In an interview for COMPUTERtrends, the main topics were building company culture and taking care of employee wellbeing and a healthy work-life balance.
The article was published in the print edition of COMPUTERtrends, and below you can read the full transcript:
A personal approach and family spirit can be maintained even in a company with hundreds of people. In our conversation with HR Director Eva Vodenková, we discussed how OKsystem supports wellbeing, creates a friendly work environment, and why employees stay loyal to this IT company—even in times of fierce competition in the labor market.
Which benefits at OKsystem do you believe most contribute to employee satisfaction?
We’re well aware that benefits alone don’t make an attractive employer, but they help shape the right working conditions. One of the key factors, in our view, is maintaining a balance between work and personal life. In addition to five weeks of vacation, last year we added five extra days off, and it turned out to be a bullseye. Most employees took advantage of it, resulting in hundreds of extra days off being used. Combined with flexible working hours and the option to work from home, it’s a mix that our people really appreciate. According to internal surveys, employees highly value this flexibility and consider it one of the greatest benefits.
How do you support team cohesion when employees often work remotely?
We’ve invested a lot of time and effort into our company intranet, which has become an integral part of our culture. We share company news, and employees themselves contribute with articles, discussions, and polls. We also place great importance on in-person meetings in an informal atmosphere. We organize sports and social events as well as joint CSR activities. Employees are very engaged in this and often initiate events themselves. Every year, there are dozens of activities—from small things like fruit or ice cream treats to large all-company gatherings held several times a year. Participation is voluntary, which makes the high turnout even more rewarding.
We strongly support teambuilding. Each employee receives an annual budget, and it’s up to them how they use it and who they team up with—it can even be cross-team meetups. Last year, 400 colleagues used this benefit, and 79 different events were held, ranging from hiking weekends, boat trips, culinary and creative experiences, to adrenaline sports and escape rooms.
Have you noticed any concrete outcomes or feedback that shows your employee wellbeing efforts are working?
We invest time and money in these activities, so of course we monitor their effectiveness. We conduct regular anonymous surveys and hold personal meetings with employees. Feedback collected before the end of probation periods and during offboarding is also important to us. Another key indicator is our turnover rate, which remains at a healthy single-digit level. The success of our efforts is also evident in anonymous reviews on Atmoskop.
How would you describe OKsystem's company culture?
We are a Czech family-owned IT company with a 35-year tradition. We pride ourselves on a personal approach, transparent leadership communication, and openness. Since we develop software—intangible products—our people are our most valuable asset. Our 500+ employees are not just ID numbers; they represent 500+ stories that matter to us. We are not a corporation. Despite our size, we’ve managed to retain a family-like character.
How do you care for employee health? Are you taking any steps to prevent burnout?
Physical and mental health are irreplaceable. We support work-life balance, offer part-time contracts, and respond to employees' current life situations. We organize sports days, participate in running events and marathons, and charity floorball tournaments. Employees can attend weekly yoga classes held on-site, and when the weather allows, even outdoors on the terraces. We also contribute to the MultiSport card. The world is changing rapidly and brings many uncertainties. That’s why we’ve offered anonymous consultations with psychologists since last year.
I assume that, as an IT company, you also offer opportunities for development and education?
Education is close to our hearts—it's something we’ve focused on since the company’s beginning. We operate a modern training center, offering a wide range of both online and offline courses for IT professionals, developers, users, and those interested in cybersecurity. Our employees are frequent participants. We successfully encourage them to pursue personal development and strengthen their management skills. We organize English lessons and use the Seduo e-learning platform. We also support internal career growth—open positions are first announced internally so employees can grow professionally with the company.
Have you ever tried introducing a new benefit that ended up not being well received?
I can’t recall a benefit that wasn’t accepted. I think that’s thanks to the fact we conduct internal surveys to find out what people are interested in—we don’t just make random guesses.
How do you approach employee feedback, and how do you deal with complaints or suggestions for improving the work environment?
We systematically build a feedback culture. It’s natural for employees to come to us with ideas or concerns. Not only do we welcome feedback, we actively seek it out. Every suggestion is considered, and if it’s beneficial, we implement changes quickly. That’s one of our advantages—we’re in daily contact with company leadership and owners. Of course, we can’t meet every request—so no, we don’t have punching bags, massage chairs, or a live chameleon… yet.
You’re taking part in a competition this year with your wellbeing package. Why did you decide to compare yourselves to other employers?
Sometimes we even get feedback that we offer too many benefits—so now we want to see how we stack up against others. Just kidding. We’ve entered our employee benefits and care program in the Edenred Wellbeing Award category of the Recruitment Academy Awards 2025. We believe we have something to offer, but winning isn’t our main goal. We’re mainly curious about the opinions of the expert jury and other participants—and we want to get inspired by the best practices from other companies. There’s always room for improvement.
What IT and HR trends do you expect to see in the near future?
Digitalization and the use of AI will continue to accelerate, and we want to be a driving force in these changes. That’s why last fall we opened the OKlab innovation center, focused on research and development in AI and robotics. The goal is not only to develop new technologies, but also to support talented students from secondary schools and universities.
We’re also significantly digitalizing HR administration with our OKbase HR system—less paperwork for us and for our employees. We’ve been signing employment documents electronically for some time now. We use avatars to create training and video content for our employees. In short, we want to move with the times and leverage new technologies—but at the same time, we’re careful not to drown in them. Personal contact remains irreplaceable, especially in HR.
You can read the full online version of the interview in Czech on the COMPUTERtrends website.