Cognition+ redefines the future of work 

The debate around hybrid and remote work continues to evolve, with businesses in London, ON, adapting based on their needs. For software company Cognition+, the success lies in thoughtful decision-making. “Our remote work strategy is carefully designed, with well thought-out decisions. We are thinking through and paying attention to the data, our clients, and our employees before we roll out any strategies,” shares Katie Thibeault, Human Resources Manager at Cognition+.  
 
Cognition+ has been a leader in remote work since the pandemic, achieving higher productivity, client satisfaction, and employee well-being. As a leading enterprise insurance software provider for Canadian Mutual Insurers, Cognition+ offers cost-efficient insurance software, helping smaller companies stay competitive. Leaders in the space since 1996, the company attributes their success to their emphasis on feedback from clients, their Research and Development initiatives, and a strong team of talented individuals. “We have a great feedback loop internally to make sure that people are heard. With individuals from all different backgrounds, including PhDs, our team members bring a wealth of knowledge from other lines of work. Our non-technical staff that works directly with our clients also have tremendous feedback and are truly sort of our ear to the ground,” adds Greg Martin, Chief Technology Officer at Cognition+.  
 
In a globally competitive market with a growing talent pool, attracting, hiring and retaining individuals with specific skills and values to meet your businesses’ goals is a challenging task. Not for Cognition+.  “We have a very low turnover rate, and I think that truly speaks to the sort of people that we bring on the team. We understand that technology is going to change and that learning about technology is an evergreen process, so we often focus on people who are curious, who ask good questions, who want to work on the latest developments and who are eternally curious,” adds Thibeault. With a keen focus on having the right people on the team to achieve business goals and ensure high employee satisfaction rate, it makes sense that the venture asked their employees for feedback on remote work strategy to determine their plan of action beyond the pandemic. “We initially did make the switch to remote working because we all had to. However, when we did our semi-annual employee survey, it was evident that all our employees loved remote working. Based on that response, considering our operational efficiencies and continuing to develop at the same rate meant that there was no reason at all not to stick with this,” adds Thibeault.  

Deploying a remote work strategy for businesses of any size does not only mean allowing employees to work from the flexibility of their homes. On the business side of things, this decision means making the right technological investment, incorporating ways to continue inspiring human connections and implementing the right operational processes for great customer service and business growth.  
 
Starting with downsizing their space, Cognition+ is now located in Westmount Mall in London, ON to provide an opportunity for collaboration and facilitating a space for employees who prefer working from the office. “Since we were able to lessen the space, we were able to give our employees a $500 credit for an at home office setup so that they could buy what they needed to work comfortably,” shares Thibeault.  
 
Work culture has always been a huge emphasis for the company, as they pride themselves in having a close-knit team. “Being remote meant programming our leadership team to carve out some social time at the beginning of the meetings to check-in with their team members.” Says Thibeault. That’s not all – the venture also partnered with 9 to Thrive, a wellness-focused company that hosted virtual movement sessions to emphasize the importance of moving around in a remote working environment. “Some of our employees also participate in an Annual Wellness Challenge to connect with other like-minded employees across departments,” shares Thibeault. Understanding and recognizing the challenges of adjusting to the ‘new normal’ for leaders in the venture, Martin mentions that extra efforts were made by the venture to train and equip them to ensure a smooth transition for these employees. “From a leadership point of view, particularly from our CEO down, there’s a sense that the company cares about the employees, and I truly believe that this understanding permeates down to other staff members,” says Martin.  

One of the most important aspects to consider when implementing a remote work strategy is to assess the impact of this move on the service level and offerings provided to clients, stakeholders and other partners. This transition was relatively easy for Cognition+ due to their history of being technology-enabled in the software deployment process. “Our overall operational model has always been very remote. Any tickets are submitted through Jira, our software deployment was remote, and feedback processes were also hybrid,” shares Martin. Thibeault further adds, “There’s definitely times when we go in-person to work with our client in the first few weeks to help them effectively deploy and use the software, so we still see benefit in having a mixed strategy when it comes to this aspect.”  
 
Every new transition brings its own set of challenges. For Cognition+, the challenges emerged when it came to collaborations. “When we were in the office, we would just lean over to ask questions. New employees and Co-op students could easily shadow their team members, so there were advantages in that sense. However, as soon as people began how to effectively use technology, we saw that they could collaborate well,” says Martin. Making a heavy investment in determining and using the right technological tools including Slack, Zoom, workflow management software helps Cognition+ brainstorm, collaborate and spark new ideas. Thibeault also looked into organizational structure to facilitate better collaboration, leading to a cross-department restructure to create more efficiencies. “We used to have team based organization, so a dedicated team for business analysis, quality, software development etc, but we changed that to create team with all functions In them so that they can be more self-directed,” says Thibeault.  

Recognized for their work at a national level at the Canadian HR Awards this year where Cognition+ won the Best Remote Work Strategy Award in 2024, the company’s emphasis on clear goal setting and objectives, creating accountabilities and transparent communication has set them up for successful business growth.

Cognition+’s focus on all their stakeholders including clients, employees and leadership is a testament to their unprecedented growth over the years. “We’re really building momentum and it’s just really exciting to be a part of something that our team is really proud of,” says Thibeault. 

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