Salonkee has been awarded Best Workplaces™ Luxembourg 2023 for the second year in a row (N°1 - Small Companies category). Let's meet with Sofia Lezcano, Senior HR & Operations Manager at Salonkee and discover how they create a great workplace culture with and for their employees.
How do you create a unique environment for your employees?
A combination of trust, excitement and ambition creates a unique environment in our teams. I wouldn’t even say it’s something we create, it just happens naturally as a result from having the best A-Team in place! Regular communication from the co-founders about where we are headed and how really helps everyone to feel good about delivering their very best.
In addition to that, we create a unique environment by recognising and realising valid initiatives taken by each and every team member. Everyone can bring in their ideas and this equality helps to improve each person, their team and, by extension, the whole company.
How do you combine freedom, autonomy and trust?
It’s a delicate balance which becomes harder the bigger you grow.
A continuous cycle is kicked off by having clear expectations in each role, having these expectations as such is already a sign of trust. As these are upheld, the trust is further deepened and grows.
Having the right people with the right procedures in place helps to achieve this balance and continue the cycle. When we use the word ‘procedures’, it’s not in the classical restrictive and inflexible sense but rather we like to define playgrounds through guidelines. If our teams know their respective playgrounds, they know that everything within those bounds is up to them. Having this freedom creates a feeling of responsibility and ownership, resulting in the trust being upheld when results come through.
According to you, what is the secret to be on the Best Workplaces™ List?
You would have to ask our teams that!
I personally think that as long as we are a company who offers people a chance to excel, be creative, grow and develop; our teams will hopefully carry on recognizing us as a great place to work!
From what I’ve seen from previous years and winners, identifying with the company and its mission is also incredibly important. Sometimes at other companies, employees can feel far removed from their employer’s mission.
Salonkee’s mission to digitalise the beauty and wellbeing sector is one which is lived out and lived through every day, in each team.
What is the impact of the Great Place To Work® recognition program on the retention and attraction of your talents?
We wear the Great Place To Work badge with honour, we don’t take it lightly – and neither do our talents! We have noticed a positive reception from those who are interested in joining us. Since we are still a growing company, it provides an extra layer of trust (like buying something with a 5-star rating on Amazon).
Those who are already in the company see the survey as a chance to share what they love about Salonkee (as well as what could be done better). Together with other survey-like tools, this has helped us to better retain talents as problem areas are identified and prioritized.
What is your 2023 HR priority?
To carry on providing a thriving and exciting environment to work in, attracting and retaining top talent, even through company growth. The bigger the team grows, the further apart departments can get – this makes bi-lateral communication even more key. Keeping our hierarchy flat is also a priority, with the few middle managers we do have acting as leaders – strongly representing the company values in their day-to-day work.
Fast & Curious
Team or individual project?
Team! A well-functioning team is greater than the sum of its parts.
Leader or manager?
Manager – I'm extremely happy to leave the real leadership to the amazing 5 co-founders of the company.
Working early or late?
Working late – try hard as I might, my Latin-American roots don’t allow my brain to be in the ‘early bird’ category of people.
To do (list) or not to do?
All the lists!
Act or think?
It took me a while to answer here, so ‘Think’, I suppose!
Have a look at all the 2023 Luxembourg Best Workplaces™ here.