Aysun Ayi has proven that performance and people don’t need to be at odds. She’s spent the last eight years proving this. She has been the chief people officer of OpenPayd in London, which provides financial infrastructure via an API to businesses.
Aysun, who was born in Turkey and moved to London over 15 years ago, has built a career on creating workplaces that empower people to grow. This edition of The Big Interview features Aysun’s insights on how to lead with intent in a high growth environment, how inclusion begins with action, and how to create a team who thrives during change.
You have experienced significant growth, with a double in size in the last few years and profitability of over EUR40m ARR. How did you manage the challenges of rapid scaling?
It is not easy to maintain company culture and employee involvement as an enterprise grows. Listening to our employees was always important as OpenPayd grew. Their voices have helped us grow and evolve, and we believe that the best ideas come from the team.
Inclusion and trust are built by providing employees with the opportunity to express themselves in an open forum as well as privately. We keep communication open through a variety of channels including town halls and quarterly Q&A sessions with the CEO, as well as dedicated platforms to ask questions, conduct surveys, and host team events. We’ve done this by creating a culture of openness at all levels.
We have many ways of recognizing and thanking each other.
You have stressed that real diversity and inclusion is more than hashtags and campaigns. It’s about policies, pay equity, and creating cultures in which women are given equal opportunities. How has OpenPayd used these principles to promote inclusion and diversity within the company?
Inclusion and diversity must be built into a culture. Everything starts with a supportive, respectful and kind environment.
Our company culture is built on open communication, and we make sure that every employee is heard. It is not just about giving employees the chance to express their opinions, but it’s also about ensuring they have the right channels to voice concerns. We have a zero-tolerance policy for toxic behavior and respond to issues as soon as they occur.
Without a commitment to diversity and inclusion, it is only an ideal. We have a diverse panel for talent acquisition and ensure that equal pay is implemented. This applies to all positions, regardless of seniority or role.
You said fintech is the modernisation of a long-established, archaic sector, with the aim to make services easier, faster and more accessible. This philosophy influences your approach to talent retention and acquisition in a competitive fintech environment.
An industry that is committed to progress must not only show external growth, but also internal. Businesses that want to drive change in the marketplace must also be willing to make changes within themselves.
Diversity is the key to this. For example, a diverse hiring panel is a minimum requirement for us. This means that no hiring manager will be able to hire alone. We don’t restrict people by their roles or titles, and we encourage them to take on new challenges. We encourage everyone to share their ideas, regardless of whether they are a junior or an experienced professional. OpenPayd also trusts its employees to take the lead and be responsible: autonomy is one of our core values.
We also place a high value on internal collaboration. We encourage cross-functional teams and a sense of unity. OpenPayd is part of an industry built on collaboration. We need to reflect this.
OpenPayd operates in a highly regulated market, providing services such as Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embedded finance solutions. How can you ensure your HR policies are aligned with compliance requirements, while also encouraging innovation and agility in employees?
Our culture is based on compliance. Each employee is aware of the importance and role compliance plays in our business. All employees are required to complete training programs, which keeps compliance knowledge current and relevant. We use technology to efficiently meet compliance requirements, and encourage cross-functional collaboration in order to drive innovation and accountability.
OpenPayd is committed to ensuring strong teamwork between departments in order to achieve compliance. This is not an isolated effort.
Diversity is the key to a forward-looking industry.
You are focused on delivering a range of banking and payment infrastructure through a single API. How do you ensure that your staff is continually upskilled and professionally developed to keep pace with the technological advances?
Each employee is given a generous budget for learning and development to invest in his or her personal and professional growth. We actively monitor and encourage the full use of this budget.
Lunch & Learns are also held regularly, with both internal and outside speakers sharing their knowledge and insights. Each employee has a personal development goal that is focused on his or her own growth. We have an online learning platform which provides employees with a variety of training materials at any time.
How has OpenPayd maintained collaboration and productivity in distributed teams that work remotely or hybrid?
It is not by chance that you can create hybrid work models. Every level of an organisation must be committed and deliberate in their efforts.
A lot of effort is put into making sure teams have access to the best tools and communication channels. This helps keep them connected, informed, and engaged.
Even as we near six years of hybrid work, the human element and connection cannot be overlooked. Regular office visits and face to face interactions help us encourage connections across locations. This helps keep our colleagues motivated and connected.
Employee wellbeing is an important concern, particularly in industries that are fast-paced like fintech. OpenPayd has introduced what initiatives to support mental wellbeing and work-life for its employees?
We understand the importance of maintaining a work-life balance and offer hybrid working, which allows you to balance your time between the office and at home. The employees can also work remotely up to two weeks per year.
We know that a strong team spirit is essential for employee morale. We organize regular social events in order to build relationships and foster a sense community within the team.
Our employees’ health and wellbeing is our top priority. We strive to provide them with the best possible support through tailored care and personalised assistance. Our staff can access confidential third-party services when they need additional support.
We listen to and support our employees in all situations.
As OpenPayd expands into new markets, how can you create a culture that is inclusive and cohesive across different regions?
We are proud to be a part of the global network and we embrace and celebrate our unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We take the time to bring people closer together and develop initiatives that allow us to learn from each other.
We host regular Coffee Clubs, where random matches are made between employees for informal chats. We have cultural spotlights, and a Beyond the Borders program where teams of the same culture can share their traditions.
Flexibility will be maintained, even as the balance between in person, hybrid, and remote working continues to evolve.
How do you align your HR strategies in order to encourage innovation and flexibility among your employees, given that the mission of building and embedding financial services is to drive growth?
To encourage innovation and adaptability, we must ensure that our employees are given autonomy and flexibility. Our value is “Finding a Better Way” – creating an environment in which our employees can come up with solutions to problems.
It is also impossible to expect your employees to be flexible without an open culture of feedback. We encourage clear, candid communication.
How do you plan for succession in the fintech sector to ensure leadership continuity?
Giving future leaders the chance to grow is a great way to set them up for a rewarding and successful career. OpenPayd does this by providing cross-functional moves that help employees discover new career paths and expand their skill sets. We also provide employees with the opportunity to undertake stretch assignments, which challenge them and help their growth.
Those identified as future leaders will also receive additional coaching, mentoring and training in leadership through our tailored development programmes.
Given the rapid development of the fintech industry, what are your strategies to retain and attract top talent in the face of increasing competition?
The fintech industry faces a growing talent shortage. To attract the best talent and get the most out of it, we must offer both competitive benefits now, as well as preparing our employees for the future.
We offer clear career development opportunities including internal mobility, training and leadership development. We also provide competitive compensation packages which reflect market benchmarks, reward high performance, and create an inclusive and collaborative working environment.
We have spent time developing a strong brand of fintech employers that reflects the commitment we make to hire and support the best talent. We are proud of our ever-growing and strong team of fintech professionals.
What is the best way to balance the demands of the fintech sector with the need for a supportive and sustainable work environment?
This is a difficult balance to achieve, but one that is crucial. OpenPayd achieves this by setting realistic and clear goals. This ensures that everyone understands the company’s priorities and their role in them. Every town hall repeats our company goals.
People want to be acknowledged for their contribution, particularly when the situation is difficult. It is important to celebrate and recognise achievements of all sizes.
It is important to promote a culture of collaboration where teamwork, mutual support and communication are at the core of how we work, especially when members are working from a distance. All of this relies on open, honest, and respectful communication at all levels. You’ll notice that it is a common theme.
How do you envision HR evolving in the next five to ten years?
I would be remiss if I did not mention AI. It has become a dominant theme in all industries. We’ll no doubt see a rise in the use AI and automation for administrative tasks. This will hopefully allow the People function to focus more on strategic areas. We will also be able make better and faster decisions based on data, thanks to the increased accessibility of data and data analysis.
Flexibility will be maintained, even as the balance between in person, hybrid, and remote working continues to change. We’ll need more sophisticated tools to communicate, collaborate and align geographically dispersed groups as teams expand across different time zones, countries and cultures.
As technology advances, I anticipate that we will see more emphasis on learning and development programs tailored to each individual employee’s needs.
I hope the People function will become more strategic, and move beyond back-office operations. It should be a major driver for business success. OpenPayd is a great example of this, and we benefit from it every day.
