Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 197 posts

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

#151

Post by taurath »

eeZah7Ux wrote: post #124
arien wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 p…

Please be aware how many executives, lawyers, physicians, finance & trading experts expense meals in restaurants and hotels, go to "trainings" on cruise ships, fly in business class. Giving engineers free peanuts (so they don't walk out of the building to by some) is hardly a perk.

And think of how many of those actually have administrative staff around them to take care of all of that too. The perks of being a programmer anywhere but google pale in comparison to the perks of the average high end professional.

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

#152

Post by mandude »

tyingq wrote: post #52

Make friends with whoever does accounts payable. In many companies, paying vendors later than agreed terms would be the first sign of trouble. Companies will often do that before anything directly visible to employees.

I heard Trump did this to many of his contractors.

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

#153

Post by trhaynes »

futhey wrote: post #85
arethuza wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"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.

Must they be men?

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

#154

Post by kzisme »

nikanj wrote: post #147
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.

People seem to forget corporate policies are not law. "I would love to review your salary, but we are in a freeze right now" means nothing. You don't have to accept that formal process excuse.

Strangely enough I didn't quite view it as an excuse (although it could have been?)

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

#155

Post by tyingq »

mandude wrote: post #152
tyingq wrote: post #52

Make friends with whoever does accounts payable. In many companies, paying vendors later than agreed terms would be the first sign of trouble. Companies will often do that before anything directly visible to employees.

I heard Trump did this to many of his contractors.

I would guess it happens at every company when financial struggles arise. It's the easiest lever to pull.

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

#156

Post by JimboOmega »

shimon wrote: post #54

One simple thing missing in most of these replies: ask questions. Ask your boss, ask your peers, ask the CEO now and then. - How is the company doing against its goals for the year? - What does our runway look like? - What signs of product success are we expecting? What are we seeing? Note that in any company, and especially in a startup, all of these questions are rife with uncertainty and stress. You should expect…

I definitely have had employers that basically refused to discuss such things (in one particularly egregious example, a company with 10 people).

It's frustrating, but some small company CEOs also get very wrapped up in emulating what "Corporate" looked like at bigger companies. That includes keeping information from employees, because if they knew how bad it was they might leave, word might travel to investors, etc.

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

#158

Post by icebraining »

arien wrote: post #89
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 p…

Retail often has employee discounts, does that make it a great sector to work? Free drinks cost what, $100/employee/month? That's nothing.

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

#159

Post by shimon »

JimboOmega wrote: post #156
shimon wrote: post #54

One simple thing missing in most of these replies: ask questions. Ask your boss, ask your peers, ask the CEO now and then. - How is the company doing against its goals for the year? - What does our runway look like? - What signs of product success are we expecting? What are we seeing? Note that in any company, and especially in a startup, all of these questions are rife with uncertainty and stress. You should expect…

I definitely have had employers that basically refused to discuss such things (in one particularly egregious example, a company with 10 people). It's frustrating, but some small company CEOs also get very wrapped up in emulating what "Corporate" looked like at bigger companies. That includes keeping information from employees, because if they knew how bad it was they might leave, word might travel to investors, etc.

Refusing the discussion is a categorically bad sign, though of course some details won't be public. Best case, the leader is deluded in a way that limits learning. Like an entrepreneur who wants you to sign an NDA to discuss their idea, this sort of behavior is now obviously bad.

Relatedly, when a candidate asks these types of questions during the recruitment process, this signals that you're clueful. A good employer will happily engage. A bad one will switch to a more gullible candidate.

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

#160

Post by brational »

hodgesrm wrote: post #116
gwbas1c wrote: post #87

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…

"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." This. You have to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. It's not easy with startups to decide which way to go due to the uncertainty inherent in new businesses. I would tend toward hold if the following is true: 1.) The company is meeting a real market need even if it's not doing…

How would apply this advice to a forture 500 company where "payoff" isn't part of the equation?
Post reply on HN