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Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

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Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#81

Post by bennyp101 »

Benjammer wrote: post #65
bennyp101 wrote: post #48

The last company I worked at before it was acquired went through a phase of making everything 'legit' - which looking back on it now makes sense. - Making sure that everybody had their work laptops/phones properly secured, requiring RSA tags for VPN access etc. - Lots of new policies, mainly things that we did anyway, but just fully documented and meetings to make sure that everybody understood their roles in them. -…

Pretty sure things like this can happen for other reasons as well though, like when a company is going for it's next financing round.

Very true, I should have prefaced my comment above with "Not a startup"

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#82

Post by bungie4 »

tiredwired wrote: post #14

They suddenly decide to inventory equipment (determine company value or collateral). Cutting back on benefits like 401k matching. Delays buying new equipment. People quitting and not being replaced. Senior management having all-day private meetings. They request your background information as if to determine if you are qualified for current or new positions (if company is discussing being acquired). Hackathons with a…

This.

After being sold and resold, aqui-hired etc, I can attest to the accuracy of these observations. You'd do well to remember this post.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#83

Post by nickpsecurity »

kevinmannix wrote: post #68

When growth numbers are consistently not hit. Always push for transparency at a smaller company - if there isn't one already, attempt to implement an all-hands meeting at least bi-weekly that reviews goals for the quarter / year and the company's progress. If direction is constantly changing at a 1 or 2 month cadence, it's likely that there may be a shakeup coming sooner rather than later. It's wise to have a bit of…

That's the prime indicator from what I've read here. Growth to take over new markets is whole point of most startups. I'll add that Jessica Livingston's answer in an interview on main thing differentiating founders' successes vs failures was amount of focus. The failed ones got distracted chasing all sorts of activities or sub-goals that weren't measurably helping them achieve the real ones (esp growth). They were just burning cash. The successful ones constantly tried to do anything they could to make something that would achieve growth they wanted.

Users massively adopting the product with or without a lot of revenue depending on the game plan seems to be the prime metric after a certain amount of time has passed.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#84

Post by kzisme »

just4themoney wrote: post #69
kzisme wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been at my current position for about ~1.5 years almost without one (I think they are starting to do them soon?). Last time I asked they had said they are implementing a formal process for them. I've just been looking forward to it.

So you haven't gotten a raise in a year and a half? (In my experience, if someone really deserves it then either a bonus or an out of cycle raise or promotion will be given, I've gotten both.)

I've never heard of a bonus being awarded (or a signing bonus of sorts when first starting being given)

Being my first FT position after finishing school I wasn't sure what to expect for reviews/raises/etc.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#85

Post by futhey »

arethuza wrote: post #19
tiredwired wrote: post #14

They suddenly decide to inventory equipment (determine company value or collateral). Cutting back on benefits like 401k matching. Delays buying new equipment. People quitting and not being replaced. Senior management having all-day private meetings. They request your background information as if to determine if you are qualified for current or new positions (if company is discussing being acquired). Hackathons with a…

"Multiple sets of men in suits touring the office" New tenants being shown round the office you are in can be a bit worrying...

Not to discount what you're saying, but there are several sets of “men in suits” that appear long before you lose your office space.

Some are your investors (or work for them). Some are consultants or advisors, promising to solve all your problems. The service provider you're re-negotiating payment terms with. Potential acquirers, etc.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#87

Post by gwbas1c »

TLDR: You assess health by if you're getting paid what you think it's worth to stay in the job. If you're okay with the pay, and you like the job, be a pro and stay as long as the pay comes in.

A big warning sign was that my employer interview great candidates, make offers, and then the candidate didn't accept. The problem was that we weren't paying competitively.

I tried to express this to upper management, and then instead of fixing the problem, they just gave me a raise. (From below market rate to below market rate but able to start putting money in the newly-offered 401k.)

Shortly afterwards, I interviewed at one of our major competitors. The next day I looked at one of the founders and said, "if there's a chance to exit via acquisition, we need to take it."

Turns out there was an acquisition deal in the works, but we couldn't know due to how US law works. One of the higher-ups asked me to investigate "a bug," and when I looked at her logs, all I saw were references to an upcoming acquisition. I then knew to stick around and give the new owners a chance.

There's a lot to be said for sticking through a few months of uncertainty when it works out to be a great job in the long run.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#88

Post by OpenDrapery »

peterkelly wrote: post #55

If you find yourself asking questions like this, that's a sign something might be awry.

If you are not asking questions like this, you may just be one of the willfully oblivious ditch diggers who is just there to work. And that's fine.

Even in the days of galley slaves, there was probably only a small percentage of rowers who actually wondered where they were going. Most people just shut up and row.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#89

Post by arien »

fnbr wrote: post #67

There's a great article on this topic from Steve Blank: https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear... He argues that a leading indicator is when free food/drinks are removed, as it's a sign that the company is moving from a growth, "we're all in it together" mentality to a cost-cutting one. I, personally, focus on who's getting promoted and who's leaving. If a company is promoting internally and ret…

When I read things like this, I like to take a moment to realise how fortunate we are to work in a sector where something like freebies is almost considered to be a sacred right. Is there any other profession or sector where they get the same treatment?

I don't think removing or reducing these benefits is a sign of poor health. I think it's more a sign of turning into a proper business (which needs to answer to the people who put the money to buy all these drinks in the first place), which isn't for everyone, but it doesn't _have_ to be a bad sign.

I do agree with the second part. The attrition rate is definitely something to keep tabs on, but it's important to know why people are leaving.

Re: Ask HN: As an employee of a company, how do you assess its health?

#90

Post by invaliduser »

tiredwired wrote: post #14

They suddenly decide to inventory equipment (determine company value or collateral). Cutting back on benefits like 401k matching. Delays buying new equipment. People quitting and not being replaced. Senior management having all-day private meetings. They request your background information as if to determine if you are qualified for current or new positions (if company is discussing being acquired). Hackathons with a…

Exactly that. Also management suddenly asking developpers to document source code when they never cared before, or new organization with business people being put in charge of the developpers.
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