Introduction

Bark’s online safety platform helps keep kids safe on the internet. Through content monitoring, screen time controls, and location tracking, Bark enables parents to protect their kids online.

Before adopting Cooleaf, Bark faced challenges streamlining engagement for their widely distributed team of 140 full- and part-time employees.

To learn more about Bark’s initial challenges, their decision to adopt Cooleaf, and how their culture has changed since adoption, we spoke to Dara Freedman, SPHR, Director & Head of People and Culture at Bark.

The Challenge

Over half of Bark’s team, including co-founders, were 100% remote before the pandemic. While this made the company’s transition to fully remote easy enough once the pandemic hit, Bark leadership struggled to find a seamless way to engage and motivate employees. 

At first, Bark managers received individual budgets to plan activities for their team, but the approach left a critical gap in planning and execution. “Engagement is hard to manage when everything is manual and there’s no way to track budget,” Dara notes.

Without a central hub for team bonding, engagement felt scattered. “We didn’t have a formal engagement platform in place,” says Dara. “So we were spending money without seeing a return on investment since nothing was tracked.”

Bark’s leadership wanted to formalize engagement to create an effortless, values-driven employee experience. “We needed recognition, appreciation, and empathy at the forefront,” says Dara. “Giving our employees the same expectation of safety and well-being they provide for the kids and families they serve was our priority.”

In October 2022, a Bark employee told Dara they’d loved Cooleaf at their previous company. From there, an incredible partnership was born!

Culture Transformation

Integrating Cooleaf finally gave Bark the visible space for employee recognition they’d been searching for. “The increased visibility is a huge benefit,” Dara shares. “As soon as you log in you see all the great things happening at your company.”

On Cooleaf, employees come together to celebrate each other's achievements and milestones regardless of their location. From birthdays to notable accomplishments to years of service, having everything in one place boosted visibility and appreciation. “Our culture is more apparent because we have a space where everything is visible now,” says Dara. 

The added visibility means increased recognition and engagement at every level. “The platform encourages managers and colleagues to shout out team members when they might not have if there wasn’t a formal way to do so.”

Bark’s first employee survey after implementing Cooleaf revealed a significant increase in recognition. “Previously, shout-outs were rare, primarily occurring during our department meetings,” notes Dara. “Cooleaf's platform facilitated a shift by making recognition more accessible and frequent.”

Team Challenges on Cooleaf

Challenges on Cooleaf are a big unifier for Bark’s team. “Our teams love to know what their peers are doing,” Dara says. 

One example is Barkversity, a team gathering featuring a virtual event or speaker. Bark typically hosts around ten of these special sessions yearly and previously used Google Calendar as their registration hub. 

A few months ago, they switched to Cooleaf for team members to RSVP and attend the virtual event. Dara says the ease of registering through Cooleaf boosted attendance. “When people sign up through Cooleaf, they earn points for attending. Tying points to attendance gives leadership a better idea of who’s coming to an event and increases overall attendance.” 

The Summer Volunteer Day is another example of Bark’s creative approach to engagement. Team members receive one day of PTO every summer with the option to spend their day volunteering with a local organization. On Cooleaf, Dara and her team host a special event where people can share how they spent their day.

Team members add photos, share their favorite moments, and comment on their peers’ posts. The intentional activity connects team members and creates a shared sense of empathy, respect, and humanity.

Addressing Emotional Challenges

Bark's work centers on child online safety, a heavy subject full of emotional challenges for families and team members. “We help parents do whatever they can to keep their kids safe online,” says Dara. “Reading a testimony from a parent means that something sad or heavy happened that our team helped improve.”

Due to the nature of Bark’s work, a light and fun approach to engagement is essential. “Comedy, fun, and appreciation are huge parts of our culture because they help balance our work!” adds Dara.

“Everything about work at Bark is heavy. Cooleaf’s challenges and activities are a way to engage with work that’s not tied to the serious nature of our day-to-day.” 

Cooleaf’s gamified approach to engagement allows for light-hearted team building and a shared sense of joy. The fun challenges enable team members to connect on shared interests and hobbies outside of what they’re working on.

Conclusion

Through gamified recognition and appreciation initiatives, Bark cultivates a supportive and positive work environment for its team. With the now visible emphasis on an incredible employee experience, team members never question how much their contributions mean.

Dara says it’s more than just the joy factor; the level and quality of support team members offer Bark’s customers depends on how supported they feel at work. “There are so many studies that show happy employees are the best employees. If people don't feel recognized and appreciated, they won’t want to keep working.”

“Anything we can do to show our appreciation to our team is worth doing. Cooleaf makes this possible in a way that’s such a low lift for me, and it’s so much more than just a shout-out. Giving someone a specific thank you for a specific action is long-lasting.”