Jake Eisenhard joined the HqO team this fall as our Workplace Experience Manager. With a passion for building and fostering inclusive, connected, engaged workplaces, Jake’s addition to the HqO team will help us further elevate our culture and employee experience.
Let’s start off first by talking about your career history.
For the past two years, I’ve been part of the dynamic team at Toast Inc, where I helped implement and execute global and functional-level employee experience initiatives during a period of rapid growth, going from less than 2,000 to over 5,000 employees across the globe.
What does your role at HqO entail?
My primary objective as the Workplace Experience Manager is to ensure that HqO is a place where every team member feels deeply connected to our core purpose and values. We want our employees to witness the tangible impact of their work and, most importantly, provide them with opportunities to achieve some of the best professional work of their careers. Achieving this goal requires a dedicated team effort across our organization, but I focus on two critical areas to make it happen:
- Optimizing Physical Spaces: At HqO, we believe in creating physical spaces where our employees and teams are set up for success. This means ensuring that our office spaces are thoughtfully designed to accommodate different types of work and provide essential amenities. We want our employees to focus on their tasks without being distracted by the hassles of daily office life.
- Effective Communication and Programming: Communication is the glue that holds our teams together. I will work to keep our employees informed, aligned, connected, and engaged in the work we’re doing across the organization. This not only fosters a sense of unity but also encourages cross-collaboration.
What do you hope to achieve in this new role?
I am committed to helping lead the charge on our journey to becoming one of the best places to work. HqO is focused on the well-being, happiness, and success of its employees, and now, with a role like mine, I am the dedicated resource to ensuring this comes to fruition across all our offices. If we do this right, we will continue to attract and retain top talent that supports the growth of our organization.
What does workplace experience mean to you?
Workplace experience is about the big picture. It’s about how an employee feels when they walk through the office doors, how engaged they are in their work, and how inspired they are to contribute to the company’s mission. It’s a fundamental element of our organization’s success, and my responsibility is to ensure its ongoing strength and continuous improvement.
And to wrap up, a couple quick rapid fire questions for you:
- Are you an early bird or a night owl? I aspire to be an early bird, especially with two young kids, but a night owl at heart.
- What is your go-to productivity trick? For deep focus work my go to is a quiet space with an instrumental cover playlist on in the background.
- If you could snap your fingers and become an expert on something, what would it be? Ability to play any musical instrument at the highest level!
- If you could have only three apps on your phone – what would they be? 1) Spotify – for music and podcasts 2) Strava – activity tracking 2) Zillow – avid Zillow surfer
Want to learn more about joining the team? Take the next step in your career with HqO and check out our Careers page.