Beyond Metrics / Case Studies / Flash
How a rapid-growth tech company is using Mygrow to make employees’ lives easier as they scale.
Summary
With the help of Mygrow, Flash are bucking the trend of employee stress and burnout that has become all too common in rapid-growth tech companies.
By developing Emotional Intelligence (EQ) competencies in their employees, Flash take a holistic approach to human value in the workplace, and are building a healthy team culture to support their people
First Impressions
When you walk into the Flash offices you can feel the energy. You are greeted with a flurry of vibrant activity: happy people, fist pumping, laughter. There are plants everywhere, and bright pops of the verdant “Flash green”.
None of this is unusual in a tech company.
But when you look deeper, you see the real story. A story of service – through tech, and through strong people leadership within the business.
This is a story worth telling.
But who is Flash, anyway?
Flash Group is a global technology-driven company dedicated to “making life easier”. They empower communities through innovation, inclusion, and disruption, creating value and new economies based on access and equality. By using innovative new technology, they bring value-added-services and payment access to a wide range of industries.
A disruptor
There’s no denying that Flash is a growth-focussed disruptor. But they are not only disrupting the market they operate in, they are also disrupting the unhealthy culture-trend we have seen in rapid-growth tech companies.
From Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv, there is an all too familiar story that we keep hearing: rapid staff growth, with aggressive market-share scaling strategies, creates unsustainable work cultures, driven by overwork and burnout, where employees are treated like assets in the worst sense – to be “sweated” after hours, and on weekends.
As the tech industry explodes globally, its people have begun to implode.
Mygrow is needed in any work space.
– Shani de Jager – Liquidity Manager
I recently praised a colleague and it unlocked our
working relationship in a new way
– Ilanza Smalberger
If the Great Resignation has taught us anything, it is that perks are not what people most deeply want. People want to be valued. They want their work to add value, in ways they understand, in the direction of a purpose they care about.
Suddenly my team was also pointing out my strengths
and I didn’t know what to do with all of the positive feedback.
– Steph Powell – Technical Integrations Lead
But Flash is not like your average rapid-growth tech company, they have taken a different approach.
This is a company worth watching.
On a mission to make people’s lives easier
The Flash culture philosophy states: “Together we fearlessly push boundaries to transform possibilities into realities so that we can live out our purpose of making people’s lives easier.”
That’s a great philosophy, but what does it look like in practice?
Well, like we say at Mygrow, “Flourishing starts at home,” and at Flash, “people,” starts with employees.
For Flash, making life easier means prioritising employee personal development, growth and wellbeing and ensuring that employees are equipped to understand themselves and others – their own emotions and the emotions of those they live and work with.
And that’s why they chose to develop their Emotional Intelligence.
“As a result of Mygrow and our weekly connection points we have
all grown in our desire to understand each other, we have gelled together well,
and we have learned to accept one another.”
– Shani de Jager – Liquidity Manager
The human impact of rapid growth
Growth is highly pressured and always challenging. Flash is acutely aware that a significant portion of this pressure falls on the human beings in their care. And we mean that sincerely, they really do care, they “have each other’s backs” and “they are all in.”
The team is able to grow on Mygrow, together….
This has made Mygrow contagious!
– Roekshana Krotz – Product Training Coordinator
The results [of Mygrow] have been amazing!
Even though we still have professional working relationships,
there is now a greater level of joy and motivation in the team.
– Steph Powell – Technical Integrations Lead
Rapid growth has also meant that Flash has recruited many young and talented individuals with limited leadership experience, who sometimes prematurely need to step up into roles of influence (another common promotion trend in the tech industry). Very often this means super steep growth curves for new young leaders.
Add to this the need for constantly evolving innovation in a fast-paced industry, and you can see how the stressors begin to add up.
Roekshana Krotz, a Product Training Coordinator at Flash, aptly described this environment when she shared: “In the tech industry there is often a sense of urgency and an assumption that everything needs to be done immediately. If there is an issue or a problem, we need to find a solution as quickly as we can say the word ‘sorted!’ This means that the pressure is always on.”
The Flash leadership has experienced first-hand just how important it is to equip their people with personal internal resources, in order to thrive in this constantly changing environment. “Making people’s lives easier” is clearly important, but, given the dynamics at play, it is not an easy task for the people trying to accomplish it.
Step one:
Knowing what they need
Flash is committed to growth, serious about innovation, and intent on making a difference. This is also a company that realises the way to reach these goals is to do whatever it takes to help employees perform at their best.
And that’s why Flash chose Mygrow, the Emotional Intelligence Platform. They understood that not only did their people need to be equipped technically to keep up with the rapid pace of growth, they also needed to equip them emotionally.
I have worked with numbers and data and analytics my whole career,
but numbers mean nothing if you cannot use and translate
them well… These all involve working with and understanding
yourself and other people, which is the foundation of EQ.
– Shani de Jager – Liquidity Manager
Flash realised that their employees required certain skills, like flexibility, empathy, stress tolerance, problem solving, and optimism. They knew that these were not “nice to haves” – no, these must come standard, built-in. Likewise, realising the goal of rapid growth, disruptive innovation, and high-impact as a company meant they needed teams that were resilient, psychologically safe, curious and able to innovate: teams that are Emotionally Intelligent.
“ I see situations, myself and the world more positively,
even when faced with tough emotions.”
– Chelsea Saharin – Organisational Effectiveness Manager
Step two:
Find the right solution
The Flash vision is audacious, and they invited Mygrow along for the journey to help them realise it. This has been a four-year partnership in which both companies have grown from strength to strength.
At Mygrow we are aware that the world is radically changing. Companies are struggling to find ways to compete in tough markets. So we give people and teams the right skills to navigate the challenges of personal and work life. We help people grow and companies to be better.
As an organisational psychologist Chelsea was first introduced to Mygrow through her professional psychology network. Having tested the product herself, she was convinced that it would be a powerful change management tool to support her colleagues in developing the skills they would need to thrive as a company.
”Right from the start I have appreciated how Mygrow emphasises moving people beyond awareness, towards actual change. The growth process focuses on EQ skill development, not just information or education. At the heart of it, I love how Mygrow recognises the need to make the workplace more human, this is especially needed in the tech industry.” Chelsea Saharin
Over time, Flash has placed many of their leaders and impact players on Mygrow.
The results
When asked about the positive results that Mygrow has had at Flash, Chelsea shared that “it has created a safe space for employees to self-develop and learn at their own pace.“
This was echoed by one of the team leaders, Ilanza Smalberger who said “My self-talk is becoming more positive and I am gaining confidence. I speak up in meetings, and am overcoming my shyness, which is something that I have struggled with for most of my life.”
Roekshana said something similar, sharing “My national manager has even commented on how I have grown in confidence and I know that Mygrow has played a large role in this improvement. When I know that I have my facts in order, I now have the confidence to speak up in a boardroom meeting, where before, I would have held back and doubted myself.“
Liquidity Manager, Shani de Jager, expressed similar sentiments in that she has grown in realising and recognising her own strengths. “I have always known that I am very analytical and approach things by always looking at the data and the numbers. Through being on the Mygrow platform I have started seeing there are different ways in which I could use my strengths in other contexts too.“
Chelsea added how Mygrow has helped people to reframe situations in a more positive light, with employees improving upon their negative self-beliefs, growing in resilience and responding to pressure in healthier ways.
It has enabled employees to identify their triggers and better manage themselves in high stakes situations. Technical Product Team Lead Steph Powell elaborated on this further saying, “ I have experienced a huge benefit in using the mindfulness techniques. I have found that Mygrow gives me time to stop and think, to reflect on the good and the bad, and to actually choose how I want to respond. This has become massively important to me. I used to just live out of a place of reaction because I felt there was never enough time to be truly present – everything needed to be instant. But the truth is that we don’t get the best out of ourselves, or each other and our relationships, when we don’t have time to think and reflect.”
Adding to this Chelsea shared how she loves that Mygrow shows the importance of working with the whole human and not limiting development to the workplace. It is a full and comprehensive approach to development. She explained this further by saying: “Mygrow gives me a pause in the day to take time out and focus on myself – holistically. It’s about the whole human, not just the employee.”
High EQ impact at Flash:
- Reduced unhelpful conflict
- Increased healthy assertiveness
- Fewer inappropriate outbursts
- Helped employees develop an emotional language
- Boosted leadership growth and development
- Improved relational connection
Where to next?
The story of Flash is not over. Far from it. Growth is continuing, and inevitable. When you find a company doing something worthwhile in the world, it’s a privilege to join them in their mission. And at Mygrow we are committed to continuing on the journey with them as they continue to make people’s lives easier. For more testimonials of how Mygrow is helping them in this mission, see the feedback below from different team members using Mygrow to build “the team they always wanted”.
Team work
“The Giving Praise technique has been powerful, both in my personal life and at work within my team. I recently praised a colleague and it unlocked our working relationship in a new way. She felt seen and valued by my observations and this opened up a door in our relationship for further connection and conversation.”
– Ilanza Smalberger
“Through this [Giving Praise] technique you can build relationships and trust by being intentional about looking for opportunities to encourage people, and point out the areas where your colleagues are getting things RIGHT. Now I have always believed in giving credit where it is due, but as I did it on purpose in my team, actively looking for reasons to praise my colleagues, I didn’t expect that it would be reciprocated. Suddenly my team was also pointing out my strengths and I didn’t know what to do with all of the positive feedback.“
– Steph Powell – Technical Integrations Lead
“Over time I have seen the interactions within the team change. How we understand each other and how we relate to each other. Our team is very diverse with many different personalities, ways of working and seeing things. As a result of Mygrow and our weekly connection points we have all grown in our desire to understand each other, we have gelled together well, and we have learned to accept one another. In fact, we have taken it further and learnt to not only accept our team but even learn from and embrace each individual too.”
– Shani de Jager Liquidity Manager
“My team has also subsequently started Mygrow. The benefit is that the team is able to grow on Mygrow, together. I would motivate the team and then they would also motivate each other on the journey. This has made Mygrow contagious!”
– Roekshana Krotz – Product Training Coordinator
Leadership
“I decided that I was going to test this new ‘soft approach’ with my 14 team members, and I was really encouraged by the results. I opened up with them (on a more personal level than I have before) and shared details about my life. I also asked intentional questions to try and get to know my team a bit better. The results have been amazing! Even though we still have professional working relationships, there is now a greater level of joy and motivation in the team. I have grown so much as a leader through all of this – working at Flash, and working on myself in my journey on Mygrow.”
– Steph Powell – Technical Integrations Lead
Personal growth
“Mygrow has allowed me to explore some of the beliefs I hold about myself and whether these are really true or can be replaced by more realistic views. Mygrow has taught me the skill and benefit of mindful breathing. This has also made me less reactive in the moment. I’m more aware of my triggers. I also see situations, myself and the world more positively, even when faced with tough emotions.”
– Chelsea Saharin – Organisational Effectiveness Manager
The importance of EQ
“Mygrow is needed in any work space. I have worked with numbers and data and analytics my whole career, but numbers mean nothing if you cannot use and translate them well. By this I mean that you have to understand yourself, you have to understand your audience and then you need to convey a message. These all involve working with and understanding yourself and other people, which is the foundation of EQ.”
– Shani de Jager – Liquidity Manager
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