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

Valve New Employee Handbook (2012) [pdf]

steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 116 posts

Re: Valve New Employee Handbook (2012) [pdf]

#5

Post by thrwaway1985882 »

helloplanets wrote: post #3

I wonder if this is still the same handbook new hires get today. Would be interesting to see the current version, if there is one.

I wonder if Valve is still the same as described in this handbook, or if it ever truly was.

The section on stack ranking is really fascinating ... seeing how that sausage was made would let you know exactly who is in the secret cabals the handbook says don't exist ;-)

Re: Valve New Employee Handbook (2012) [pdf]

#6

Post by alephnerd »

thrwaway1985882 wrote: post #5
helloplanets wrote: post #3

I wonder if this is still the same handbook new hires get today. Would be interesting to see the current version, if there is one.

I wonder if Valve is still the same as described in this handbook, or if it ever truly was. The section on stack ranking is really fascinating ... seeing how that sausage was made would let you know exactly who is in the secret cabals the handbook says don't exist ;-)

> I wonder if Valve is still the same as described in this handbook, or if it ever truly was

I recommend looking at companies hiring pages to get a pulse on their longer term direction and strategy (a major reason for bogus job posts btw).

Based on Valve's [0], it's mostly sustaining work for Steam Marketplace, Steamworks, and R&D for VR.

[0] - https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/

Re: Valve New Employee Handbook (2012) [pdf]

#7

Post by jsheard »

thrwaway1985882 wrote: post #5
helloplanets wrote: post #3

I wonder if this is still the same handbook new hires get today. Would be interesting to see the current version, if there is one.

I wonder if Valve is still the same as described in this handbook, or if it ever truly was. The section on stack ranking is really fascinating ... seeing how that sausage was made would let you know exactly who is in the secret cabals the handbook says don't exist ;-)

> I wonder if Valve is still the same as described in this handbook, or if it ever truly was.

The fact that this handbook was deliberately released to the public (rather than posted on the Valve intranet the handbook refers to) does make it feel more like submarine recruitment/marketing material rather than something actually intended for onboarding new hires.

Re: Valve New Employee Handbook (2012) [pdf]

#9

Post by gumby »

The reasulting reality of the managerless approach hasn’t been good. As the they say, “if you don’t have any managers you have politics”.

I have several friends who used to work at Valve none of them hate the place, they still have friends there, etc. But they tell similar stories as to why things that normal companies do successfully are impossible at Valve. Perhaps it’s best summed up by something one friend said about her year and a half at Valve: “I first learned who my boss was on the day she fired me.”

Google tried this, notoriously dense grating and then firing basically all the managers at an all-hands. That didn’t work out well at all... And now they have over-steered in the opposite direction!

Re: Valve New Employee Handbook (2012) [pdf]

#10

Post by adamrezich »

helloplanets wrote: post #3

I wonder if this is still the same handbook new hires get today. Would be interesting to see the current version, if there is one.

Back in 2012, did this “employee handbook” actually “leak” to begin with? Or was the whole thing just a calculated corporate PR stunt? Everyone just takes it at face value, but I've always wondered.
Post reply on HN