#82 - Ronni Zehavi, CEO of Hibob - How HR increases the impact people can make by actually putting them first

This podcast interview focuses on product innovation in HR that has the power to inspire growth and ignite culture. My guest is Ronni Zehavi, CEO of Hibob

Ronni has over 25 years of experience in multinational, hi-tech companies. Prior to setting up hibob, he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Silicon Valley-based Bessemer Venture Partners. He's the strategic advisor and co-founder of Team8 Cyber Security, a powerhouse developing disruptive tech in the cybersecurity space. Ronni was also the co-founder and CEO of Cotendo, a content delivery network, which in 2012, just four years after it was founded, was acquired by Akamai in a $300m.

Ronni has a BA in History and Educational Management from Tel Aviv University, and a MA in Organisational Sociology from Bar-Ilan University.

I’ve gotten intrigued by the big idea behind Hibob and, in particular, its fresh approach to HR to manage the typical employee of today, and hence I invited Ronni to my podcast.

We explore what’s broken around the approach of the HR systems we have become used to over the past decades and why that approach won’t work any longer if you want to grow your business and the impact of today’s workforce.

Here are some of his quotes:

‘The shift that we are tracking right now, this is the opportunity: There's a new type of employee and a new type of relationship between employers and employee. This will drive this market going forward.

They are bringing a new mindset, new values, and new behavior that did not exist before. It will change completely the way people work.

So, we think the future, it requires a new approach, a new architecture that will be in line with those ongoing changes.

We believe the future is all about system of relationship. So, the focus is the employee. The focus is the tribe - the employee and the team, the small groups within the company.

The notion of ‘We Are One Big Family of 800 employees’ is fake news

It's all about the small teams and the tribe.’

During this interview, you will learn three things:

1. Why creating a clear vision about the change you want to make to the world is essential to making the right product decisions.
2. That to leverage your success, it’s essential to get very clear ‘who’s it for’, and ‘who’s it not for’.
3. And that maximum value is created if you home in on the unique DNA of your customer with your solution, i.e., strengthen their core strengths.