News flash: Traditional HR is out, and People teams are in. In recent years, progressive employers have been reassessing how they support their workforce and have found that a more holistic approach is necessary to ensuring employees feel like they belong. Celebrated company cultures elevate the employee experience by thinking beyond compliance and standard company benefits and toward building connections and making their workforce feel seen and heard. And with that, many a People team has been born.
Global talent technology leader Radancy started their People team in 2022—what they like to call their “Year of the People.” While the company has long been committed to the development and support of their employees, like many organizations, Radancy had historically leaned on HR to drive the employee experience, and the company wanted a new structure that better exemplified their enthusiastic support of the growth, development, and happiness of their employees. Starting a People team meant ensuring their entire employee lifecycle—from the pre-employment/candidate phase through to employee development—was represented in their planning and programming.
Their “Year of the People” was all about creating foundations for the People team. They rolled out their first New Hire Immersion Program, implemented an Onboarding Recognition Program (new employees can recognize those who helped them acclimate to the role/company), formalized Recruiting alignment with the business, hired new HR and recruiting directors, and held a number of cultural- and identity-awareness events, including a pronouns workshop and celebrations of employees’ roots.
Employee responses to such programming have been enthusiastic to say the least. After a recent learning and development event, one employee sent this note over email: “The fact that these conversations are consistently encouraged and supported all the way from the top is hugely indicative of a healthy company culture that wants to keep learning, in my opinion. This is awesome.”
And another responded this way, ““Thank you so very much for this. This is literally life-changing work.”
Intrigued? Us, too. We reached out to Radancy’s People team to learn more about the people behind the People team. Here’s how four key Radancy departments are uniquely impacting the company’s culture and employee experience.
By 2030, Radancy aims to have 50/50 gender parity in leadership and 22% of tech roles filled by women. Those are impressive goals, and they’re backed up by the programming this global talent technology leader has in place to support women employees: Their Women in Leadership Group develops their next generation of leaders, and their Equity and Openness Affinity Group uplifts employee voices and experiences. Radancy’s top metrics are Ability to Telecommute, The People You Work With, and Sense of Belonging. Click to explore the company's profile and open jobs!
Meet the four departments that make up Radancy’s People team
1. The relationship-builders: Human Resources
Radancy’s HR team says they aim to develop relationships with their employees and build trust. Since the start of the People team, they’ve been developing a structure that continues to encourage equity and have been taking a more hands-on approach to engagement, going past the thousands of flying emails and reaching out to employees directly. After all, their clients are Radancy’s workforce. Radancy’s people.
What they say:
“Deepening our communications and relationships with employees has afforded us the opportunity to empower and educate our staff with everything that we have to offer. On one occasion, we had a boomerang manager ask about any of our supports as it relates to mental health. She was encouraged to know about our app reimbursement program to Headspace as well as our partnership, via our healthcare plan with the Calm app. We proceeded to inform her of the traditional ways to access mental health support as well. She was excited to share this news with her team and happy to know how much Radancy has progressed since the last time she was an employee here. She was grateful for the education that we provided.”
2. The educators: Learning & Development
Radancy’s Learning & Development (L&D) department serves as a vital resource throughout the employee lifecycle. Their primary job is to listen to the workforce, offer programming that meets their needs, and encourage them to become active participants in company culture. They say that being in L&D at Radancy means being able to receive feedback and develop that into something that supports everyone. Among the People team, L&D also provides additional education to support partner departments and team goals.
What they say:
“We’d had a large-scale event come to life, and the feedback was an indication that the work we are doing is well received and on the right track. We had a feedback email prefaced with ‘check out how you are helping shift people and shape our company culture,’ and received responses such as ‘This really brightened my day! Thank you guys for doing this!’ and ‘Most smiles on a call I have ever seen!’”
3. The communicators: Recruitment Marketing
Recruitment Marketing not only manages talent attraction, but also talent retention. They raise brand awareness so people learn who Radancy is and what the company does, and internally, they ensure current employees know why they continue to choose to work for Radancy every day. Keeping a thumb on the pulse of employee needs and challenges is crucial, as that information guides their decision-making. Since the start of the People team, they’ve been working on a number of initiatives to help evolve and boost Radancy’s employer brand, such as launching a Global Employee Referral platform, developing the company’s first Employer Value Proposition, identifying brand ambassadors, qualifying for new workplace awards, and focusing on what matters most—people.
What they say:
“A small but impactful change we made in 2022 was implementing a diversity statement within all of our job descriptions encouraging underrepresented groups to apply even if they may not believe they possess all of the qualities we are seeking. This was largely due in part to the fact that many underrepresented groups will discourage themselves from applying for roles if they do not feel that they meet 100 percent of the qualifications and requirements. Following the implementation of this statement, we’ve heard from both prospects and employees that was the reason they ultimately decided to apply to Radancy. Cultivating a supportive, diverse, and collaborative work environment is more than a mission but, rather, the essence of our culture and we want candidates to know this as well.”
4. The ambassadors: Talent Acquisition
As the first point of contact for candidates interacting with Radancy, recruiters are ambassadors of the company and the voice of Radancy’s employer brand. Having an effective talent acquisition strategy gives Radancy the opportunity to attract the most talented and skilled candidates available on the market, which contributes to the overall improvement of the organization's business performance. Through the Talent Acquisition function, they’re able to match hundreds of talented employees to roles that align with their career goals while also directly supporting the company’s growth. Since the start of the People team, they’ve focused on deepening the information they share with prospective hires—moving beyond the day-to-day and highlighting Radancy’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and L&D initiatives, collaborative culture, growth/internal mobility opportunities, mentorship program, and all of the different ways they could make a positive impact in their roles while having opportunities to grow their careers.
What they say:
“As a growing company, we’ve had the opportunity to expand our Tech team and hire a brand-new pod in Vienna. Before one of our candidates made his final decision, he asked if it was feasible to see the office and meet the team in-person. We quickly arranged an office tour for him to get a better feel for company culture and connect him with some of the people he’d be working alongside. We are committed to the candidate experience and always want to ensure we’re supporting candidates in making the best decision for their careers.”
