How People Work

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Brandon Sammut, Chief People Officer at Zapier. For those who don’t already know, Zapier is a no-code tool to help automate repetitive tasks between two or more apps. This mission is so deeply embedded in Zapier’s DNA that it reveals itself not only in how they work with their clients, but how they develop their employees.

Brandon shares the why behind Zapier: offering a powerful technology that is normally expensive and/or difficult to use, at an affordable price and in a user-friendly format. Brandon also discusses why Zapier values remote work (and always has) and the possible end of their delocation program. Brandon also talks about the importance of transparency at Zapier, which carries into a program that helps team members find growth and opportunity at Zapier, or elsewhere! 

One of Jordan’s favorite quotes from this episode is: “Let’s be worthy of attracting talent.” Enjoy the episode!

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Larry Dunivan, CEO of Namely. Namely provides a user-experience-focused platform for HR, payroll, benefits, and talent management.

Larry talks about how he had always wanted to be a CEO in HR Tech in NYC, and how a few months after he ticked that achievement off his bucket list, a pandemic hit. He shares how Namely navigated that challenge, what it means to live and retain company values, the dangers of calling employees “family,” and the financial pressures of retaining your best talent. 

Looking to build your own BragWorthy Culture? Fringe can help. Fringe is the number one lifestyle benefits platform. Give your people the power of choice and save a ton of administrative headaches by consolidating existing vendors and programs into a simple, automated platform. Contact us at Fringe.us.

On this episode of The BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with CJ Przybyl, Co-Founder & CSO of Snapsheet Inc. Snapsheet offers cloud-based claim processing technology, both in a transactional model and in SaaS form. Snapsheet was remote-ready and paperless long before it became a standard to aspire to in this industry. It has led to explosive growth in the last two years, particularly as the whole industry is rushing to be as remote and virtual as possible.

CJ talks about adjustments Snapsheet has made during Covid-19 and what it’s like to grow a business from a handful of team members to hundreds. He also dives into their focus on training and developing leaders, why culture is so important (and should sometimes be overemphasized in the early days), and what he sees for the future of work, post-pandemic. 

Looking to build your own BragWorthy Culture? Fringe can help. Fringe is the number one lifestyle benefits platform. Give your people the power of choice and save a ton of administrative headaches by consolidating existing vendors and programs into a simple, automated platform. Contact us at Fringe.us.

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Joey Price, Founder and CEO of Jumpstart:HR. Jumpstart offers HR outsourcing and consulting services for start-ups and small businesses. Joey also hosts the Business, Life and Coffee podcast, which focuses on personal development and success tips for entrepreneurs.

Joey talks about how and why he developed Jumpstart:HR, who his typical clients are and what industry those clients are in, along with how he sees their challenges when they come to Jumpstart. He discusses the themes of management and culture, what he thinks is often overlooked that hurts a company, and he also shares Jumpstarts’ values. Joey mentions how companies can come out on top after various changes like hybrid workplace and the “Great Resignation.”

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Alex Frommeyer, Co-Founder and CEO of Beam Dental. Beam Dental is the first — and only — digital, native insurance company.

Alex talks about how Beam Dental started and what it’s been like trying to modernize an industry like dental insurance. He discusses the hardware he and his team built and what else they’ve created that’s been so revolutionary to set them apart from other companies. Alex also mentions how kids are included in Beam’s wellness program, and he speaks on having to navigate a growing company while taking care of the people within it. He talks about the roots of the company and what will stay consistent throughout someone’s entire work journey at Beam. Alex talks about how he transitioned from “HR-in-a-box” to adding culture, recruiting and other elements to the company, and he also mentions the top characteristic he looks for in an applicant.

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Dr. Miriah Steiger. Miriah is the Director of Global Research for Wellness and Resiliency at TaskUs. Her title happens to match up perfectly with the title of her dissertation, “Building A Resilient Workforce.” One of her passions and initiatives is to keep pushing the limits of research to improve employee care. 

Miriah talks about what she does in her position and what resiliency means for TaskUs. Jordan and Miriah dive deeper into employee resilience and developing a resilience baseline in the workplace. She speaks on the response from her people after rolling out resilience programs and skill acquisition courses. She also touches on how COVID transitions disturbed aspects that people were once successful in, like social support. She mentions how her company tries to create “water cooler talk” virtually and how that looks for different people. She also discusses compassion fatigue, who is more susceptible to it and how people can maintain empathy for other people with everything going on in their own lives. Lastly, Miriah talks about how people can set their company and employees up for resiliency.

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Dr. Alex Gupad. Alex is an internal communications consultant for Scarlett Abbott in York, UK. He has his Ph.D. in Philosophy with a concentration in Social Anthropology. 

Alex talks about his time in Scotland, his educational background and his love for dancing. He dives into what cultural anthropology means and what his job entails. He discusses the relationship between employer and employee, how that dynamic shifted over the years and where the new expectations employees have for employers developed. Jordan and Alex discuss that where a person works impacts their identity and what that means when it comes to selecting jobs. Alex discusses how much progress has actually been made on helping employees feel comfortable revealing their mental health status, its connection to psychological safety when it comes to people putting their mental health first and leadership’s impact on people feeling okay to talk about their mental health.

On this unique episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Troy Vincent, Founder and CEO of Navigate, and Jason Murray, Co-Founder and Head of Growth & Strategy at Fringe. Troy and Jason recently struck up a partnership between their two companies to provide a powerful tool to help organizations build and maintain a bragworthy culture. 

Troy talks about Navigate’s story and how they found Fringe to form a partnership, and Jason shares what Fringe does and how it got to where it is today. Jason discusses why Fringe partnered with Troy and his team at Navigate, and Troy described what he hopes to gain from the partnership. Troy also states feedback about the partnership from his employees. Jason and Troy mention the employee appreciation and importance of employee benefits and wellness programs as well as where they see the potential clients landing in regards to hanging on to the premium differentials or expanding focus to pursue recruiting and retention gains that are available. To wrap up, Troy and Jason state what advice they would give about recruiting and retaining top talent.

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Colin Mincy, the Chief People Officer of Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch recently elevated the role purposefully to demonstrate the commitment to implement diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and ensure a resilient and thriving staff. As CPO, Colin sits on the executive team and oversees recruitment, hiring, international comp and benefits, performance management, L&D and more. 

Colin shares about his personal life, including how his love for music came about. He discusses what Human Rights Watch (HRW) does on a daily basis, and why HRW moved to the c-suite area and how that was received. He also touches on what the highest compliment HRW could receive would look like and mentions the issue of burnout in different organizations. He talks about how learning other people’s triggers can build strength, and how to help people stay resilient and deal with stressors. He discusses HRW’s approach to going back into the office, and the importance of trust and choice between employees and employers during the process. 

On this episode of the BragWorthy Culture podcast, Jordan talks with Shannon Arens, Wellbeing Consultant with Sequoia Consulting Group. She helps leaders from the most innovative tech companies design their wellbeing strategies. She began her career as a child and family therapist and spent a number of years supporting LinkedIn’s Domestic Wellness program before becoming a consultant.

Shannon talks about what inspired her to start a career in wellness, her background before becoming a wellbeing consultant and what she has taken from the early part of her career into her current job. She discusses how Sequoia breaks down wellbeing and what Sequoia’s client base is like. She mentions how the pandemic has impacted wellbeing and specific challenges people face in July 2021 regarding the transition from working remotely to working in the office. She touches on the topic of self-care vs self-soothing, along with how CEOs are supporting wellbeing now compared to years ago and budget changes over the last year.