This September, CluneTech had its strongest showing yet at the Career Show Awards in Bulgaria, taking home five awards across employer and workplace categories.

We received Gold in all five categories we entered: Best Employer in Fintech, CSR Strategy, Employee Benefits Strategy, Young Parents Support Programme and Employee Engagement Events.

Winning Best Employer in Fintech for the fourth year in a row gave us a chance to look beyond the accolade and ask what has helped us build a workplace where people can develop, contribute and build long-term careers. Here's what sits behind it.

A strong workplace starts with listening. Throughout the employee journey, we collect feedback through a range of channels, including our annual Pulse Survey, the Great Place to Work Trust Index, annual global focus groups and dedicated feedback forms. We use what we learn to identify opportunities for improvement and make recommendations to our leadership team on our working environment, benefits and people practices. This keeps the employee experience connected to what our people actually need, and gives them a direct way to influence their workplace.

Recognition is a big part of our culture, from company-wide programmes like the #OneTeam Awards and Employee of the Year Awards to monthly appreciation initiatives that make it easy for colleagues to recognise each other. Our long-service benefits mark important career milestones with additional annual leave, financial awards and opportunities to celebrate with teams.

Work is an important part of life, but it is not all of life. We offer remote and hybrid working, flexible start and finish times, and the option to work weekly hours across four and a half days. In Bulgaria, where the Career Show contest took place, 88% of our employees work remotely or in a hybrid model.

We also offer additional annual leave for long-term employees and a quarterly Life-Work Day, a half paid day that everyone can use for personal commitments, regardless of length of service. These benefits are designed to provide practical flexibility that genuinely supports people.

The fintech industry is constantly evolving, and we believe our people should have the opportunity to evolve with it. Our WeLearn platform offers more than 750 learning opportunities, from general professional development to role-specific training.

We also invest in specialised learning. Programmes such as People Manager's Training and the Fintua Tax Academy help colleagues build leadership and specialist expertise, and employees can pursue professional certifications aligned with their individual development plans.

Growth also means progressing within the company. More than 95% of our team managers were promoted into their roles from within, giving employees real opportunities to grow while helping us develop our future leaders from within.

People need different kinds of support at different moments in their lives. Our additional paid leave provisions cover important life events including marriage, separation or divorce, pregnancy loss, fertility treatment and bereavement.

EmpowerHer, our women's support programme, supports women through different stages of life and career. It brings together policies, benefits, education and practical support, from menstrual care and support after maternity leave to career development and menopause initiatives.

For us, inclusion is not simply about having policies in place. It is about creating an environment where people feel respected and treated fairly. In 2025, 95% of employees said they are treated fairly regardless of their sexual orientation, race, gender or age.

Our workplace culture extends beyond the office. Every employee receives a company-funded volunteering day to support a cause that matters to them. In 2025, volunteering day usage increased by 206% compared with 2024, with colleagues contributing more than 850 hours of voluntary work. Across the year, our teams in Bulgaria took part in 37 charitable and volunteering initiatives.

From blood donation campaigns and environmental activities to projects supporting children and local communities, our colleagues keep turning their time and skills into positive action.

One of the clearest indicators of workplace culture is what happens over time. Average employee tenure in Bulgaria in 2025 was more than 7.5 years, and almost 60% of our employees have been with CluneTech for more than five years. In 2026, 11 colleagues celebrated their 25th anniversary with the company, a milestone that shows the long-term careers people can build here.

There is no single initiative behind the award. It is the combination of listening to our people and acting on their feedback, investing in learning and career development, creating flexibility that supports real life, recognising contribution, supporting different life stages, and giving employees opportunities to make a difference in their communities.

For someone considering their next career move, these things shape what everyday working life actually looks like. At CluneTech, we want people to build meaningful, long-term careers with the flexibility and support to make room for life outside work.

‍

‍

‍