When we think about rubrics, we often picture a list of items each role needs to complete. While this is true to some extent, we want to avoid turning this into a strict algorithm. There are fundamental behaviors we believe everyone in engineering should exhibit, which we call Work Ethics.
Additionally, all of us must understand what impact means and how it is measured.
This document aims to clarify these aspects while also specifying the key points for each role.
Work ethics
At Factorial, we know that building a great product means building a great team. While Impact is a big part of how we measure success, we also value a few other key principles that help us thrive together. Here’s what we look for and aim to bring to our work every day.
- Radical (and Passionate) Candor: We're excited about creating great products and advancing our mission. This means being proactive, obsessing about quality, and experimenting. We tell our managers and peers things we think we cannot say, practicing radical candor to drive innovation and improvement.
- Effective Communication: Clear communication, especially in writing, is crucial. We communicate openly, build narratives, and aren't afraid to debate ideas. If we can't explain something clearly, we seek to understand more deeply until we can.
- Product Vision: We understand our users' needs and actively engage with them. We constantly look for business opportunities, always asking "What can be next for Factorial?"
- Reliability and Accountability: We deliver on our commitments while maintaining high quality. We feel accountable for the culture and make others feel accountable too. When we see something broken, we stand up to fix it, feeling responsible for all of Factorial.
- Problem-Solving: We don't limit ourselves to our nominal job definition. We bring, execute, and later communicate solutions, seeking approval only for decisions that would be hard to reverse.
- Teamwork Ease: We collaborate well, adapt easily, and are open to feedback. We convince or get convinced, asking the same from everyone. If an initiative comes top-down, we debate it until we fully buy-in, then champion it to our teams.
- Fighting Complacency: We challenge the status quo and fight complacency with our whole hearts. We're vocal when something is going wrong, seeing it as an opportunity for a better world.
- Having Fun: While our work is serious, we trust our gut when we have a 10x motivation to try something new. We jump on opportunities for innovation, involving as many people as possible.
Definition of Impact
Impact is all about the measurable, positive results that come from what we do. It’s the way our work helps move the company, team, and projects forward. This isn’t just about technical skills; it’s about making smart decisions that solve customer problems and boost our business.
Measuring impact can be tricky. Sometimes, the effects of your work, like improving the user experience or enhancing a product, don't show up immediately in numbers like reduced churn or increased customer preference. Because of this, we use a mix of data and manager insights to get a complete picture of your contributions. This is not a science, and there is no goal to make it so.
Here’s how impact can be assessed:
- Projects and products delivered: Did they help grow the business? Can you prove it with numbers?
- Feedback from users, customers, and peers: Are people happy with and benefiting from your work, both qualitatively and quantitatively? Can you name a particular customer who would be very disappointed if your contribution disappeared? Who is your favorite person from GTM that you consult with?