How do we help our team thrive? Every year, we invite our team to share their honest feedback through a survey, helping us understand what we’re doing right and where we can improve. This year feels extra special as you will hear about the results from our new Head of People, Taru Pollice, who joined us in early 2025. What are her insights and plans for the future? What actions will be taken? Keep reading to learn more about Taru’s approach to building an inspiring environment for everyone in our team.
“Supporting our team’s growth and well-being is a matter close to my heart ”, Taru Pollice says. She stepped into her new role as the Head of People with a background in HR and People Operations both in Finland and the Netherlands. Taru brings a mix of expertise, creativity, and a "doer" mindset.
“I feel excitement, pride, and joy as I step into this role! Food waste is such a massive problem, and I love being part of a bigger solution. For me, this mission makes so much sense, and I’m proud to contribute to it through something that also feels natural to me – helping our team to succeed”, Taru says.
“For me, this mission makes so much sense, and I’m proud to contribute to it through something that also feels natural to me – helping our team to succeed.”
Her approach to leadership is both thoughtful and heartfelt. “I genuinely care, I will genuinely listen to our team, I’m always available, and everything I do will be to help you,” she promises. Taru has a talent for bringing energy and drive to her team, and this year’s employee survey gave her the perfect chance to turn that into action.
This annual employee engagement survey is more than just a check-in. “It’s a way to understand how our team is doing and identify areas for growth. This year, the survey was conducted in-house. It’s a good way to capture the pulse of the team. Data helps us monitor our progress and, even more importantly, it drives our actions”, Taru says.
With an over 90% response rate, the survey provided insights that we represented to the whole team just a few months later. “When I reviewed the results, my first thought was, wow, we are actually doing really good. But at the same time, there is no perfect organization, and there’s always something to improve. It’s important to stay alert to these needs, especially with a rapidly evolving business environment like ours”, Taru says.
What stood out to Taru the most was the team’s enthusiasm to act and improve after the results came out.
“I loved seeing how motivated our leadership team was to immediately address areas where we can improve. At the same time, we’re realistic – we can’t be perfect at everything, but we need to do everything we can with the resources and capabilities we have. There are some things we just need to be okay with”, Taru says.
We learned that there are 3 key areas where we’re excelling at the moment and that our team feels are our strengths.
Taking ownership and trusting people have always been the baseline for everything we do. That’s why we were happy to see this also reflected in the latest survey:
● 95% feel trusted by their team mates.
● 88–90% believe they have the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work.
● 94% feel it’s safe to make mistakes.
● 93% feel comfortable bringing up different topics within their team.
These results highlight how important it is that we create an environment where people feel safe to share, learn, and grow. Ownership doesn’t mean being left to figure things out alone. It’s about having the freedom to take initiative, knowing you can ask for help, seek advice, or make mistakes along the way. This results in a psychologically safe environment.
Fair treatment within teams is something we genuinely care about, and it shows. “The survey highlighted fairness not only in how we treat people regardless of their background, like age or gender, but also in the fairness shown by team leads,” Taru explains. “On fairness in leadership, 98% scored us high to very high, and the remaining 2% scored us medium, and that's the result of conscious effort. Our leadership principles provide clear guidance to ensure every team member is treated with respect and consistency.”
Flexibility is a top perk for our team. “We don’t enforce mandatory office days. Instead, people are free to work wherever and whenever it suits them best. It’s a level of trust that fosters a healthy work-life balance and lets everyone find what works for them.That’s something we’re really proud of”, Taru says.
In addition, our team members feel they have everything they need to excel in their roles. “They aren’t facing unnecessary hurdles in their work. It might sound basic, but having the right tools and smooth workflows isn’t something every workplace can guarantee. I’m really proud it’s something we’ve invested in, and it really sets us apart”, Taru says.
No growth comes without its challenges, and even great results leave room for improvement. This year, Taru and the leadership team are focusing their energy on three key areas to make our workplace even better:
Transparency and fairness around pay are top priorities for us. “The upcoming EU directive provides a minimum standard, but for us, it’s important to create something valuable,” Taru explains. “This isn’t about HR pushing down a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we’re working closely with team leads to build clear and accessible tools that make a real difference.”
✅ Actions we are taking:
“We’re working on tools such as leveling framework and salary bands to help team members understand what determines their pay and how they can grow. Titles and roles mean different things indifferent organizations, but we aim to explain what different roles mean in our own structure”, Taru says.
Career growth might look different than it did during our rapid growth and scaling phase a few years ago, but the opportunities are still there. “As a company, we’ve moved from explosive growth to a more sustainable phase. This means focusing on horizontal career growth, like sharpening skills and expanding into new areas such as AI, automation, and creativity. It’s about helping everyone become even better at what they do.”
✅ Actions we are taking:
“Our goal is to make growth opportunities visible and valuable to every team member. We’re emphasizing personal growth conversations to identify areas of interest and development. The focus is on sustainable growth that brings value not just to the individual but also to our shared mission”, Taru explains.
“As a company, we’ve moved from explosive growth to a more sustainable phase. This means focusing on horizontal career growth.”
The survey revealed differences in the employee experience between different offices. “It’s great that this challenge came to light. Now we can focus on making both experiences equally strong while respecting the unique needs of each location”, Taru says.
✅ Actions we are taking:
We’re taking steps to strengthen the connection and dialogue between the teams. Leadership (which is mainly in Helsinki) will spend more face-to-face time in Amsterdam, listening to team members and workshopping solutions together.
Another exciting initiative is introducing stay interviews. “Why wait for an exit interview to hear honest feedback? Stay interviews are about understanding what motivates people and finding ways to strengthen those positives before they even consider leaving”, Taru says.
Looking ahead, Taru remains focused on what matters most – building a workplace where care and growth go hand in hand. For her, fostering a supportive and trusting environment is essential.
“Caring is our strength. When people feel safe to share, to challenge, and to grow, amazing things happen. It’s my job to ensure that support is always present”, Taru says.
Psychological safety plays a big role here, empowering the team to speak openly, collaborate effectively, and bring their best ideas to the table. Combined with a clear plan and a culture rooted in trust, there’s plenty to look forward to. Under Taru’s guidance, the team is set to take well-being, growth, and connection to the next level. 💚