The secret is out: Klarna’s New York office is an amazing place to work. But don’t just take our word for it.
Fortune named Klarna to its 2021 Best Small and Medium Workplaces in NY list. Klarnauts celebrated this exciting milestone with cake, champagne, and shared stories about what makes this office such a great place to work.
“What makes this distinction so special is that it’s a direct result of positive feedback from our employees,” said David Sykes, Head of North America at Klarna. “We’ve been really fortunate to achieve a great deal of success in the US – we now have 18.5 million customers shopping at nearly 9,500 US merchants. However, none of it would be possible without our incredibly talented and dedicated people. Making Fortune’s list is fantastic because it shows we’re taking care of our people as well as supporting our brand partners and customers.”
So, how did this recognition come about? Last fall, Klarna was designated Great Place to Work certified, making the company eligible for Fortune’s Best Workplaces list. Through its Trust Index survey, Great Place to Work asked employees open-ended questions about workplace culture.
The research firm received more than 100 responses from Klarnauts who praised the company for its “start-up mentality,” which keeps things “fresh and fast.” Some expressed gratitude for the “amazing benefits,” including prized perks such as breakfast, snacks and drinks — staples of the NY office. Others cited their team’s ability to remain “close-knit” despite some members working remotely or in other locations and time zones among their favorite attributes.
Mariel Henkoff, Head of People, US at Klarna, shared that when Klarna first set up shop in the US six years ago, Columbus, Ohio was considered “home base.” While Columbus is still the heart of Klarna’s US operations, over the past two years, efforts have been made to keep partner success teams close to merchants in other cities.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on as a customer-facing business is being great partners to the people we support,” Henkoff said. “So, as part of that, we’ve been growing much more on the coasts, especially in New York, allowing for closer proximity to our merchants and our partners in the industry.”
Currently, there are 140 employees assigned to the Flatiron office, but that number is expected to grow to 200 by year end.
Because the New York office is relatively new, Henkoff explained that participating in workplace surveys is a great way to make sure Klarna exceeds the industry standards across the board—from culture and diversity to inclusion and growth.
Based on survey responses, it looks like we are! Take a look at a few anonymous comments:
“The vibe and the working culture of the company makes it a great place to work.”
“The culture of this workplace is all about inclusivity. It is a major focal point. We work hard, we succeed and we do it all while being good people and caring about one another.”
“The culture here is amazing. The teams go above and beyond to make this a great place to work. I am proud to say I work at Klarna.”
“This is a fun place to work where team members have the opportunity to reach outside their roles, learn new things, and pursue new ideas to improve the product and business. I like that. On Fridays, we have a traditional Swedish Fika, which is a snack/coffee hour as a chance to take a break and socialize with co-workers.”
Marketing associate Annika Gustafsson joined Klarna during the peak of the pandemic after getting her master’s degree. While initially she worked remotely, Gustafsson is thrilled to be able to see her colleagues face-to-face now that Klarnauts are returning to work.
“With the ability to go into the office, I can now work alongside my team members in person, which allows us to continue connecting with each other and developing the best plans for our merchant partners,” she said. “By going into the office, I am really starting to gain more autonomy as a young adult, and it couldn’t be sweeter. Commuting to NYC each week is also giving me the chance to figure out where I’d like to live in the future, and I can completely picture myself diving into the New York lifestyle!”
Sam Moses, Head of North American SME Sales, is also happy to be back in the office.
“I’ve enjoyed seeing friends who I haven’t seen over the last year as well as friends who I had previously only known over video,” said Moses. “That, and literally being down the street from my college campus (so I know all the good food spots) have been my favorite things about being back.”
Marketing manager Maddy Gaiman agrees that camaraderie (and candy) makes returning to the office a pleasure.
“The best thing about going into the office was meeting a few colleagues for the first time,” she said. “Nothing beats rolling your chair over to your co-worker’s desk for a chat, grabbing lunch together, or asking your boss to grab you snacks for a meeting (in my case, it was Welch’s fruit snacks).”
Can’t argue with that!
Interested in joining Klarna? Check out our careers page.