We’re never going back to a full office workweek, confirms Payoneer

It’s a question every large company has to face eventually: when, and in what capacity, will employees start returning to the office after Covid-19? For fintech giant Payoneer, they believe they’ve found the right answer.

“The pandemic has shown us we can work effectively even when we are working remotely,” says Payoneer’s HR Manager, Michal Adam. “We want to create a hybrid between face-to-face meetings and working remotely - we need the combination to be creative.”

Of course, there are face-to-face meetings but there’s also something just as important: the parties! In this entry of HR-Post-Covid, Payoneer gets candid about how they tackled 2020’s biggest challenge.

Company Name: Payoneer

HR Leader: Michal Adam

Field of Activity: Fintech

Number of employees/location: 1500 employees worldwide and 900 in Israel

Professional background of HR Manager:

More than 25 years of global HR experience.

On a scale of 1-10, how much did the coronavirus pandemic disrupt operations at the company? 3

What interesting technological tools do you use in employee management/recruitment?

We are using Greenhouse for recruitment management and SAP’s SuccessFactors for employee management. For employee engagement measurement, we use Culture Amp.

What positive and/or negative impact did the outbreak have on the human capital of the company?

Initially, our most important task was to make sure we keep all of our employees and support teams on full salary with benefits, which we did. When the pandemic just hit, we had to assess the impact on the company so we temporarily halted our recruitment efforts. After about three months we came back in full force. Today we are in the middle of a hiring surge, recruiting more than 150 employees in Israel alone. Throughout the highs and lows, we made sure our employees are taken care of: that they have a place to work from and that they are safe. When we started going back to the office, we made sure the work environment is safe and welcoming.

We also worked hard on keeping the company’s vibe and culture alive, even while working remotely.

What are the two major challenges you are coping with these days?

Recruitment and preparing ourselves for the new normal. We are looking for excellent R&D, Program, Product, and Operations people at all levels and that takes a lot of energy.

At the same time, we are making plans for the future – how will a typical day look like for an employee? Where will s/he work from? What are the sitting arrangements? What equipment do we need to prepare? We are also adjusting our welfare and benefits activities to the new normal.

Are you actively recruiting? If so, what is the process and where can the applicants find you?

Yes, we are recruiting! The most important thing is that the candidate actually applies. After that, there are about 3-4 interviews, and sometimes additional requirements, depending on the position. We are looking for more than 50 developers and there are many more other positions on our website. You can find us https://www.payoneer.com/careers/

Which changes forced upon you by the circumstances will stay in place after Covid-19 is over, and which are you most eager to revert back to normal?

We are never going back to a full workweek in the office. The pandemic has shown us we can work effectively even when we are working remotely. We are eager to bring back the face-to-face interactions – we want to create a hybrid between face-to-face meetings and working remotely. We need the combination to be creative. We also miss the other face-to-face interactions: the parties, department offsites, we miss everyone!