Pros
-A ridiculously amazing team composed of big data/cloud/[insert subject matter] experts who work hard from around the world, whether it be from HQ, a shared working space, or a home office. The company’s philosophy seems to be to hire the best talent wherever they may be, and then to give them a high degree of trust and autonomy to get their work done. At the rate we’re growing, it appears to be working so far.
-Strong leadership who hustle alongside the team every single day (no absentee CEO flying around the world doing who knows what), and who really believe and promote the company values (The Team is the First Priority, Be Smart, Humble, and Empathetic, Be Fired up and Get Stuff Done, Be Tasteful not Wasteful, and One Team). One of my favorite ways leadership promotes these values is by giving out an award at each bi-weekly All-Hands to an employee or group of employees who have exhibited one of these values. Whoever wins is given an award for themselves AND an award to spend on behalf of the company, as well as a “Frankie” pin (in honor of Franz Kafka, of course!). It’s a generous and fun way to recognize the great work our team is doing.
-There’s a high level of transparency from the top down. The most recent financial and sales data, including how we are tracking towards our OKRs and why, are shared at every All-Hands. About half of the All-Hands is devoted to an open employee Q&A, with leadership present and willing to tackle hard questions from employees on the spot. Leadership is also willing to meet 1:1 with any employees who want to ask questions directly.
-All the startup perks you’d hope for, and more (remote-friendly, dog-friendly, flexible with working hours, truly delicious catered lunches daily @ HQ and a generous lunch stipend for remote workers once/week, weekly happy hours @ HQ, monthly birthday celebrations, fully covered health benefits, etc.).The workplace experience team is amazing and plans the best events @ HQ, and we have “experience ambassadors” placed around the world to plan and execute fun team-building events in other regions.
Cons
The company is growing really fast, which means there have been some gaps in key personnel (this has improved since I joined and I know it’s top of mind for leadership) and formal learning and development opportunities (still waiting to see progress here). We are also working hard to ensure the experience is just as great around the world as it is @ our Mountain View HQ.
