As competition for talent intensifies, companies are increasingly viewing corporate culture not as an element of employer branding, but as a factor that directly impacts business resilience. This trend is particularly evident in the FinTech sector, where rapid change, global competition, and distributed teams require new approaches to people management.
The concept of a people-first culture has evolved far beyond a collection of corporate initiatives. Today, it is about creating an environment where employee engagement, leadership development, trust across teams, and clear values become part of a company’s business strategy and help drive growth.
To discuss how culture influences business performance, which HR metrics truly matter for decision-making, how trust can be built in a remote-first environment, and why employees become a company’s strongest employer brand ambassadors, we spoke with Alexandra Kuzminova, CHRO at Coinspaid.
Culture as a Competitive Advantage
What does a people-first culture mean in practice in a highly competitive FinTech market?
In a highly competitive FinTech market, a people-first culture is first and foremost a business strategy, not an HR concept. In technology-driven businesses, competitive advantage comes not only from products and technology, but also from the people who build, develop, and bring them to market. That’s why investing in talent is directly linked to a company’s resilience and long-term growth.
At the same time, the market remains highly competitive. According to McKinsey, the shortage of technology professionals across the EU could reach between 1.4 million and 3.9 million by 2027. In that environment, the ability to attract, retain, and develop top talent becomes a critical factor in business sustainability.
For us, a people-first culture means creating an environment where talented professionals can realize their potential, feel connected to the product, and share the company’s long-term vision. That’s why we place significant emphasis not only on candidates’ professional qualifications, but also on whether their values and approach to work align with ours.
In practice, that translates into a multi-stage hiring process that includes technical interviews, culture-fit interviews, and meetings with potential colleagues from different teams. We aim to bring in people who will naturally integrate into our culture and want to be part of the future we’re building together.
Another important principle is investing in people and improving internal processes rather than simply expanding headcount. This approach helps us maintain operational efficiency, preserve the quality of collaboration across teams, and protect our culture as the company grows.
How can you tell whether a company’s culture is actually helping a FinTech business grow, especially in an industry where speed and adaptability are critical?
In FinTech, culture becomes most visible during periods of change. The market evolves rapidly, and companies must constantly adapt to new technologies, changing customer expectations, and regulatory developments. In that environment, culture either helps the business move forward or begins to hold it back.
One of our core principles is a high level of personal accountability combined with trust across the organization. We don’t focus on handing tasks off to someone else but on outcomes. We have a simple principle: a task isn’t complete until the result is achieved, not when it’s passed on to the next person. That mindset reflects how we approach our work.
This principle is reflected at every level of the organization, from leadership to individual contributors. Managers create an environment where people can make decisions independently and take ownership of outcomes, while teams understand the broader context of their work and don’t limit themselves to formal job responsibilities.
This approach has a measurable business impact. When trust exists across teams and accountability isn’t diluted across functions, decisions are made faster, unnecessary approvals are reduced, and operational inefficiencies decrease. That’s particularly important in the FinTech sector, where the ability to respond quickly to market changes often becomes a competitive advantage.
A strong culture also helps retain top talent. For highly skilled professionals, compensation and responsibilities are only part of the equation. They also want the opportunity to make an impact, work alongside like-minded colleagues, and feel trusted by their employer. As a result, culture directly influences not only employee engagement, but also the long-term resilience of the business. Last year, 20% of our new hires came through employee referrals, which we view as one of the clearest indicators of a strong corporate culture.
FinTech is often associated with high speed, constant change, and pressure. How do you build a sustainable people-first culture in that environment without sacrificing efficiency?
The pace of change is undeniably part of the FinTech industry, and it’s important to acknowledge that this environment isn’t for everyone. Working in a fast-growing technology company requires a willingness to continuously learn, adapt, and take ownership.
That’s why, for us, a people-first culture doesn’t mean lowering expectations or trying to make the workplace comfortable at any cost. Instead, it’s about building a team that can thrive in an environment of constant change and rapid decision-making, while also being motivated by the opportunity to help shape an industry at the forefront of technological innovation.
We look beyond professional qualifications. We value people’s ability to learn, take responsibility for outcomes, adapt to change, and continuously improve. These qualities help individuals grow while maintaining a high level of engagement.
At the same time, a sustainable culture isn’t built solely on expectations placed on employees. Companies also have a responsibility to create an environment where people can realize their potential by providing flexibility, modern tools, opportunities for growth, and support from both leaders and colleagues.
In my view, the sustainability of this kind of culture depends largely on how transparent a company is about its expectations. A fast pace, constant change, and a high level of accountability won’t appeal to everyone, and that’s perfectly fine. The key is finding people who are genuinely energized by that environment and who see change as an opportunity for growth rather than a source of stress.
That’s why we strive to build a community of like-minded people who are united not only by the product they work on, but also by a shared interest in innovation, continuous learning, and moving forward together.
How are Coinspaid’s corporate values reflected in the day-to-day work of your teams?
For us, corporate values aren’t a formality. They serve as a practical framework that helps teams make decisions and move in the same direction. We developed them by analyzing what genuinely unites our people: their approach to accountability, collaboration, growth, and change. Management was actively involved throughout the process to ensure the values reflected real behaviors rather than aspirational statements.
Today, these values are visible in everyday work in very practical ways:
- Taking ownership of outcomes and addressing challenges even when they fall outside a person’s formal area of responsibility.
- Communicating with respect, supporting colleagues, and helping one another achieve shared goals.
- Building effective collaboration across teams. As the business grows, it’s increasingly important to help people find common ground and maintain a sense of belonging to one team.
- Continuously improving processes, learning new things, and challenging the mindset of “this is how we’ve always done it.”
- Maintaining high standards and moving forward despite uncertainty, market changes, and external challenges.
What matters most is that these values exist beyond corporate statements or internal presentations. They are reflected in the daily decisions employees and leaders make, creating a shared approach to how work gets done across the organization.
What mistakes do companies most often make when trying to “build culture” artificially?
One of the most common mistakes is treating culture as a collection of statements, values listed on a website, or a series of HR initiatives. The biggest mistake is believing that culture can be built by the HR department alone. In reality, culture cannot be artificially implemented or imposed from the top down. It is shaped through people’s everyday behavior and, above all, through the actions of company leaders.
If a company’s stated values are not reflected in the behavior of its leaders, employees quickly begin to see them as little more than formalities. That’s why culture must be consistently demonstrated at every stage of the employee experience, from executive decision-making to hiring, onboarding, employee development, and day-to-day interactions across teams.
At Coinspaid, leadership by example plays a critical role. Our Strategic Leader, Pavel Kashuba, along with other members of the leadership team, is deeply involved in product development, market research, and identifying new growth opportunities. They demonstrate the curiosity, engagement, and openness to change that we consider essential elements of our culture.
When we say that continuous development is one of our core values, it is far more than a statement. It’s a behavior employees see around them every day. In a rapidly evolving FinTech industry, it is impossible to remain effective without continuously learning, staying curious about the market, and adapting to new conditions.
This is why culture functions not as a set of rules, but as an environment. People who are aligned with this mindset tend to find opportunities for growth and self-realization within it. Those whose expectations and values differ significantly usually recognize that fairly quickly. There’s nothing wrong with that. What’s important is achieving a genuine fit between the individual and the company.
People as the Company’s Most Valuable Growth Asset
How do you maintain employee engagement on a systematic level?
We take a structured approach to employee engagement and measure it regularly rather than relying on assumptions or subjective impressions. One of our key tools is eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score), a metric that measures employee loyalty and engagement. It helps us understand how willing employees are to recommend the company as a place to work and provides insight into their overall experience within the organization.
This year, our eNPS reached 47.8. For context, SurveyMonkey classifies that score as “very good,” while Culture Amp reports a global median eNPS of 17 across all industries. For us, this is an important indicator that people don’t simply work at the company. They genuinely share our values and approach to business.
That said, metrics are not the goal in themselves. We regularly gather feedback and strive to build people management processes that provide real value to employees, support their growth, and avoid becoming purely administrative exercises.
Most of our HR initiatives are focused on developing employees’ professional potential, strengthening collaboration across teams, and creating opportunities for people to contribute beyond their day-to-day responsibilities. Internal hackathons and cross-functional projects are a good example. These formats typically generate strong engagement because they allow employees to propose ideas, influence outcomes, and see the practical impact of their work.
Employee engagement doesn’t come from perks or isolated initiatives. It emerges when people understand why their work matters, feel connected to the outcomes they help create, and see that their contribution has a meaningful impact on the business.
Which HR metrics do you consider most valuable for business decision-making?
In HR, as in any other business function, decisions should be driven by data. We track a wide range of indicators, but there are several core metrics we consider fundamental. Among them:
- Retention rate shows how effectively a company retains its employees. For us, it is one of the key indicators of workplace quality, development opportunities, and leadership effectiveness.
- Turnover rate helps identify potential risks to team stability. It’s important not only to monitor turnover levels, but also to understand the reasons behind them in order to identify systemic issues early.
- Time to hire is particularly important for FinTech and technology companies. It shows how quickly we can find and attract the expertise we need. The longer a critical role remains open, the greater the potential impact on the business.
- eNPS helps measure employee engagement and loyalty. It provides insight into how willing employees are to recommend the company as a place to work and how comfortable they feel within the organization.
- Employee evaluation scores allow us to track professional development, identify growth potential, and make more informed decisions related to training, career progression, and succession planning.
Viewed as a single system, these metrics help answer several critical questions: Are we able to attract top talent? How effectively are we retaining them? How is the team developing? And how resilient is the organization over the long term?
That’s why HR metrics are no longer just a people management tool. They have become an integral part of business analytics and strategic decision-making.
How do you balance short-term business goals with long-term employee development?
We don’t see short-term business objectives and employee development as competing priorities. For us, they are closely connected. In a fast-growing FinTech business, it’s impossible to achieve sustainable long-term results without a strong team that grows alongside the company.
For example, if the business needs to launch new products faster or expand into new markets, one option is to solve that challenge entirely through external hiring. Over the long term, however, it is far more effective when part of that expertise comes from developing internal talent. These employees already understand the product, the processes, and the company culture.
That’s why employee development is not just an HR priority for us. It is a business priority. We strive to create an environment where people can take on greater responsibility, build new skills, and grow alongside the business.
In practice, this is supported by the entire People & Culture function. We have specialists focused on strategic people and process development initiatives, a strong team of HR Business Partners who support employees and managers in their day-to-day work, and a Talent Acquisition team dedicated to attracting top talent. Together, they operate as a unified system that addresses current business needs while creating the conditions for long-term team growth.
True balance happens when employee development is no longer viewed as a standalone initiative and instead becomes an integral part of the company’s growth strategy.
Talent Development and Retention
What turns employees into genuine employer brand ambassadors?
Employer brand ambassadors are people who feel a genuine connection to the product, the team, and the work they do every day. In my view, it always starts with authentic engagement. When people believe in the product, understand the value of their work, and see the impact of their contribution, they naturally want to share that experience with others.
These employees often share several common traits: initiative, a willingness to take ownership, a readiness to address problems rather than ignore them, and a drive to create something new. It’s the kind of enthusiasm and commitment that can’t be generated through incentive programs or corporate slogans.
Our role as a company is to create an environment where that level of engagement can develop naturally. That environment is built on strong team support, trust from leaders, and meaningful work that allows employees to see how their efforts contribute to broader business outcomes.
Ultimately, people don’t become brand ambassadors because a company asks them to. They become ambassadors when they genuinely take pride in what they do and want to be part of a shared success story. It’s difficult to inspire others with something you don’t truly believe in yourself.
How can companies identify employee potential and support growth in a remote environment?
In a remote environment, employee potential tends to reveal itself differently than it does in a traditional office setting. While managers once relied heavily on day-to-day in-person interactions, remote-first organizations place far greater emphasis on the quality of communication, consistent feedback, and intentional people management.
That’s why we focus on helping managers look beyond performance alone. It’s important that they understand employees’ strengths, career aspirations, and readiness to take on new responsibilities. Regular development conversations, performance evaluations, feedback processes, and other tools help us identify potential beyond a person’s current role.
Our HR Business Partners play a critical role in that process. They are deeply embedded within teams, helping managers recognize growth opportunities and identify areas where employees may be ready for greater responsibility or development.
We also invest systematically in leadership development. Managers receive training in areas such as hiring, performance evaluation, goal setting, employee development, compensation discussions, and engagement. This helps create a consistent approach to people management and makes it easier to recognize potential regardless of where employees are located.
In a remote environment, it’s especially important not to wait for employees to advocate for themselves. Potential should be identified proactively, discussed openly, and translated into concrete development opportunities.
The Future of Distributed Teams
What works particularly well in a remote-first model, and what do companies often underestimate?
One of the greatest advantages of a remote-first model is that it removes geographic barriers. It opens access to a global talent pool for companies while giving employees the freedom to choose where they want to live and work.
In practice, this means access to professionals from around the world. Today, our teams are based across multiple countries, from North America to Asia. It also helps us retain strong talent who relocate, travel frequently, or simply want the flexibility to choose the environment that suits them best.
At the same time, many companies underestimate the fact that remote-first is about much more than working from anywhere. It requires a robust support infrastructure, including assistance with relocation and immigration matters, flexible processes, reliable partners, and clear frameworks for collaboration across distributed teams.
Trust is equally important. In my view, a remote-first model only works when people are evaluated based on outcomes rather than hours spent online. We don’t build our processes around monitoring or control. Instead, we focus on attracting self-driven, engaged professionals who are excited by the product, motivated by the challenges, and eager to make an impact.
That’s why, for us, remote-first is first and foremost a mindset. It is built on accountability, trust, and a high degree of autonomy. This model works particularly well for professionals who are comfortable operating independently and managing their work with a high level of ownership.
How does team development differ in a remote-first environment compared to traditional office-based models?
I wouldn’t say that the tools used to develop teams change dramatically in a remote-first environment. What changes instead is the emphasis placed on certain aspects of teamwork and leadership.
In distributed teams, intentional communication, management quality, and structured people development become significantly more important. That’s why we invest heavily in leadership development. Through our Leadership Club, for example, we discuss team development, effective feedback, employee onboarding, complex management situations, and approaches to building healthy team dynamics. In a remote environment, these skills become especially critical.
At the same time, I firmly believe that no digital tool can fully replace in-person interaction. That’s why our teams regularly participate in conferences, business meetings, and other offline events. These experiences create a different level of engagement, energy, and emotional connection among colleagues.
When people meet face-to-face, they develop a deeper understanding of one another, build trust more quickly, and form stronger working relationships. As a result, many processes in a remote environment become far more effective because behind every message and video call there is already a genuine human connection.
Remote-first also offers another important advantage. People are not spending years in the same office environment. Instead, they live in different countries, cultures, and social contexts. This makes teams more diverse in terms of experience and perspectives, while interactions between colleagues become richer and more dynamic. As a result, organizations benefit not only from professional diversity, but also from cultural diversity, which often becomes a valuable source of new ideas and fresh approaches.
How do you see the future of work? Will remote-first remain a competitive advantage, or will it become a baseline expectation for talent?
I think we’re currently at a fascinating point in the evolution of work. Many large technology companies are bringing employees back to the office, and I view that trend with some concern. In many ways, it limits access to the flexibility that technology already makes possible.
I understand that different companies have different reasons for making that choice. However, if an organization wants to attract and retain top talent, trust and respect for employees must remain among its core management principles.
For me, remote-first has never been just a work arrangement. It is an opportunity to design a more intentional way of living: spending less time commuting, dedicating more time to family, taking better care of personal well-being, and still remaining highly effective professionally. Importantly, that flexibility does not reduce accountability or engagement. On the contrary, it allows many people to organize their work in ways that help them perform at their best.
I believe the future debate will no longer center on whether people should work remotely or from an office. What will matter more is a company’s ability to offer different work models and accommodate a wide range of life circumstances. There is no longer a one-size-fits-all solution, particularly when highly skilled professionals can choose from employers across the global market.
Fully remote work may not be the right fit for every business or every role. However, companies that can strike the right balance between effectiveness, trust, and freedom of choice will have a stronger ability to attract and retain exceptional talent.
Ultimately, competition for talent will increasingly be shaped not only by compensation and interesting work, but also by the quality of the employee experience. Companies will need to take that into account when designing their future workforce models.
