THE HUMAN COMPANY PLAYBOOKv1.0

l u m i n a r y l a b s | l u m i n a r y - l a b s . c o m | @ l u m i n a r y l a b s

FOrEwOrdIn April 2015, Luminary Labs convened a broad cross-section of founders, thinkers, and doers for a lively discussion on how employee-favorable policies are shaping 21st century business models.

Recently, major corporations have radically rethought how they do business by estab-lishing livable wages, developing creative equity plans, offering paid parental leave policies, and even pulling out of an entire state in protest of discrimination. In addition to sending a strong signal that people come first, these organizations are also making an economic argument to investors that employee- friendly policies pay dividends in reduced turnover and improved business outcome. But what about small companies, and what about startups?

Over the course of the evening, we discussed the forces behind this sea change, generated examples of new and creative business imper-atives, and together, started writing a guide for the more human company. Follow ing the event, we curated examples from a diverse set of growth companies to form this play-book. While no single policy or company is perfect, it is our hope that this compila-tion will provide practical examples for the startup community.

We see this playbook as a living document, and look forward to hearing how your com-pany is meeting this 21st century mandate.

Sara Holoubek CEO & Founder Luminary Labs

TABLE OF CONTENTscompensation 4Plated: Equity for All .............................5Offerpop: Have a Stake in Success .........6Pinterest: Have Options for Your Options ...7Ampush: Savings that Grow ...................8

HealtH and Wellbeing 9General Assembly: We Have You Covered ..10Squarespace: Keep It Simple ................ 11The Muse: Taking the Pulse .................. 12Luminary Labs: Sick Means Sick ............ 13Etsy: Be Happy .................................. 14

alloWing for life 15Upworthy: The Value of Downtime ........ 16Traackr: Stay Flexible .......................... 17Chartbeat: It Takes a Village ................ 18Change.org: Leave When You Need It ... 19

career trajectory 20DigitalOcean: Funding Learning ............ 21360i: Doubling Down on Reviews ......... 22Next Jump: Choose your Leaders .......... 23Birchbox: Happy Tribatical ................... 24SocialCode: Learn the Code ................ 25Managed by Q: Everyone Cleans ........ 26

bibliograpHy 27

tHank you 29

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for the companies in this section, compensation

is more than a paycheck. plated and offerpop

have made it possible for every employee to

have a stake in their success through access

to equity. pinterest has shown that progressive

equity plans make it easier for team members

to share in the rewards of growth. ampush

has found that supporting financial goals through

401k savings plans is both feasible and valued

by employees.

COMPENsATiON

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“every employee is an integral part of the

plated team… we believe our non-exempt,

hourly fulfillment center team members are

our most important resource, as they are

the closest to our customer…they are the

backbone of our company.”

PLATEdEqUiTY FOr ALL

tHe company400 employees, founded in 2012

tHe policyPlated offers full-time, non-exempt, hourly employees in their fulfillment centers the opportunity to participate in an Equity Stock Options program, at no cost to them, subject to a minimum eligibility period.

HoW tHey do itPlated administers this plan themselves, rather than using outsourcing services. They believe it’s important to provide a tailored approach to educating all employees on how the Equity Stock Option Plan is structured and managed, and its potential value.

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“‘When offerpop succeeds, we all succeed’

isn’t a just a catchy saying. each of us has

a real stake in the company.”

OFFErPOPHAvE A sTAKE iN sUCCEss

tHe company135 employees, founded in 2005

tHe policyOfferpop provides options to every employee as part of their initial offer. Options vest over 4 years, with 1-year cliff vesting and then monthly vesting afterwards. The 4-year schedule rewards employees who stick with the com-pany for the long haul, in addition to grants based on tenure or performance.

HoW tHey do itOfferpop uses Anvil to automate their stock option administration process. They offer sessions for new hires explaining what an option is, with a focus on making employees comfortable asking options-related questions.

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“We’ve just made it much easier for

team members to leave in one of the

most competitive recruiting environments

of all time. but that’s a trade-off we got

comfortable with.”

PiNTErEsTHAvE OPTiONs FOr YOUr OPTiONs

tHe company700 employees, founded in 2010

tHe policyPeople who have worked at Pinterest for at least 2 years and decide to leave for any reason are given 7 years to exercise their options instead of the usual 90 days.

HoW tHey do itPinterest started by gaining alignment on their philosophy around retention and equity. They offer some questions other companies should ask themselves: Do you believe that equity is part of annual compensation and that your team should have access to it early? Or do you believe that it’s intended to be a reward only if and when the company goes public or gets acquired? This philosophy will drive the decision.

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“ampush cares about the wellbeing of our

employees, and we want to provide helpful

tools for them to reach their long-term goals.

providing a 401k plan is a huge benefit in

itself, and adding a matching component is

icing on the cake.”

AMPUsHsAviNgs THAT grOw

tHe company150 employees, founded in 2009

tHe policyAmpush offers both traditional and Roth 401k options for full-time employees, and Ampush matches $0.50 per $1.00 up to 4% of the employee’s base annual salary with an auto- increase of the deferral percentage by 1% each year (100% vested).

HoW tHey do itTheir plan began in 2014 with balance of $0, and they grew it by implementing auto- enrollment and providing an employer match structured so that employees would be incen-tivised to contribute more. They’ve also part-nered with advisors to offer informational sessions and webinars, and distributed help-ful resources from their 401k partners.

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HEALTH & wELLBEiNgthe companies in this section believe that healthy

companies need healthy employees — meaning

they shouldn’t have to worry about paying

for a doctor’s visit or losing pay when they’re

ill. general assembly, squarespace, and

the muse prioritize insurance coverage. at

luminary labs sick means sick, and etsy uses

employee happiness as a measurement for

overall health.

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“ping pong tables and beer kegs can be fun,

but we’ve found candidates and employees

most appreciate practical considerations like

affordable monthly health benefits costs,

eliminating their monthly phone bill, and the

ability to take our classes for free.”

gENErAL AssEMBLYwE HAvE YOU COvErEd

tHe company400 employees, founded in 2011

tHe policyGeneral Assembly covers 90% of health insurance premium costs for every one of its U.S. employees.

HoW tHey do itGA was an early adopter of Sherpaa, the healthcare concierge service that provides employees with a dashboard to access physi-cians, insurance information, and more. This has helped the company provide better rates (and reduced employee contributions), and also means GA employees have in-a-moment access to medical advice and resources.

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“one of the company’s core values is to

simplify, and this extends to our health

insurance policy. by ensuring all employees

remain healthy and happy, we’re enabling

them to be productive in the workplace.”

sqUArEsPACEKEEP iT siMPLE

tHe company508 employees, founded in 2004

tHe policySquarespace covers 100% of the premium for employees and their dependents, begin-ning the first of the month following their hire date. They cover both in- and out-of-network expenses, and provide global medical insur-ance to all employees for personal travel.

HoW tHey do itSquarespace recommends finding a health insurance program that is easy to setup and maintain. They strive to offer a fantastic policy to all employees, while keeping the sign-up process as streamlined as possible. They prioritize administrative efficiencies to ensure the program is sustainable and can scale with the company’s growth.

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“it’s important for us as a company that our

team is healthy and has good coverage;

we certainly don’t want them opting out of

insurance because it’s expensive.”

THE MUsETAKiNg THE PULsE

tHe company51 employees, founded in 2011

tHe policyThe Muse covers 100% of medical insurance and 80% of dental insurance for its employees.

HoW tHey do itThe Muse decided to focus on health insurance after surveying its employees to understand which benefits, social activities, and ideas they care about most. It’s important to manage-ment that the team has a voice in decisions that impact them, and every time they’re asked, they give great feedback that allows The Muse to keep improving.

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“We’re constantly surprised by how many

new employees come from environments

where sick means ‘power through it.’ We

encourage them to take the time they need

to recuperate, so we can all stay healthy.”

LUMiNArY LABssiCK MEANs siCK

tHe company14 employees, founded in 2009

tHe policyLuminary Labs provides employees with 8 paid sick days a year, and strictly enforces a “stay home, get better” rule when team members feel under the weather. At the first sign of illness, sniffling employees are often sent home to rest and recuperate.

HoW tHey do itLuminary Labs puts recuperation first, and knows that it’s important for employees to recover quickly so they can bring their A-game to work and life. Keeping these values at the forefront, other team members work nimbly to pick up the slack and prioritize pending deliverables.

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“What’s missing from so many employee

surveys is the personal element. instead of

retrofitting a standard measurement system,

we began by figuring out what we value

most as a company and worked backwards

towards how we measure those values.”

ETsYBE HAPPY

tHe company757 employees, founded in 2005

tHe policyInspired by the country of Bhutan, Etsy pub-lishes an annual Happiness Report based on an employee survey which over 90% of employees typically respond to. Etsy then anonymizes responses and makes them avai-lable to the entire company, in addition to releasing a summary report to the public.

HoW tHey do itEtsy partnered with University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center to use the PERMA framework, a model to study happiness with core elements of psychological well-being. The survey evaluates employee sentiment about life outside of work, their colleagues, and Etsy as a company.

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the following employers support fulfilling careers

by empowering the non-work activities that

enrich their employees’ lives. importance is

placed on working to live, not the other way

around. they believe that parents, regardless

of gender, should spend time with the recent

additions to their families. upworthy incentivizes

vacation and traackr maintains flexible remote

work environments, while chartbeat and

change.org make sure parents get the time

they need with their children.

ALLOwiNg FOr LiFE

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“We strongly believe that taking time

away from work is important for our staff’s

well-being as well as their work.”

UPwOrTHYTHE vALUE OF dOwNTiME

tHe company80 employees, founded in 2012

tHe policyAfter 3 months of full-time employment, Upworthy provides an employee with a yearly $1,000 vacation stipend to reimburse staff members for vacation-related expenses. Staff members can use the full amount at once or can submit partial requests for expenses for different trips.

HoW tHey do itEveryone at Upworthy has unlimited time off — the company enforces a minimum, not a maximum. And to make sure folks are actually recharging, they offer the vacation bonus and require that the time be used for taking a actual “phone-off, not-checking-in” vacations.

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“chartbeat genuinely believes in creating an

inclusive workplace, and that means building

a company with policies that cater to every-

one from our interns to seasoned employees.”

CHArTBEATiT TAKEs A viLLAgE

tHe company98 employees, founded in 2009

tHe policyChartbeat provides primary caregivers with 12 weeks of paid maternal or paternal leave, plus 4 weeks of transitional flex time at 100% salary. Secondary caregivers are eligible for 6 weeks paid leave at 100% salary.

HoW tHey do itChartbeat suggests other small companies survey teams to ask them to prioritize benefits and perks. Employee opinions matter and it’s up to leadership teams to craft a policy, like maternal and paternal leave, that makes sense for their company culture.

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“generous, paid parental leave eliminates

the financial hardship of unpaid leave and

ensures that all families are able to spend

important time with new children. the result

is that employees are less stressed, more

engaged, and more productive when they

come back to work.”

CHANgE.OrgLEAvE wHEN YOU NEEd iT

tHe company300 employees, founded in 2007

tHe policyChange.org provides 18 weeks of fully paid parental leave for every new parent globally — regardless of gender, or whether the child is biological or adopted. Leave can be taken non-consecutively, within one year of the child’s arrival.

HoW tHey do itChange.org conducted a robust cost-benefit analysis. They believe building the right cul-ture of support, and attracting and retaining top talent, far exceeds the policy’s cost.

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“our vacation and remote work policies

reflect that although we work hard and

are committed to our jobs, we recognize

everyone has lives outside of work.”

TrAACKrsTAY FLExiBLE

tHe company30 employees, founded in 2009

tHe policyTraackr blends an unlimited vacation policy with a remote workforce to give employees maximum work/life flexibility. With a team spread over the U.S. and Canada, employ-ees work with their managers to customize daily work schedules and enable extended trips abroad.

HoW tHey do itAs a company without a full-time HR depart-ment, implementation was very organic and based on employee needs. Internally they use communications solutions like Slack and weekly all-hands meetings that promote trans-parency and cross-departmental collaboration, so remote employees are just as dialed in as those on site.

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the companies in this section believe that an

investment in their employees’ growth leads to

better retention, leadership, and results. digital-

ocean promotes learning through books and

conference attendance, while 360i and next

jump focus on fostering leaders through man-

ager and peer reviews. meanwhile, birchbox

celebrates career longevity with “stay interviews,”

and socialcode steeps new bies in the company’s

learning culture. at managed by Q, senior

leaders mop floors to understand what it takes

for their team of cleaners to thrive.

CArEEr TrAjECTOrY

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“because our mission is to create an amaz-

ing experience for developers, we want

to create an amazing experience for our

employees too.”

digiTALOCEANFUNdiNg LEArNiNg

tHe company170 employees, founded in 2012

tHe policyDigitalOcean gives each employee a Kindle loaded with books that have influenced the founders, and also funds attendance to at least one conference per year related to an employee’s career growth or personal devel-opment. All managers attend a 6-week inter-active learning bootcamp on managerial skills.

HoW tHey do itDigitalOcean believes that as part of a rapidly growing company, every employee deserves the opportunity to grow and develop with them. They have discovered that developing and supporting team member growth drives the innovation the company needs to build the best and simplest cloud infrastructure experience.

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“our guiding principle is simple. We believe

that alignment on three things is the most

important: What do our employees want?

What does our company need? What do our

clients need?”

360idOUBLiNg dOwN ON rEviEws

tHe company800 employees, founded in 2004

tHe policyRather than annual performance reviews, 360i has twice-a-year reviews focused on person-alized development in order to create career ownership. 360i also ensures cross-functional knowledge sharing at a capa bilities day where teams teach one another about agency offerings and highlight the best work in every practice area.

WHy tHey do itInstead of top-down management, 360i uses a “team of teams” approach. Aligning on goals on the individual and team levels provides the accountability and business context for the agency to thrive.

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“our mantra is ‘better me + better you =

better us.’ We believe that in order to make

the world a better place, we each need

to focus on bettering ourselves physically,

emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.”

NExT jUMPCHOOsE YOUr LEAdErs

tHe company200 employees, founded in 1994

tHe policyAt Next Jump, the leadership team is an ann-ually peer-voted group of 21 individuals named MV21. The team reflects and rewards the employee growth process; 70% of the group are “home grown” leaders who started in entry-level positions and developed into company leaders.

HoW tHey do itEach year, the entire company votes on 21 individuals they want to see as leaders. The staff considers who takes ownership, deter-mining which team members are role models in their focus on personal development and deliberate growth, in giving back by coaching other Next Jumpers, and in showing empathy for clients and users.

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“We want to remind long-term employees

how much we truly value them and their

contributions to the company and support

them in thinking about what’s next.”

BirCHBOxHAPPY TriBATiCAL

tHe company400 employees, founded in 2010

tHe policyOn their third anniversary, Birchbox employ-ees receive an increase in equity, 3 consecu-tive weeks of vacation with a travel stipend, an invitation to dinner with the CEO, and a “3 Years & Beyond Stay Interview” with their manager.

HoW tHey do itBirchbox uses the performance management tool Namely to implement the Stay Interview. They’ve developed questions by searching through Stay Interview literature and adapting practices to match Birchbox’s culture and val-ues. Development Opportunity is one of their top-rated engagement factors, and Birchbox actively cultivates a continued culture of learn-ing and growth through its various programs.

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“this program gives employees the landscape

to understand the impact they can and

will have at the larger company and team

level. its larger reason for being is that

we are a learning culture and this program

is all about offering an open book to

understanding socialcode.”

sOCiALCOdELEArN THE COdE

tHe company196 employees, founded in 2010

tHe policyEvery 8 weeks, SocialCode requires all new employees to attend a 3-day training that delves into the ins and outs of the company and industry. Each cohort graduates from the program with an understanding of how they fit into the big picture. The session culminates in a “forget the code” happy hour with the local office so new employ ees get to know their hosting office as well.

HoW tHey do itThe program is led by SocialCode’s training team. Their advice: don’t aim to make your grassroots training program perfect, get it started and iterate. Employees are hungry and engaged, so feed them with your mission, vision and know-how.

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“it is critically important that everyone in the

organization understand what goes into

making our clients happy to keep us aligned

as an organization and empathetic to the

needs of our colleagues who work in the field.”

MANAgEd BY qEvErYONE CLEANs

tHe company400 employees, founded in 2013

tHe policyAt Managed by Q, everybody cleans. Whether joining as a software engineer or an office cleaner, the first week on the job begins with learning how to clean an office late into the night. This policy ensures that the entire com-pany, regardless of position, stays aligned and acutely aware of the hard work required of their field operators for Q to succeed.

HoW tHey do itManagement has embraced this policy as central to the company culture. They also put a big focus on promoting from within: all of Managed by Q’s supervisors have been promoted from entry-level roles, and it’s not unusual for cleaners to move up the ranks.

BiBLiOgrAPHYbenefits design“How Google weighs all of its crazy-awesome perks,” Business Insider. Jillian D’Onfro, 04/07/15

alloWing for life“The Return of the nine-to-five,” The Economist, 11/10/14

“Silicon Valley: Perks for some employees, struggles for parents,” New York Times, Claire Cain Miller, 04/04/15

“An unusual new policy for working mothers,” Washington Post, Jena McGregor, 03/06/15

“Work Hard, Live Well,” Medium, Dustin Moskovitz, Dustin Moskovitz, 08/20/15

“A Toxic Work World,” New York Times, Anne-Marie Slaughter, 09/18/15

“How our Small Startup Affords to Offer Paid Maternity Leave,” Mary Ellen Slater, 03/18/15

“Beyond doing half the Parenting,” Anil Dash, 09/28/15

“The Great Divide in Workplace Benefits,” New York Times, 09/23/15

“Getting Creative About Benefits for Parents with Midweek ‘Playdates,’” David Zax, 10/02/15

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BiBLiOgrAPHY(CONT’d)

diversity“Managing unconscious bias.” Facebook Managing Bias.

“Silicon Valley leaders, new to social issues, come together over Indiana law,” New York Times, Nick Wingfield, 03/31/15

career trajectory“Why Top Fund Managers Want Better HR,” WSJ, Lauren Weber, 09/08/15

“Digital Taylorism,” The Economist, 09/12/15

compensation “Pinterest removes golden handcuffs,” Business Insider, Jillian D’Onfro, 04/02/15

“Starbucks to revise policies for its 130,000 baristas,” New York Times, Jodi Kantor, 08/14/14

“Behind the hype over Aetna’s minimum wage boost,” Fortune, Barbara Dyer, 01/20/15

“Corporate America strikes a liberal note on wages,” Politico, Brian Mahoney, 04/02/15

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THANK YOUpartnersWe’d like to thank the individuals and com-panies who made The Human Company Playbook, v1.0 possible, as well as our partners NY Tech Meetup and The Muse.

pHoto and designThank you to the artists below, who provided the images for the book under the Creative Commons License on Flickr:

Loren Kerns, flickr.com/photos/lorenkerns Jonathan Rieke, flickr.com/photos/jonathanrieke highlights6, flickr.com/photos/highlights6

Design by Dorothea Lee, farthermore.com

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interested in contributing to v2.0?Write us: humancompany@luminary-labs.com | #humanco