Your best asset? Your team!
As an entrepreneur, building the best team ever is key so let’s talk about Culture & Hiring and share experience and best practices with our two guests:
- Erwan Menard, President & COO at Scality. The Scality RING is a software that turns any standard x86 servers into web-scale storage. To date, the company has raised $93M. They are based in Paris, San-Francisco, Washington, Boston, London, Singapour & Tokyo and went from 36 to 173 employees in 3 years. Erwan will share with you how they maintain a Startup culture, whereas they are based in 7 different locations and they double their team this year.
- Youen Chéné, CTO at Saagie. Saagie is an end-to-end data platform that unites people, data and technologies. They gather now 23 employees (mostly developers). Youen, used to work as an architect for different companies then, he founded his own startup and joined Saagie 1,5 years ago. He is deeply involved in several Java User groups (Devox, Codeurs en Seine, etc.) and will talk about “All you need to know about the CTO”.
17. Copyright Scality 2015
The words from the artist
“Companies are living organisms. A lot is already rooted in its DNA, i.e. the founder(s) & management vision, mindset and
character. So, as a young - and small - start-up, company culture is sort of set. It is not difficult to be innovative, agile and
curious when you're small.
As soon as the company begins to grow up, it becomes a challenge to remain a living - or more to the point, a learning -
entity. Especially when growing fast and even more so when expanding globally.
So, here the company culture becomes really important. One may define a particular company culture and carve the
commandments in stone, but obviously that is by far not enough. Buried in powerpoint those things rarely take any effect. It
only happens, if every day corporate lives are inspired by the principles which define the culture of the company. And that
can be archived only by the example of enough people living them.
One tool to let people draw inspiration from how others live Scality values is the book. And not only the end
product - a high quality 30x30 cm coffee table book - but also the process of making it, as it involves everyone
within Scality. It’s one way of showing what kind of company Scality wants to be.
Diverse, Open-Minded, Competitive, Creative, Curious - character trades which are crucial if you want to be a learning, i.e.
successful organism.
To a varying degree all 4 images show those ingredients of Scality’s culture. A levitating CEO watching the CTO playing
bass in the Nevada desert. A group of sales people celebrating themselves after spontaneously deciding to wear their hotel
bath-robes (and walking the streets of DC in that outfit). The President of the company performing french rock songs
together with the CTO. And a random selection of portraits displaying the diversity among Scality staff”
26. Copyright Scality 2015
CULTURE
DEVELOPMENT
Designing our offices
Assessing the culture fit of
our best candidates
Taking the pulse of our
various teams
Organizing memorable
social events
Being the guardian of our
spirit, our culture and
values
EMPLOYEE
TRAINING
Training Program
(conferences, training,
individual coaching)
English coaching to reach
professional fluency
Group coaching sessions
(ex : how can I convince
others and influence a
decision)
BUILDING A
STRONG
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Weekly sync calls to
discuss our main
challenges
“Next 4 months Priorities”
sessions to define and
share our main objectives
Different formats of
meeting together, 5 per
year, soft skills
development, business
and product sessions, etc.
ON-BOARDING
Taking newcomers
feedback after a few
weeks at Scality
Offering a pack of
branded goodies
Welcoming our
new hires:
• Congrats e-mail
• CEO breakfast
• Core presentation of
the company
• Understanding of our
benefits and programs
On-going feedback
practice
Defining the profile of the
Scality leader
27. Copyright Scality 2015
PULSE OF THE
COMPANY
Exit interviews
Immediate action plan
at a corporate level
and at a department
level
Pulse Survey twice a
year about
motivation,
engagement,
management,
innovation…
DEVELOPING
RECRUITMENT
BRAND
Training to pitch
Scality
Training to improve
our skills as
interviewers
Developing means to
show our brand :
Glassdoor, Careers
web page etc.
Promotional videos
REWARDING
OUTSTANDING
PERFORMERS
Le Club
Speaking about our
best performers
Being generous
(stock options, salary
raises)
Recognizing people
weekly
INTERNAL COM’ &
SOCIAL EVENTS
30 minutes all-hands
every Monday
Weekly breakfast /
Weekly lunch
Team building events
for specific teams
Internship program
SPECIFIC
PROGRAMS
Sports Program
Wellness Program
Social Responsibility
Program
Meditation,
Mindfulness, Internal
Thinking Process…
51. Chief Technical Officer
An executive-level position in a company or other entity whose
occupation is focused on scientific and technological issues
within an organization