Interview with Carlena Opperman, Recruiting Manager at Wrrk

Carlena Opperman

Recruiting Manager

We believe in remote work and the freedoms and independence it brings. Strong remote workers have 3 things in common: they are highly independent, tech-savvy, & internally motivated. Beyond that, we discovered something key that rounded out the entire equation - they thrive in environments that foster empathetic collaboration.

Where do you work? What do you do there?

At wrrk, we believe that any company should be able to have a world-class cx org, at the click of a button. Trusted by the brands that customers love, we leverage our proprietary recruitment and assessment process to hire highly qualified and on-brand customer support teams that deliver omnichannel customer service, which can all be scaled at the click of a button.

We are an innovative and progressive remote company with values rooted in independence and empathy. As the Recruiting Manager, I lead Wrrk’s recruiting department, where we hire dependable, diverse teams of intelligent and adaptable self-starters.

Tell us about your team!

How big is it?

‍Wrrk has 150 employees, including a Leadership team of ten. I manage a small but mighty recruiting team of two, including myself and a Part-Time Recruiter.‍

Where are your teammates located?‍

Wrrk is a 100% remote workplace. All of the customer service professionals that we recruit and hire are U.S.-based.‍

What does your team do? What are you responsible for?‍

Over the past three years, we have grown the team from 30 to over 150 remote professionals. This year, we will double our team in size and scalability. We implement high-growth, people-centric recruiting and hiring strategies that integrate seamlessly into the business and enhance company culture.

What are the components of a strong remote culture?

We have been studying this very question since day one! As a 100% online company, we believe in remote work and the freedoms and independence it brings. We continue to observe and understand what it means to succeed as a remote worker, what successful remote workers have in common, and how to screen and hire them. And here is what we’ve learned—strong remote workers have three things in common: they are highly independent, tech-savvy, and internally motivated. Beyond that, we discovered something key that rounded out the entire equation—these independent, tech-savvy, internally motivated people thrive in environments that foster empathetic collaboration.

Empathetic collaboration is driven by hiring empathetic leaders and team members and is based on the understanding that coworkers have just as much influence on work culture as the leaders. Empathetic collaboration is at the core of a strong remote culture because people’s general well-being is highly impacted by the relationships they have in their lives, including relationships with colleagues and leaders. At Wrrk, empathy is the core of everything—including our strategy, mission, values, business model, and culture.

Strong remote cultures are built on strong connections.
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How do you make sure your team is happy and engaged in their work?

I believe in establishing authentic working relationships based on mutual trust, and I’ve learned that this can be challenging in a remote environment because trust evolves over time through delivering consistent, dependable communications and results. Luckily, I work for an organization with a deep understanding of the successful traits of remote leadership. I draw from our research to overcome the challenges that are a natural part of remote leadership. Here are a few of the learnings that I draw from daily:

Using performance data to understand sentiment and productivity:

As remote workers, we have taken a large portion of personal communication out of our process, and we’ve replaced it with the use of unbiased data to give each other visibility into our work. By removing a layer of personal communication, we’ve made space for transformational change through reliance on data instead of emotion.

Cross-functional collaboration:

What does “collaboration” mean in a remote environment? It begins with understanding the team and how they like to interact. Our team consists of highly driven and motivated remote professionals excited about new technologies and communication. We provide a space where the organization can come together and exchange ideas. In these spaces, our team can network, share personal interests or simply work through workday challenges as a group. Using emerging smart technologies to stay connected is critical in closing the geographical gap between co-workers and encouraging cross-functional collaboration.

Make feedback routine:

As we continue to grow, we must learn from everything we do. Every experience is an opportunity for growth, so always request feedback with intention. At Wrrk, we do this through engagement surveys, peer feedback forms, and 360 performance evaluations.

Prioritizing happiness:

Remote leaders can increase happiness at work by increasing their team’s independence. Wrrk discovered that independence can be fostered by establishing transparency across company initiatives and leveraging digital resources to promote self-sufficiency and confidence in individual output.

Achieving harmony:

Hire teammates with aligning ambitions and career interests and provide autonomy and resources to prioritize their own skills development and the organization's skills development.

Empathetic collaboration is driven by hiring empathetic leaders and team members and is based on the understanding that coworkers have just as much influence on work culture as the leaders. Empathetic collaboration is at the core of a strong remote culture because people’s general well-being is highly impacted by the relationships they have in their lives, including relationships with colleagues and leaders.