Given our work lives consume at least 40 hours of our finite time, it should come as no surprise that job seekers are spending more time researching companies before and during the application process—and preparing tough, strategic questions to ask interview panelists to ensure a perfect match.
But what exactly should you be looking for when assessing whether or not a company is a great place to work? In the recent study, The Definitive Guide: Employee Experience, HR expert Josh Bersin and his team identified six key elements that drive exceptional employee experiences:
- Meaningful work
- Strong management
- Positive workplace
- Health and wellbeing
- Growth opportunity
- Trust in the organization
When a company provides a desirable experience in each of these areas, it becomes what Bersin calls an “irresistible organization;” a place employees are actively competing to join.
If you’re reading this article, you’re now probably also wondering if Pagefreezer is perhaps one of Bersin’s irresistible workplaces. We’ll give you a sneak peek of what it’s like to work with us—and hopefully, you’ll find out more in your interview!
1. Meaningful Work
According to the study, meaningful work can be defined as “ensure[ing] jobs are meaningful, people have the tools and autonomy to succeed, they work well in teams, and they have the time needed to create additional value for customers.” At Pagefreezer, our Vision is to make the Internet a safer place and our Mission is to deliver products that help make that vision a reality. Not only do we do this by working with some of the best-known global companies, but we also partner with nonprofits like the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the Counter Extremism Project, and Locate International. So, we’re truly striving to make a difference—and our regular employee surveys show that team members find their work meaningful.
2. Strong Management
While the saying “people join for the work and leave because of the managers” is not always true, managers are nevertheless critical to a positive employee experience. That’s why we invest time and resources into developing our leaders’ skills. For example, we’ve designed a number of required courses and workshops for our people leaders, such as interviewer training, employment lifecycle management, and DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) training.
3. Positive Workplace
Bersin describes a positive workplace as “much more than a place we go—our experience is a direct function of our digital workplace (tools and processes to help us do good work and connect), the flexibility of hours and place (being able to choose when and where we work), and our cultural work environment (a place where people feel included and have a sense of belonging).”
At Pagefreezer, we know you can do great work anywhere on earth—as long as you have the right tools! Our team is remote-first and focused on delivering results by using popular collaboration tools like Slack, Confluence, and Google Workspace. We also have a “Work from Anywhere” option, where you can work from the beaches of Costa Rica, volcano-side in Iceland, or just about any other exciting destination. Or, if you’re craving an in-person collaboration, we have offices in Vancouver, B.C. and Halifax, Nova Scotia, where you can drop in to hang with your team. How do we ensure people feel connected to each other in a remote, distributed environment? We intentionally create opportunities for connection: Weekly all-team meetings, casual and fun “Team Times,” or randomly-assigned meetings through the Donut Slack integration are all important parts of life at Pagefreezer.
4. Health and Wellbeing
According to the study: “Companies that help employees take care of families and expand wellbeing programs to help employees deal with ambiguity and uncertainty are more than five times more likely to have outstanding business, people, and innovation outcomes.”
Supporting our team’s overall health and wellbeing is essential to their personal success—and our overall success as a company. So, in addition to the traditional supports like location-based health benefits, we also have Affinity Groups. Affinity Groups are peer-led communities that provide support, resources, and safe spaces based on unique circumstances or needs, such as our Women+ Affinity group, or our MEND (which stands for Mental Health, Emotional Health, Neurodiversity, and Disability) Affinity Group.
5. Growth Opportunity
Bersin’s team says that “a range of studies show, as employees get older, their focus on development shifts from mobility and upward progression toward aligning a job with long-term career goals” and that an irresistible organization gives people plenty of opportunities to grow and advance.
We invest in our team members’ growth. In addition to being a small growth startup where there’s lots of opportunity to provide impact as an individual or leader, we also make sure you have the tools and resources you need. This includes the ability to map out your growth using our Career & Compensation Growth Framework (which includes the ability to create a personal development plan with the help of your manager), a $1000-per-year learning budget, and formal Learning Circles where you can grow and develop alongside peers.
6. Trust in the Organization
The final element of an irresistible organization is trustworthiness—the ability for employees to place their trust in the organization. This is divided into four dimensions:
- Mission and purpose beyond financial goals
- Transparency, empathy, and integrity of leadership
- Continuous investment in people
- Focus on society, environment, and community
Having a positive impact on our community—as a company and as individuals—is a meaningful part of our lives. In alignment with our vision and mission to make the internet a safer place, Pagefreezer partners with nonprofit organizations to give our product and training in kind, with the goal of providing $100,000 worth of product value for free to those who need our tools most. We also give our team a paid volunteer day each year to give back to causes close to their hearts.
As you can see from this brief overview of only some of our programs, Pagefreezer is a people-first organization. And we focus on continually improving by implementing the feedback and suggestions from our team; we have a variety of forums and tools we use to proactively gather insights (most of which are anonymous) such as upward reviews of managers, stay and exit interviews, bi-weekly pulse surveys, and a large yearly survey.
After discovering more about our culture, does Pagefreezer sound like an irresistible place to work? If so, keep an eye on our careers page to see if we have an open role for you! To help you prepare for the interview process (which has been praised by candidates and interview panelists alike for being thorough and useful) also check out our blog post here!
