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Thank you for sharing your candid feedback. We deeply regret that your experience with us was not up to the standards we strive for. I want to address your concerns transparently and share how we are working to improve.
EMPLOYEE TREATMENT
- The well-being of our employees is a top priority. As would be expected we run quarterly engagement surveys and feedback cycles to improve employee experience continuously. Based on these, we execute on maximum-impact change for the company.
- Our HR & People team is dedicated to supporting our people. We offer same-day turnaround on any critical support functions for Employees and Managers. We also have NPS ratings built into these processes to allow any improvement to surface fast. Transparently, our NPS rating for people support functions currently sits at 9.83- but still, we will look to do better.
- While we understand that terminations can be challenging, decisions are made with careful consideration and adherence to established policies & processes available to all. Above all, we prioritise our values and the protection of our teams so that they can grow and do their best work.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
- We are continuously refining our evaluation process to better recognize the diverse contributions of our team members, not just in terms of output but also their alignment with our values.
- We don't just take "work" into account, but also contribution to our values as these are the "invisible guidelines" that make a company what it is. Both aspects are measured continuously, with continuous mentorship and guidance for anyone that works here to help people be successful in all that they do.
PERFORMANCE-BASED BONUSES
- Our compensation structure is designed to be fair and competitive. We are continually reviewing our policies to ensure they meet the expectations of what our people really want.
- We value growth as much as we value performance- we believe this is a company that you can truly accelerate your career at. One of our core values is centred around growth. If you're growing, compensation reflects this.
- Recent benchmarks put our salary bands for anyone in Product (Engineers, Designers, Product Managers, QA's etc) on offer at 40% above market in South Africa the 2-4 year experience range and 90% above market in the 5-8 year range. Again, as we value growth, performance incentives are less important to us than take-home salaries which we believe are more immediately realisable. We think this benefits people more in the long-run as they are encouraged to grow and not just perform.
- That being said, quarterly bonuses are still given to standout individual performers and teams.
INCREASES & PROMOTIONS
Being pro-growth, we have recently rolled out an "open door policy" when it comes to promotions and increases, meaning anyone at any time can request a promotion review, and receive feedback within 10 days either detailing the areas of improvement or an actual promotion itself. Whilst we have Mentors, Managers, and a People team actively looking for the signs of promotion readiness, we also believe that people should have the opportunity to motivate for themselves and demonstrate growth in their role. Levelling up = compensation increase.
WORK HOURS & DEADLINES
We recognize the importance of work-life balance and are actively reviewing our expectations regarding work hours to ensure they are reasonable and conducive to a healthy work environment.
The continuous evolution of our platforms and processes has a direct result on this, and we will continue in our pursuit to find the perfect balance to support our hybrid working environment.
INCLUSIVITY & OPINIONS
We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture where everyone's opinions matter, regardless of any perceived affiliations. Open dialogue is encouraged, and alternative perspectives are welcomed. "Strong opinions weakly held" is part of our culture, so much so that it's part of one of our values.
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP
- We strive to balance the needs of our employees with the demands of our work and clients. Our intention is to foster an environment where everyone's concerns are heard and addressed appropriately.
- We are consistently working on various initiatives to enhance management and leadership- everything from daily bite-sized learning to monthly workshops, all in an effort to continuously improve. We also take quarterly surveys focussing on this to gauge improvement. 2024 will see the next evolution of this program which we are very excited about in that it has the ability to improve the experience here for everyone.
- The allegations of a 'boys club' culture and unfair treatment are particularly troubling. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse environment. Our leadership team responsible for driving culture and values across all departments and streams is also exactly 50% women, which is above industry average. Your concerns will be raised at our next leadership meet.
CHANGE
- If you want to be the leading software development company in Africa, change will happen often.
- We do not take change lightly, but at the same time we are pro change- it's even one of our core values. Change when made for the right reasons is a good thing.
- All proposed changes are rigorously evaluated from an employee-first perspective, looking for benefit in everyday working at the core of all change. If we believe a change can help our people, we follow a change management process (the KOTLER model) to ensure transitions are as smooth as possible.
PEOPLE TEAM & AGREEMENTS
- Our HR team is dedicated to supporting our employees, and we are continuously working to ensure that our teams have the resources they need. Adherence to agreements, including NDAs, is taken very seriously. We have yet to receive a formal complaint in relation to this from either customers or employees.
- Our hiring process is modelled on Stripe.com's hiring framework, and factors in team consensus and processes to remove any bias. No hiring decisions are made without team consensus being reached as to an individual being the best fit for the role, regardless of department or role.
COMPANY DIRECTION & STRATEGY
- Pursuit of being the leading software development company from the fastest growing continent is no small feat, and 11 years of working at this has revealed many challenges.
- If we did not adapt along the way to the changes in how the world works, we would not have 350 motivated people behind the cause.
- We will continue in our efforts to build a lasting company from Africa, that's proudly African, where people are offered the opportunity to do their best, grow exponentially, and be the teams behind some of the world's best products.
- Employee experience will always be at the core of our evolution, as we strive to make this one of the best companies in the world to work at.
Finally, I want to extend an invitation for a more detailed conversation; should you or anyone reading this wish to discuss any of the above further, or anything about working here and what the opportunities look like for you, mail me on jamie@sovtech.com and let's have coffee. We prefer to be upfront about how we work, as we make hiring decisions for the long term. We're committed to continuously making SovTech a better place for all our employees.
Wishing you all the best in your endeavours, and thank you for allowing me the time to talk about the above as I truly believe in it, in the people here, and what they do to drive us all forward.
Sincerely,
Jamie
COO
