.
We neither resorted to trimming our teams down nor stopped our recruiting efforts. In fact, our attrition rate was extraordinarily low in 2020. Once again, this is a reflection of all the hard work and effort that the People team, the onboarding team, and the managers have done to ensure that all our employees are integrated and have their perspective heard.
Virtually welcoming the new team
With the business growing, the company has entered a period of hypergrowth, where we have really been able to expand our teams. We recruited actively during the pandemic and made remote onboarding an experience, not a process. With apprehensions on how to incorporate a fully remote workforce into our existing culture, we dove in and made onboarding informative and personal. We learned a lot initially. What was and was not working and have continued to improve upon the experience. Our US team continues to work as a remote and distributed workforce.
Yes, it was a challenge to onboard a large number of new hires and to make them feel connected to the company in an all-digital environment. We responded to this new challenge—of making the new hires feel connected and involved—by efficiently leveraging technology like Slack and Zoom. We used all the platforms we could to welcome them into our environment and made sure they felt comfortable and welcomed.
The spirit of Arkose
We implemented the work-from-home model to ensure our people were not only safe from the global pandemic but set up with the resources and tools to be successful. . We continued working with the same spirit even as most of the activities transitioned online.
In a distributed workforce, it is important that the morale of our people remains high. Apart from providing a per-employee budget of $1000.00 to set up their remote home-office and making childcare easier, we continue to put in efforts to make remote working as seamless and pleasant as possible. Since we began working remotely, we have been conducting activities to keep our people engaged and connected. We conduct weekly and monthly online events to ensure our people can come together and enjoy lighter moments with each other.
Communication is key to keep connected
To assess what we are doing right and identify the areas that need more attention, we conduct regular surveys. These surveys range from asking our people their opinion about the organization's response to the pandemic, to the challenges of working remotely. They also provide us with valuable insights into the mental health and well-being of our people, as well as the guidance to create action plans to address the challenges.
Making remote work successful requires open communication. With this in mind, we have set up virtual lunches and other monthly events, where people can discuss work or simply catch up with one another. We also increased the frequency of our one-on-ones, which has not only helped us retain talent and minimize attrition, but also led to greater collaboration and team morale. We encourage our managers to connect with their direct reports regularly, not only to share work-related feedback but also about career progression. These conversations and open communication are important components that define our company's culture.
People First
Our people are our assets who have contributed to the company's success during these uncertain times. There are professional opportunities currently available with us that promise an enjoyable and growing career. To learn more about life at Arkose Labs, please click here.
Share The Blog
