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Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

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Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#21

Post by jordanlev »

ThomPete wrote: post #16

I took a company from 2 people to 80 when we were at the height. There have been a lot of attempts to crack that nut and most have been unsuccessful. First you need to realize what is going on when you grow. 1) The more people you hire the more you erode the culture you had. Therefore be very mindful of what kind of people you hire and be quick to realize if they don't fit the culture (even though they might be good)…

Good advice, but I think the OP is an employee at the company, not in charge of the growth himself (which your advice seems to be aimed at).

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#22

Post by jacquesm »

mirkoadari wrote: post #18
gaius wrote: post #17

The HR manager scares me, although I am not sure why. Job #1 of HR is to protect the company from its employees. The reason for hiring a HR professional (weirdly they never refer to themselves as "resources") is that the owners or managers now feel that they need that protection. There's a gulf now between management and workers, that perhaps was a narrow stream before. You've instinctively grasped this, that's where…

I entirely disagree with this view. If you look at the period of employment, the need for protection takes up a minute moment. It is more likely that the owners wanted to recruit great talent, have someone whos mission is to create a nice everyday environment, help spot and train leadership or any other number of things that the HR professionals, I've had the pleasure of meeting in my career, are great at and care ab…

The actual situation may differ from company to company but from the perspective of an employee it is probably wise to assume that the HR people are not 'on your side'. This also differs (strongly) from one country to another.

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#23

Post by mirkoadari »

jacquesm wrote: post #22
mirkoadari wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I entirely disagree with this view. If you look at the period of employment, the need for protection takes up a minute moment. It is more likely that the owners wanted to recruit great talent, have someone whos mission is to create a nice everyday environment, help spot and train leadership or any other number of things that the HR professionals, I've had the pleasure of meeting in my career, are great at and care ab…

The actual situation may differ from company to company but from the perspective of an employee it is probably wise to assume that the HR people are not 'on your side'. This also differs (strongly) from one country to another.

Definitely. The same with any employee, including engineers. The comment meant to be a reply to the motivations of the owners.

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#24

Post by coldcode »

askafriend wrote: post #5
brudgers wrote: post #3

Change is usually unsettling. It would be probably be worse if suddenly the company removed that many positions when having them was the normal. That said, there are certain sizes at which organizational structure needs to undergo quantum change. Thresholds I've heard are ~10 [two pizzas], ~30, ~200. This means that some of the change when an organizational structure hits one of these is more or less permanent. That…

30 and 100 is a pretty substantial change organizationally.

I found ~20 - ~80 - ~200 in the many places I've worked or with. Roughly (1) hire people directly and know everyone (2) have people hire people and know only some (3) have no idea who is being hired. All of my direct experience failed at size 80. Each of these require a culture shift.

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#25

Post by toyg »

Real authority is granted, not imposed. You and your team can have 15 managers above you, but in the end, if you just act like they don't matter, they will not matter.

On the other hand, if these people bring real usefulness to the table (for example by freeing you from stuff you'd rather not do, like dealing with whiny and confused clients etc), then you should accept them and let them contribute as peers.

The other side of the coin is that the company is growing and clearly someone felt it lacked in some areas. If you're interested in those areas (i.e. you want to step up into management), you have an opportunity to do so.

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#27

Post by riskneural »

jacquesm wrote: post #22
mirkoadari wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I entirely disagree with this view. If you look at the period of employment, the need for protection takes up a minute moment. It is more likely that the owners wanted to recruit great talent, have someone whos mission is to create a nice everyday environment, help spot and train leadership or any other number of things that the HR professionals, I've had the pleasure of meeting in my career, are great at and care ab…

The actual situation may differ from company to company but from the perspective of an employee it is probably wise to assume that the HR people are not 'on your side'. This also differs (strongly) from one country to another.

This especially goes for complaints about bullying or discrimination. Get a lawyer and a recruiter if it comes to that, but stay well away from HR. Your expenses might be investigated for anomalies.

Workers' unions can also be risky. They have their own agenda, leverage over management, and will encourage you to speak up often without considering your own best interests.

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#29

Post by Spooky23 »

gaius wrote: post #17

The HR manager scares me, although I am not sure why. Job #1 of HR is to protect the company from its employees. The reason for hiring a HR professional (weirdly they never refer to themselves as "resources") is that the owners or managers now feel that they need that protection. There's a gulf now between management and workers, that perhaps was a narrow stream before. You've instinctively grasped this, that's where…

Not necessarily. When company transitions from a small consulting shop to a bigger org, HR is really there to protect the company from compliance lapses.

In the US, many regulations kick in at 50 employees.

That said, HR is never your pal. Then again, the owner of the company that you drank with in the smaller days wasn't really your pal either.

Re: Ask HN: Company is growing and the culture shift is uncomfortable. What do I do?

#30

Post by Bar_Code »

I know what you are going through. My last job was at Shutterstock, which went from 50 people to 700 in 5 years. I'm doing it again now, we went from 60 to 90 people in 6 months.

I have found that there are inflection points whenever things double. That could be people, revenue, office space, customers, etc. When this happens, "debt" affects the company. You're probably much more familiar with tech debt, and probably architectural debt. Maybe less familiar with organizational and cultural debt. You simply can't do things the way you always have, they don't scale. http://steveblank.com/2015/05/19/organizational-debt-is-like...

Change is inevitable and required. If not managed, it could sink you. Some people will quit regardless, they were probably not the right people for the next phase. At first you don't need teams (you have 1 team), then you need to have 2 teams, them more. This change is disruptive and affects productivity and morale. Read up on team maturity models (not CMM), it will help knowing what phases you will be going through. http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingpe...

I presented the team maturity models too my devs the last time we restructured the teams. Multiple people came to me proudly stating they were in the "storming" phase, which essentially is when you argue a lot. They knew it was a phase, and frustration was reduced.

You do need leadership as you grow. A leader is not your best developer. The HR manager may scare you because they are a "manager", not a "leader". Good managers and leader can toggle between both roles. Too many people are great managers and not leaders. Know the difference between a manager and leader, know which ones you are missing. http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/man...

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