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Olga Mykhailenko, Chief People Officer at RISK, analyses best practices in HR for the iGaming industry and highlights how the company implements modern and flexible ways of working into its policies.
The iGaming industry is as dynamic as it is demanding. Constant growth, shifting markets and digital acceleration are the norm, while teams scale fast and work fully remote—often across dozens of time zones and cultural backdrops. Every company in the industry faces a similar challenge: how do you turn these conditions into fuel for legacy-building?
At RISK, we’ve embraced this complexity as an opportunity. People are not just contributors here—they are the core of our transformation. Since I joined the company, my mission has been to architect a world-class people strategy that brings together business agility, digital depth and human-first thinking. Through this, we’ve found our unique approach to building unity, performance and culture without borders—and today, I’m proud to share our journey.
Transforming People Strategy in Record Time
When I joined RISK, the HR function was a small, early-stage department. Within 18 months, we scaled it into a 50-person team, supporting over 1200 employees across 50+ countries. We laid the foundation for structured growth, data-driven decision-making, and an employee experience built for the modern workplace.
To sustain this growth, we needed a human capital strategy that was as bold and adaptive as our business model. We focused on building a system that could scale efficiently, enable performance and keep our culture intact—no matter how fast we moved.
Remote-First by Design, Not Default
At RISK, remote work isn’t a compromise—it’s a competitive edge. We’ve embraced a remote-first philosophy grounded in trust, autonomy and high performance. But to make this model work, our infrastructure alone isn’t enough. What sets us apart is how rapidly and effectively we’ve scaled foundational systems that empower our people to perform at their best from day one.
We built a robust internal ecosystem designed for transparency, speed and growth. At its core is a two-way communication framework that ensures alignment at all levels. We support it with a clear and intuitive knowledge base, our in-house One Tap Support (OTS) system, and a proprietary performance assessment model that identifies and develops A-players internally.
Within just six weeks, we rolled out these systems company-wide—launching Asana to all teams, introducing OTS, and fully documenting key policies and workflows. This operational clarity allows new team members to onboard quickly and confidently, accelerating time-to-productivity across
regions and functions. For example, over 87,000 tasks have been completed in Asana across 568 projects, while OTS has handled 800+ requests with a near-perfect satisfaction score of 9.9.
Our use of collaborative platforms like Asana and Confluence isn’t novel—but the speed and intentionality with which we’ve implemented them is. This rapid rollout laid the groundwork for our next-stage growth, ensuring our remote model remains scalable, responsive, and deeply human.
Culture in the Cloud: Building Unity Across Borders
Unity in a remote organisation doesn’t come from proximity—it comes from shared purpose. We’ve cultivated a culture of ownership, transparency and celebration. Our people are trusted adults, not micro-managed resources. We don’t believe HR’s role is to “parent” employees. Instead, we focus on enabling them through structure, support and recognition.
This philosophy underpins everything we do—from asynchronous communication to employee-led initiatives. While our team predominantly works across a shared cultural context, we champion individual voices and personal authenticity. This creates a strong sense of unity within the company, while still encouraging diverse perspectives and respectful dialogue.
Gamifying Engagement: Work Meets Play
One of the greatest engagement tools we’ve introduced is our gamification platform. With over 40 activities and exclusive rewards available through our internal RISKstore, employees are encouraged to engage, learn and celebrate success together. It’s more than just fun—it’s strategy. Gamification increases knowledge retention, boosts morale and reinforces our employer brand both internally and externally.
Whether it’s onboarding, training, or team-building, gamification is embedded into our processes to spark joy, pride and performance.
Smart Growth Through Smart Data
HR is no longer about intuition alone—it’s about insights. We’ve implemented a fully digitised performance assessment system that saves managers time while surfacing our future leaders. Our metrics matter:
- Internal Trust and Referral Power: In Q1 alone, 94 roles were filled through our internal referral program—a powerful testament to the level of trust our team has in the company. When employees actively recommend their workplace to others, it means we’re doing something right.
- Internal Mobility: 50% of our roles are filled via internal moves or employee referrals, underscoring the strength of our talent pool and our commitment to career growth.
- Time to Productivity: Carefully monitored and optimised using tailored onboarding processes that fast-track integration.
We’ve also integrated AI into our recruitment efforts, enabling us to distribute job posts across over 20 platforms per GEO, reaching thousands of candidates with precision and speed.
In our most recent eNPS assessment, we recorded a strong score of 54.5%, reflecting the high level of engagement and satisfaction among our teams—a clear indicator that our people-first strategy resonates with those who live it every day.
The Referral Revolution: Community-Driven Growth
One of our most fresh initiatives is the External Referral Program—an evolution inspired by the success of our internal referral efforts. With 50% of our vacancies filled through internal moves and referrals, we saw firsthand the power of trusted networks. Building on this momentum, we
opened the program to the broader community, allowing anyone—not just RISK employees—to refer outstanding candidates and be rewarded. Participants are recognised for successful hires, and the process is transparent, fast, and rewarding. It’s not just a hiring strategy—it’s a statement: we believe great people know great people. And we’re willing to invest in those connections.
Join the movement: risk.inc/referral
HR as a Strategic Driver of Growth
At RISK, HR is not a safety net—it’s a launchpad. Our goal has always been to build a function that drives business strategy while creating exceptional employee experiences. HR here plays a pivotal role in shaping culture, enabling growth and unlocking performance—not as a support function, but as a proactive architect of the company’s future.
We focus on building a learning organisation, where people don’t just fill roles—they expand them. Our HR vision is deeply intertwined with our business goals: when people grow, business follows.
Looking ahead, we are committed to:
- Further evolving our digital-first HR infrastructure.
- Expanding our reach into new markets with scalable people practices.
- Cultivating leadership at all levels, with a focus on future-ready skills.
- Strengthening our culture of recognition, impact, and shared success.
In an industry driven by speed, precision, and entertainment, RISK proves that culture is not a byproduct—it’s a performance multiplier.
To explore career opportunities and join the team at RISK, visit risk.inc
If you know someone who’d be a perfect fit for our team, refer them through our External Referral Program and get rewarded for connecting great talent with great opportunities.
