Company culture is often intangible because the words used to describe it are often nebulous and speak more to ideals than actual practices.
That said, companies that value transparency and build their cultures around it have no problems going over their transparent practices in detail. At least that’s the case with New York tech companies Bowery and Orchard.
Built In NYC spoke at length with team members at each company about the transparent practices that underpin their cultures. Both shared that in addition to encouraging transparency among their teams, leaders practice what they preach and strive to be honest and open when communicating news — both good and bad — and addressing concerns. Transparency was also seen as essential to achieving diversity, equity and inclusion goals, specifically with regard to where improvement needs to be made.
In addition to fostering open and honest communication and accountability, transparency also drives alignment, which makes for stronger companies. Orchard’s Katy Galford, senior manager of people partners and programs, put it this way: “An outcome [of our transparency] is the strong focus and alignment around our goals by everyone at the company. If you asked what our most important initiatives are, I think 100 percent of the Orchard people could tell you, along with how we can realize them and why they matter.”
Continue reading to learn more about how Bowery and Orchard are cultivating a culture of transparency and the on-the-ground effect this has had on their teams.
Orchard is out to simplify the process of buying and selling a home, enabling buyers to move before their old home is sold and sellers to spruce up their homes at no upfront cost.
Please describe the transparent practices in place at Orchard.
One of Orchard’s values is “treat people with respect,” and one of the ways this manifests is in the transparency provided across the organization. This transparency comes in various forms, and one example is our monthly town hall where we review key business metrics and company updates. Our CEO also sends a monthly email that covers company wins and misses and that takes an honest look at where we need to be to close any gaps. Additionally, several departments have monthly reviews open to everyone where they go over the latest tests or features they’ve implemented. Our fast-paced and experimental culture makes it essential to be transparent about our results.
From a people ops perspective, we share our DEI goals and metrics on a quarterly basis. The objective is to be honest with the company about where we are succeeding or falling short of our goals. Another crucial program is our biannual engagement survey, which has a 90 percent-plus participation rate. No question is off limits in the review, which leads to candid conversations about what is working and how we can improve.
Why were these practices implemented?
There has always been a culture of learning and continuous improvement at Orchard, as well as company alignment on our mission. It is nearly impossible to maintain our cultural pillars without transparent practices. To get better and learn from mistakes, we need our employees across every level and department to be involved.
Transparency has become even more important over the past year given how macroeconomic conditions have shifted the real estate industry. We heard from employees that they felt uncertain about the future of the real estate landscape. As these changes were taking place, we started providing more economic data and even more transparency into our business goals and metrics to give our people a true understanding of where they could help us improve with our processes and products during their own day to day.
It is nearly impossible to maintain our cultural pillars without transparent practices.”
What are the outcomes of this level of transparency? What employee feedback have you received about these practices?
We often hear feedback from employees that Orchard is one of the most transparent places they’ve worked at, which can be attributed to our transparent practices. An outcome is a strong focus and alignment around our goals by everyone at the company. If you asked what our most important initiatives are, I think 100 percent of the Orchard people could tell you, along with how we can realize them and why they matter.
We just completed our last engagement survey in April and we can see some of the outcomes of transparency in the results. A large portion of the comments emphasized how much employees appreciated the increased level of communication given the changes in the real estate industry. Additionally, people are feeling positive about management at Orchard with 86 percent of employees surveyed responding that their manager keeps them informed about what is happening at the company.
Bowery is a food company that grows sustainable produce in tech-enabled, vertical indoor farms.
Please describe the transparent practices in place at Bowery in detail.
We’re committed to eliminating bias and ensuring transparency in our compensation system. We have several practices in place to be transparent and mitigate inequities. These include no negotiations or standard offers by level, non-overlapping pay bands, a well-defined leveling system that informs compensation, equity and titles; pay scales with one set of levels and a few different pay scales depending on the role; and fixed paypoints as opposed to managers deciding on percentage increases, which can disadvantage people over time.
We report on our representation and DEI progress every six months in a comprehensive midyear checkpoint and an annual lookback. The purpose of sharing is to foster transparency in our DEI efforts and give employees the data they need to be empowered to weave DEI into every decision they make. This approach helps hold us accountable and allows everyone to contribute to making Bowery a place where folks are welcome, included and empowered to reach their full potential. Further, we also prioritize transparency through our biweekly all hands, which provides a platform to review goals and for employees to ask questions.
Why were these practices implemented?
Bowery implemented equity practices to eliminate pay inequities. By adopting standard offers at each level and removing negotiations, we eliminate the potential pay gaps for underrepresented groups that can result from individual negotiations.
These pay equity practices collectively demonstrate Bowery’s commitment to creating a fair and inclusive compensation system that treats employees equitably based on their skills, qualifications and contributions.
In 2019, we started measuring and monitoring our DEI results for the first time and when we did, we noticed some trends we didn’t love. We needed to be more intentional, so we formally introduced our DEI strategy, set initial goals, and shared our commitment to being transparent and reporting twice annually about how we’re doing relative to our DEI plans.
This level of transparency promotes trust and confidence among employees, as they can clearly see how fairness and consistency in compensation is determined.”
What are the outcomes of this level of transparency? What employee feedback have you received about these practices?
This level of transparency promotes trust and confidence among employees as they can clearly see how fairness and consistency in compensation is determined. It reduces concerns about pay disparities and fosters a sense of equity, which leads to improved employee morale, job satisfaction and retention. Additionally, employees appreciate being able to understand the factors that contribute to their compensation, which enhances their overall understanding.
In a recent survey, 90 percent of team members said they find our DEI report valuable, and several employees commented that they better understand our diversity story, feel motivated to take action and have changed behaviors as a result. From these transparent practices, employees have an increased sense of accountability and there is a continuous feedback loop for improvement.
By bringing the entire company together for our all-hands meetings, we promote a shared understanding and alignment around business updates and progress that also fosters a sense of collective purpose. The open Q&A is particularly valued because employees can share input and concerns.
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