Sep 11, 2022
Anonymous employee
Confetti Response
3yWe thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts but are disheartened to read your comments. We do however recognize that it provides us the opportunity to make sure that we truly are leaning into the feedback that we receive and acting on it.
Since going from a small team of less than 10 in 2020 to almost 60 just two years later, we have had countless learning opportunities that have allowed us to improve as a company. In those two years, we have also developed a strong set of values (Respect, empathy, innovation, growth, impact, fun, & transparency) that have acted as our compass in all areas of our business. No decision or action is carried out without considering if they align with these values.
Everything that we do is built from the ground up by our hard working team and requires a collaborative effort. We know that the growth and success of a business doesn’t fall on one person’s shoulders. With this in mind, we strive to hear feedback from all stakeholders and make changes accordingly as we understand that with this kind of growth comes successes and missteps.
It is unfortunate to know that you felt compelled to leave this review and didn’t feel that you had the opportunity or option to share with us directly. We encourage you to reach out to us to have a further open conversation about some of the points made. We would like to address some of them here as well to shed light on initiatives that we have put into place already as we continuously assess our own opportunities for growth.
Constructive Communication
We have implemented 1:1 meeting agendas and weekly update opportunities using Lattice. We have also started hosting open office hours and personal check-ins all to foster opportunities for direct feedback and open communication on an ongoing basis.
Diversity
We are proud that our management team is made up of 70% women.
In addition, currently our full time workforce is made up of 23% of team members representing traditionally marginalized communities. This does not include our diverse community of freelancers and vendor partners. While there is still work to be done on this front we have made significant strides as DE&I is extremely important to us. We truly believe that the more diverse a workplace is the stronger it is and as we grow it is at the forefront of our hiring strategy.
Glassdoor Reviews
Up until about 6 months ago, we did not have an official Glassdoor profile! We decided as a management team collectively to set one up as a platform to help attract talent and promote our company. We encouraged our management team to post honest reviews listing the pros and cons of what they have experienced throughout their time working here. You will see that they all shared the honest cons as well as what they love about working for Confetti.
Ownership/Micro Managed
As mentioned above, we do everything in a very collaborative environment here at Confetti and we pride ourselves on this joint decision making. We know it’s not for everyone, but we also don’t want anyone to feel like they need to make big decisions on their own and we believe this creates a more collaborative work environment where employees feel empowered to think outside of the box when it comes to solutions to operational problems.
Retirement Benefits
We’re a small startup that doesn’t have a 401k yet as a benefit. This is typical and normal for many startups. However, it is on our road map for 2023. We have aimed to make up for this in other ways too in the interim in the form of rollover PTO, stipends for working from home assistance, and an unlimited take what you need policy.
Performance Reviews
As part of being a startup, all processes are “created” or “implemented” from scratch which takes time and constant reevaluation! We take pride in the fact that we are constantly revising and updating our processes based on feedback from all team members. Our reviews are also not meant to be fashioned after the ways of the past where employees were “told” how their managers felt that they performed over the last quarter or period. Our goal behind the review process is for it to be an open dialogue between the employee and their manager about what went right, wrong, how the employee can be supported better, sharing feedback, and working together on creating attainable goals and plans for the coming quarter. With all of our additional check ins and 1:1 conversations, these reviews should also not be the only time that we are discussing these points as well. The goal is a continuous constant communication cycle. Our next evolution of this will also include a CEO Review, peer-to-peer, customer and vendor reviews making steps closer to being a true 360-degree view of performances and impact of all team members.
Camera On
As we are a remote company, we rarely get to see each other! Having a camera on policy during the twice-a-month Town Halls when the entire team gathers together is important to us and making sure we’re getting to know one another a bit better. It’s not meant to be a harsh policy - but rather a positive element that connects us. We understand that our employees are human beings and may not always feel up to having their cameras on during meetings, which is completely acceptable.
Overall, we understand that being a part of a developing startup comes with growing pains - some of which might have caused you hurt or difficulties and for that we are sorry.
Please reach out to us to continue the conversation as we truly feel that these chances to learn from feedback will make us better leaders for the current and future employees to come.
We appreciate your reading and consideration.