FINAL WORD
rRecent years have been difficult with the pandemic , rise in burnout , remote and hybrid transitions , the Great Resignation and an incoming recession . What ’ s your biggest learning in the last two years ? My biggest learning is that it is vital to have a better understanding of people and equipping managers with new feedback tools that save time and help them make better , less biased decisions . This is an area that has been neglected and the last few years have shown us that companies need to understand their people in a new way .
In the middle of the pandemic , the Great Resignation and shift to remote working , you decided to launch Erudit in the US market . What are the biggest challenges for an HR Tech Start-up like Erudit ?
I ’ ve learned that it is not enough for HR tech start-ups to simply provide good learning about people for HR teams ; every manager needs to be involved . Focusing only on HR will have a negative impact on the business . This was true then , and even more true now that the workforce is moving to a remote set-up . So this is one of the main challenges for our start-up , to build our platform to add value , not just for HR departments , but also for people leaders , managers and C-levels .
Another major challenge is managing our team that is from different time zones because we have people in Spain , France , Brazil , Andorra , the U . S . and more countries . This is a challenge for everyone building a company that has adopted a remote or hybrid work culture .
With an increase in the adoption of remote or hybrid work culture , how do you think companies can establish a better culture for their employees ?
Simply listening should be the starting point of all companies . Everyone is talking about how employees are important ; for example , they are the core of the business and how companies are adopting an employee-driven culture . The reality is companies are not listening enough .
Listening is a silent action . It is best performed when you are quiet . If you are asking or posting surveys the whole day , that ’ s not listening , that ’ s interrupting and bothering people . The remote world is a game changer for everyone . You don ’ t have your colleagues in front of you and it ’ s not always necessary to speak to them .
As a manager , you have to give up the control that you normally have when you are in the same space and the same room . Management needs to mature and delegate more efficiently . As we give workers more autonomy , the focus should be on creating better tools to listen and understand their needs and motivations .
Could you tell us more about your remote team and the people behind the AI technology ?
We have around 30 employees and we expect to be over 100 in the second quarter of 2023 . We are fully remote and you ’ ll find team members across the globe . Our philosophy of hiring someone is based on their talent and attitude , it does not matter where the person is based .
When an employee quits or ‘ quiet quits ’, companies can dig deeper on the reasons why , the motivations behind it , and then use this information to improve the work culture .
Our AI team in particular is a mix of male and female engineers and psychologists who are based in Europe . It ’ s led by Ricardo and Alexandre Denis . They have extensive experience in NLP and AI research . My co-founder , Ricardo Michel Reyes is one of the world ’ s best AI developers . He is only 28-years-old but is a brilliant results-driven individual . Alexandre also has a wealth of experience , with over 50 papers related to NLP applied to understanding human behaviour . Our AI team gives us a lot of confidence in the technology and their skill sets .
There has been a rising concern within organisations regarding a ‘ quiet quitting culture ’. What is ‘ quiet quitting ’ and why is it important ?
I find the term ‘ quiet quitting ’ problematic . No one quits a company quietly . Maybe they said something or gave signs , but leadership just wasn ’ t listening closely enough ? The rise in quiet quitting can be attributed to managers not having the correct tools to listen successfully and understand what ’ s happening inside their companies , especially when the team is working remotely . Erudit has the solution .
Quiet quitting is not new . The difference before was that people were physically present , so it was not quiet ; it was something that you noticed . People have always quit or stopped being motivated to work or were too burnt out to put any more effort at the office , but maybe being in the same room helped us notice . Where Erudit can help is bringing awareness to this issue and the true needs and motivations of employees , even when you ’ re working from home .
Why is the ‘ quiet quitting ’ approach disruptive to the company besides losing an employee ? How can Erudit help navigate this ?
It can be a huge pain point when people either quit or when they silently stop working and delivering on their responsibilities . However , this is also something companies
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