CULTURE OS – Adapting flair to the Future of HR

At Dreamforce 2022 flair showed up in new colors. New logo, new brand, new vision? We sat down with Evgenii over a virtual coffee to talk strategic direction, the new flair values and evolving the product.

What was the reason for the rebranding? Did it come creeping up or was it a certain event that made you think we need to regroup?

Evgenii: Well, I would say it’s time to show the world who we really are. We founded the company in 2019. Back then we were focusing on building a world class product. Now we’ve had some time to reflect on what customers really value about flair. We found that flair is much more than an HR platform but a tool used to engage employees and build company culture - a culture operating system, basically. So it was time to do some fine tuning.

So how has the company and vision changed over time?

E: Starting as a tool for absence tracking, time tracking and recruiting, the culture element became more and more visible in the product itself. So when talking about our vision, flair is the world where culture powers every company. This vision has stayed the same but how we’re getting there has changed. It needs to meet the challenges HR is facing at the moment. We can’t look away from how hybrid work and competition for talent have impacted the way employee experiences are built. And that’s why we’re constantly evolving and adapting our platform.

What does the new brand stand for?

E: flair is a global company. We are not German, we are not American, we are global. And that pretty much represents how companies are starting to work together and will be working in the future. Corporate culture is built upon geographical context, and we want to empower businesses to build cultures people want to be part of.

And, this is an essential part too – we empower, we don’t enforce. We support companies in building cultures where employees feel valued, where they can communicate easily and feel engaged.

How does this translate to your clients?

E: Well, HR cannot be separated from the rest of the business, as it plays into every single department and keeps people working within a whole system.

Take employee skills – HR is in charge of hiring people with certain knowledge and expertise. At the same time, they need to develop employee skills internally – such as digital skills. You can help employees across different departments to grow those skills and it will benefit the whole company. The ability to do so is a typical characteristic of a growth culture. So culture is not just a buzzword. It is the enabler of our client’s success. So however our product evolves, it should support clients in building a world class company culture.

How does this mission translate into your culture at flair?

E: You can’t build a tool for culture if you don’t have a culture in your company. That’s why we need to start with ourselves. We want to be a role model for our clients.

Basically, flair is built on open-mindedness, diversity and global thinking. That’s why we hire globally, to have people with different mindsets, that bring great ideas to the tool.

With our team spread across different timezones, we work asynchronously. This means that our employees work independently and aren’t expected to all be online at the same time or immediately answer messages and emails.

What are the challenges in implementing this vision?

E: So taking our own company, we are constantly trying to grow. So this is a process and this takes regular feedback loops which includes everyone. Working with honest feedback is the best way of growing.

But as you can imagine – this needs a culture where everyone is able to share and receive feedback that is honest, whether it is positive feedback or negative.

For that to happen, you need digital skills across the company, people need to be concise and employers need to be ready, it even starts with having the mindset and understanding the power of culture.

What can we expect from flair in the future?

E: More great features, including for Enterprise companies. Our main focus is on collaboration enhancing features, allowing for a smooth communication across departments, the company and timezones - we want to bring asynchronous work to businesses.

“Working with honest feedback is the best way of growing. But as you can imagine – this needs a culture where everyone is able to share and receive feedback that is honest, whether it is positive feedback or negative.”

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