In the age of smart buildings, where technology plays a vital part of nearly every facet of our physical environment, it’s easy to overlook the most vital component of a company’s success: its people. Bisly understands that a truly intelligent building starts with a thriving company culture, one built on empowerment, growth, and a deep commitment to its employees. As we continue to push the boundaries of innovation in our industry, focusing on our team and fostering an employee-centric approach is vital.
In light of doing just that, we are thrilled to share a key addition to our leadership team: our new Head of People Maarja Türk.
Please tell us a bit about yourself (previous experience etc)
My background spans several areas. Over the past seven years, I’ve worked in People & Culture across scaling startups and global, fast-paced environments, particularly in the telecom and fintech industries. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to drive organizational growth, lead change management, shape leadership, build unique company culture, and support business success.
Before entering the HR field, I also explored entrepreneurship by running my own coffee shop in the Old Town, which taught me all the ups and downs of business.
What excites me most about Bisly is its commitment to sustainability and the exciting phase of growth it’s currently navigating. I’m inspired by the company’s values of empowerment, accountability, and autonomy. These align closely with my own belief in fostering a culture where everyone takes ownership of their actions using their best judgment to move forward.
What’s something interesting you are hoping to bring to the table?
Just before joining Bisly, I took some time off to recharge and explore new passions. I advised an HR tech startup and discovered an interest in UI/UX design, a field I’m currently delving deeper into. This has given me a fresh perspective on the engineering side of things. Having a better understanding in that area helps me not only in recruiting the right talent but also gives a more thorough understanding of the engineering roles and responsibilities in depth.
From a business point of view—since Bisly’s app is all about user experience, my knowledge adds value to business discussions and customer experience strategies, allowing me to contribute in new and meaningful ways within the leadership team.
What excites you most about working with Bisly?
The team of professionals I get to work alongside and the position Bisly is at as a company—in the verge of growth. We are currently a team of 36 people, all with very diverse backgrounds, setting a tone for future Bisly—how we do things as a company, who we are as Bislyans etc. It is very exciting to be able to be involved in the company’s growth already at this stage and to have the possibility to be part of designing the company from the get-go. Within the first months with the team, I’ve already had the chance to experience the mature approach of doing things, despite Bisly still being a growing startup. A lot of daily processes are thoroughly thought through and carried out with exceptional quality (e.g. precise budgeting & controlling, goal setting processes, communication flows etc.). I believe this kind of maturity is based on the fact that most of our team come from extensive start-up experience, meaning this is not their first time to grow a business. We have a great number of professionals here and I am grateful to have the opportunity to grow the company alongside like-minded individuals.
I firmly believe our generation’s mission is to fight climate change. To do so we need good products, but also the understanding that good products come from high-performing, synergetic, and engaged teams. I am eager to fulfill my part of the mission and hopefully save some penguins along the way.
What sets this role apart from your previous positions?
Every company is different, and I think this is something that drives me most in my role in general—getting to know people within the organization, understanding how they see its culture, hearing about their experiences, all while exploring the leadership culture and way of doing things. Each company has its own unique way of working while the mindsets of leadership vary greatly as well. I think that’s why every new position is slightly different from the last each time for me. Every company’s culture is tailor-made and I am lucky to have the opportunity to develop the culture of Bislyans together with our leadership team and our people.
How do you think your role can help make a difference for Bisly and its work environment?
I have my own certain beliefs towards company culture—I believe in a performance-driven, people-oriented company culture. The key aspects of this kind of culture are an empowering and challenging leadership style, ownership and alignment in vision, innovation, collaboration, learning oriented, transparent performance expectations, and an inclusive work environment. There is no great business without great people. If we aim to achieve great business results, we also must attract top talent which requires us to make sure we have something to offer them. It is important to make sure that people have the possibility to fulfill their personal ambitions, to have the opportunity to learn and the chance to use their full potential. People thrive when they are doing what they are good at and what makes them happy. So, this is what we strive for—the right people in the right roles.
My role involves close cooperation with our CEO, Ants Vill, to drive Bisly’s business strategy from the People & Culture perspective while advocating for a people+performance culture throughout the organization. At the same time, I am responsible for ensuring that our people are engaged and happy, aligning both the company’s growth and its focus on a positive company culture.
If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I’m a huge fan of data. At Bisly we are currently looking at different metrics to help us understand how we are doing from the People perspective. This includes measuring eNPS, employee engagement & happiness indicators, whilst also putting those numbers against performance indicators (OKRs) and revenue numbers. This overview will give us valuable insight to figuring out the areas we’re good at and where more effort should go towards.
What kind of challenges do you think you face and how are you planning to tackle them?
Sustainable global scalability—how to scale without losing the soul and essence of the company; how to maintain a strong culture across countries where we have our branches. The top priority of the People and Culture team is also retaining and attracting top talent whilst continuously growing.
When it comes to tackling the above challenges, I have two main approaches.
Firstly, I’m a huge fan of processes. I believe it’s important to have clarity and transparency in all areas. People often tend to think that processes are something that limits them. In reality, it’s the other way around, as after completing each step of the process we already know what to do next instead of scrambling for answers. At the same time, I realise that we don’t always have to follow all the steps, if not necessary —situations differ and using common sense is usually the key to success.
Secondly, it’s all about leadership. It’s essential to give our people room to make decisions and put them in positions where they can thrive whilst leaving room to grow. At the same time, it’s important to make sure people feel appreciated, as it’s the very essence of a happy team.
With clear objectives and processes in place and strong leaders guiding the way by keeping people empowered, I believe we can achieve great things together and overcome every challenge thrown at us.