Office Snacks: Michal Akrabi Peleg
In our Office Snacks series we interview members of our community to delve into their varied buffets of experience and come away with juicy insights and ideas.
Hi Michal! We’d love to get to know you a bit better, where are you based?
Hi! I’m based in Hertfordshire, UK but I was born and raised in Israel.
How’d you get to where you are today?
I spent years in agencies headhunting candidates for digital marketing, but decided that the next challenge would be a role in house, and I’ve been working in house for nearly 7 years, specifically in the tech space.
I’ve always had my own idea of how the ideal recruitment process should be, and it was never a tick off list, I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to express that in every role!
How does your typical day look, do you have a set routine?
Technically right now I’m on maternity leave, so my day includes baby talk and baby wipes!
HOWEVER, in the real world, my day is less operational and more strategic. I like to think that I solve problems as well as assess what problems might pop up and de-risk them well before.
I also get my hands in to the day-to-day recruitment as that is always a priority for us. It’s not necessarily a set routine, but I have small tasks every day that help me get us to an objective. This can be researching global benefits, compensation, trends within the business, employer brand initiatives.
How do you describe your job to others?
I help the business grow and enhance their already awesome culture.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Definitely seeing the people we hired and seeing them progress within the company and gain more responsibilities. It reassures me we did well in getting them in!
What’s the most challenging?
Our industry [tech] is very tight right now. More than ever, candidates are in high demand and there aren’t many out there, there’s a lot of competition so the challenge is to figure out ways to attract them.
What are your most-loved tools that help you with your job?
Our ATS, our HR system, and our benchmarking tool. Anything that provides quick data is helpful.
What would you say has been your most effective initiative to date?
Off the top of my head I’d say our referral scheme. We encourage all employees to refer, we ALWAYS get in touch with their referrals, and the team member can be rewarded with either a bonus or a charity donation on their behalf. Our referral placement rates were close to 30% earlier this year.
What’s your number one piece of advice for sourcing talent?
Be direct, and don’t write an essay; give the top details (role, company, package) of the opportunity on the first lines. If I’m a candidate that’s not looking, I'll delete a message that goes on and on without crucial details at the top. Go on to tell the whole story on the first call. :)
What’s your number one piece of advice for retaining talent?
I have two, but they go hand in hand: trust and transparency. Trust your employees they know how to do their job and that they're responsible professionals who are there to push the company forward.
And be transparent, tell them the good and the bad, with open feedback (adapting to styles, of course!). There’s nothing worse than working somewhere and not knowing company news that may affect your role, or not having an open conversation with your team or manager.
Tyk was founded as a remote-first, global company. How do you approach the challenge of everyone being spread across different timezones, does it ever get frustrating?
We have transparency, meaning we can see each other's diaries, so it's easy to book a call with someone based on their availability—it's never been an issue. I also think it's quite nice to be able to to say we genuinely have 24/7 coverage, because we are so global.
Lastly, and most importantly, what’s your favourite office (home or otherwise) snack?
Well I’m a really boring fitness person, so I’d have a protein bar!
What’s your favorite office snack?
Work in People and Culture? Want to share your ideas?
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