We offer 2 week holidays for those who have reached 3 years. We offer 4 week holidays for those who have reached 5 years.

This offer includes flights, accommodation and spending money. Amounts to be confirmed.

We should rename the default branch to main

https://sfconservancy.org/news/2020/jun/23/gitbranchname/
https://github.com/github/renaming

This is my first time using GitHub (I signed up to file this issue) so apologies if I’m doing it wrong.

I’m potentially interested in applying to MadeTech. I’m also disabled, and surprised by some things in your job adverts and handbook - things that made me feel I shouldn’t apply. I’ve started telling employers when their recruitment processes or information discourages or prevents me from applying in the hope that this feedback is useful and improves things for others in future.

Here are the things I noticed. I would also like to recommend you map out the user journey for disabled applicants, as you might spot further issues as well.

1. No contact details for if you need to request an alternative format. The only contact email I can find anywhere on your site is a general one (contact@). I don’t feel comfortable emailing a general inbox about my disability - I’d prefer to disclose that to the right contact first time, and to know it will be picked up in time. I don’t need an alternative format but, if someone does, they are likely to feel the same. I’m sure you would too! This is also why I’ve filed a GitHub issue - I would have preferred to email a relevant contact but there wasn’t one.

2. A way to request reasonable adjustments when you apply. Lots of employers have found ways to ask about this and keep the information separate so it’s only shared if you get shortlisted. You don’t have a space for this. This makes things uncertain for me. If you invite me to interview, will you ask if I need adjustments or is the onus on me to ask? Will it be possible to ask, or will you send me an email that blocks this in some way (for example it’s just an automated link to book an interview slot) so I can only ask via that general email I mentioned in point 1? And if you invite me to interview without having a space to request reasonable adjustments, will you at least offer me a choice of dates and times rather than assuming I can accept any one? So for me that’s a lot of emotional labour for me while you retain all the power. Which makes it harder for me to apply and also raises questions for me about how well you’ll support me if I work for you.

3. I can’t find information in your handbook about supporting disabled employees and providing reasonable adjustments. There’s some very official legal stuff in your diversity policy but that doesn’t tell me what, if anything, you have in place to actively support disabled employees in terms of systems and processes. It would be great if you had that and linked it from your job ads. From what I can see you have info about all kinds of things but not that. It’s great that the intention is there to support people - but is the system set up for this kind of support? How much emotional labour will I have to do? It feels worrying that I can’t find this. Why would you not want that process to be clear and visible? After all most adjustments are either free or very cheap!

4. Your sickness policy is very strange. You say you require a doctor’s note after four days, but this isn’t something GPs do - you can only get a free fit note after seven days normally (or 28 right now due to covid). You would need to pay after four days and I don’t think my surgery would do this at all. Obviously I don’t plan to be ill, but policies on sickness can convey fundamental things about an employer’s attitude to health and disability. I’m left wondering how this policy was decided as I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Do you realise that it’s very hard to get a sick note after four days? Why do you want one? Will you pay for it?

I really hope this feedback is useful.

We currently list Mango Bikes under our cycle to work scheme. (https://www.mangobikes.com/help/#cycle-schemes)

This is now a dead link, and under their own help page they no longer offer that as a payment method: https://mangobikes.com/help/#biketowork

Our DNA is to keep everything simple.
Always has been, always will be. That’s Mango Bikes.
From designing and sourcing parts, to building and selling our bikes; we hate middlemen and love keeping it simple.
But we let that slip, and there were too many cooks spoiling the Mango broth.
Bike to Work had got a bit too Don Corleone, so we no longer offer it as a payment method.
We’ve got other dazzlingly good payment methods. Make sure you check them out if you want to finance your Mango.

It's unclear as to what charity this is. Is this documented elsewhere, that could be linked to?

Originally posted by @adrianclay in #422 (comment)

https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/master/company/welcome_pack.md
This page in particular links to a Made Tech repo that does not exist.

Used markdown-link-check to check the repo:

FILE: ./roles/academy_engineer.md
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/master/guides/security/protect_the_company.md

FILE: ./README.md
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/SRE-team-field-guide
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/sales-handbook
[✖] guides/security/acceptable_usage_policy.md
[✖] guides/security/byod.md
[✖] guides/security/protect_the_company.md
[✖] guides/security/server_setup_guidelines.md

FILE: ./guides/wifi/macos/README.md
[✖] /guides/wifi/images/macos/profiles.png
[✖] /guides/wifi/images/macos/settings.png

FILE: ./guides/wifi/ios/README.md
[✖] /guides/wifi/images/ios/foxpass.png

FILE: ./guides/welfare/parental_leave.md
[✖] /benefits/remote_working.md
[✖] /benefits/untracked_holiday.md
[✖] /benefits/flexible_working.md
[✖] /benefits/working_hours.md

FILE: ./guides/hiring/README.md
[✖] /roles/README.md
[✖] /roles/engineer.md#engineer-role
[✖] /company/first_day.md

FILE: ./benefits/remote_working.md
[✖] /benefits/friday_lunch.md

FILE: ./benefits/working_hours.md
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/working_hours/policies/continuous_feedback.md

FILE: ./team-norms/continuous_feedback.md
[✖] /roles/engineer.md#engineer-traits

FILE: ./team-norms/development_practices.md
[✖] tdd.md
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/architecture-decision-log

FILE: ./company/welcome_pack.md
[✖] ../guides/security/acceptable_usage_policy.md
[✖] ../guides/security/byod.md
[✖] ../guides/security/protect_the_company.md
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/sales-handbook
[✖] https://github.com/madetech/learn/tree/master/workshops/00-Setup-Workshop

With the introduction of a new VPN the current guidance appears to be out of date

We need to add the new Tech Scheme benefit. Discounts on tech for all!

These guides look to be out of date:

• https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/main/guides/process/scheduling/setting_up_projects.md as it references the harvest tool
• https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/main/guides/policy/whistleblowing_policy.md as pcaw.co.uk no longer exists
• https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/main/guides/policy/dealing_code_policy.md links to FCA pages that no longer exist
• https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/main/benefits/made_tech_benefits_box.md links to a 404

Could you add some information about compassionate leave please?

For example, how to request this time off for a funeral and who needs to approve it.

• In README
• On job specs in roles/

Currently the paternal leave is a little unclear in the handbook. It says:

"Our current parental leave package is two weeks at full pay followed by statutory allowance."

A couple of questions I have about this is;

1. Does "paternal leave" cover both maternity and paternity leave as the same thing?

2. What exactly does "followed by statutory allowance" entail?
   On the gov.uk paternity site paternity leave is stated to be: "You could get either 1 or 2 weeks". So does our paternal leave package mean 2 weeks full pay + 1 week statutory, or 2 weeks full pay + 2 weeks statutory ?
   On the gov.uk maternity site, the statutory allowance is a pretty simple 52 weeks, but does out paternal leave package mean we get 2 weeks at full pay on top of that? (i.e. 54 weeks) ?

I think maybe separating this out in maternity and paternity leave so that it is clearer might be useful?

I noticed that the titles on some of the engineering roles still had their old names (e.g Associate Software Engineer -> Software Engineer 1) in the SFIA folder. Is this something that needs updating?

Are they even a thing anymore? If they are, should we standardise them?

Our values have been revised considerably since they were added to the Handbook. In fact they are completely different to the ones currently I'm the README.

They are:

• Client first
• Drive to deliver
• Learning
• Mentoring
• Pragmatism
• Above and beyond

However just updating them and listing them won't mean much to anyone who doesn't already have the context and can refer to examples of what they actually mean.

What can we do to update our values and make them meaningful in the Handbook? The last comradro held on values had a few people suggest they find them meaningless when they are added to the Handbook without context. I'd like to avoid this.

One option is to remove them completely too.

cc @yaseminercan

We approach our culture as an evolving thing. We prefer to think about what someone might add to our culture if they joined us rather than whether they will fit into our existing culture. We should talk about this somewhere in the Handbook.

We see our core values as being somewhat more of a requirement when hiring. Our core values describe who are are and what attributes we need to fulfil our purpose. Read more on our purpose. vision, mission and values.

I suggest we add some content on our attitude to values and culture somewhere in the Handbook. Open to suggestions where it could be added.

We need to up date language regarding languages and frameworks as per @chrisblackburn's comment: #192 (comment)

We should publish all role salary bands not just delivery and technology roles.

I was looking at the Assoc. Designer role compared to the Associate Software engineering and the subheadings and information on the Associate Designer are not aligned to the Associate Software eng.
If the design academy is moulded closely from the software academy, should they be more aligned?
Thanks

https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/7b4bb3b10e590e7c584ead30ec4f004285ca3c5d/roles/associate_designer.md

https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/7b4bb3b10e590e7c584ead30ec4f004285ca3c5d/roles/associate_software_engineer.md

https://github.com/marketplace/actions/markdown-link-check

I imagine that Learn Tech will evolve further in the coming weeks, so this issue can stay as a reminder to update the guide at a later date.

This section across roles is reading fairly outdated.

We should probably consider removing team norms and technology practices for the Handbook to be centralised in one place, the GitHub.com/madetech/learn repo.

The Handbook should probably link out to resources for each area of the business like the Sales Handbook and Learn Tech repo.

cc @craigjbass @faissalMT

http://www.holacracy.org/constitution

All Permanent Engineers are expected to attend and be on time.

We have various pieces of guidance within the Handbook and when breaking from this guidance we usually ask you to check with someone before doing so.

For example, if you want to book holiday outside of the guidelines we suggest you speak to a Director. See #237.

As we grow as an organisation it might not necessarily be a director you should go to. It might instead be your Line Manager, or the Ops or People team.

We should probably create a policy around how this kind of escalation should work generally across the organisation and then update the Handbook accordingly.

cc @chrisblackburn @RoryMacDonald @yaseminercan

This section also feels slightly outdated and I'm sure there is more we can say.

• Eye care – We need to cover the cost of eye tests as we work with computers. We should also cover, some of the cost of glasses and/or contacts.
• Summer and Winter extravaganza – We do an away weekend in the summer and have end of year celebrations at Christmas. We should shout about this.
• Volunteering time to help others get into the technology industry
• Place to secure your bike and have a shower
• Stocked kitchen and healthy snack time – Unsure this one is big enough, but maybe it is?

We now expect REs to be billing the same amount of time as all other engineers.

https://github.com/madetech/handbook/blob/master/guides/welfare/employee_assistance.md

Online: You can visit http://employeeassistance.org.uk to access help via the website. You'll find the password for access in LastPass.

We no longer use LastPass and the credentials aren't stored in our current password manager

I'd like to write a framework/document for the following:

• What to do when I need to escalate an issue? I.e. disagreement between staff, disagreement with leadership, when someone has been wronged, etc.
• Who can I talk to when I have a problem?
• Is there an external body I can receive help from?

Currently we're quite flexible when dealing with illness like colds and flu in the business. Our flexible work hours and untracked holiday make taking time off for illness less of an issue.

We don't however make explicit that it's okay for the team to take time off due to stress, bereavement and other mental health issues. We also do not provide frameworks for employees to seek help in these areas even though the pressure of delivery can sometimes impact mental health.

I'd like to start investigating what we can do to tackle this head on.

I believe @davidwinter has talked about Mind charity, and I've been told about employee wellness programmes like http://www.wsm-wellbeing.co.uk/.

Love to collect thoughts from the wider team.

Firstly, I'm very happy to see the handbook increasing in popularity, encouraging conversations about company culture and process, all out in the open. HELLS YEAH.

As the use of the handbook and therefore the content grows it'll become increasingly hard to consume and find things. I'd like to start a bit of a discussion around how we can keep this under control.

A few questions:

• How much detail should the handbook go into a subject? Should the default be just to create a single README per subject?
• Can we give a bit of an overview of every section in the main README? Is that helpful? Should we just keep it as a table of contents?
• Do we expect a new hires, whether potential or soon to be onboarded, to be able to read the handbook in a sitting to understand the company? I certainly was able to read the handbook of my first company in a sitting. It gave me a wide breadth of understanding whilst going into quite a bit of detail at points on particular subjects.

I think we need to improve our language in our values to incorporate diversity and inclusion.

I've raised this as an issue over in our BizOps repo: https://github.com/madetech/bizops/pull/168

We have some instructions about recording holiday in CharlieHR, but nothing about recording sickness. Might be worth addressing. 🚀