DevelopWell EOY Culture Debrief by Akailah Jenkins McIntyre

2024-12-16 17:47:42 UTC

Schedule flexibility is a key strength v living into 32 hour work week/ capacity. A key strength and area of growth that are at odds, what's going on there and how do we put measures in place to solve for this.

2024-12-16 17:48:38 UTC

It seems like we've got the right tools but still aren't living into them and in some ways have backtracked, how can we shift accountability?

2024-12-16 17:49:03 UTC

we care about the work and deeply respect each other as peers, which is a strong foundation

2024-12-16 17:49:26 UTC

It feels like by and large, we enjoy working here. That feels good to see.

2024-12-16 17:50:20 UTC

We are missing many opportunities due to the lack of feedback and debriefing

2024-12-16 17:50:59 UTC

Great to see that everyone feels respected and engaged. Seems like the willingness and energy are here and, creating clarity around systems is on the horizon and getting closer - maybe perpetually.

2024-12-16 17:51:43 UTC

We operate as a team, communicate like one, and provide the permission for folks to manage their own schedules around our demanding client and internal work. I'd say that's a very strong starting place.

2024-12-16 17:51:58 UTC

I think we have boxed ourselves in with so many constraints in the work week, internal monday, no meeting friday, 32 hour that there is no way for things to not feel at/ over capacity. If we feel that our schedules and work are flexible, how can we schedule our time in a way reflects flexibility and results

2024-12-16 17:52:16 UTC

It feels like we're meeting a lot but still not talking about the right things or using that meeting time effectively (considering satisfaction on internal team meetings going down). I think we should use less meetings and better systems

2024-12-16 17:52:56 UTC

There is a lot of internal work that we want and need apparent alongside ongoing capacity strain

2024-12-16 17:54:00 UTC

Seems like our strengths (enjoying working here, mutual respect, appreciating flexibility) all have stayed consistent, and we've grown in internal systems

2024-12-16 17:54:15 UTC

regular space for debriefs and feedback

reassessing the workweek model

if we pivot to focusing on results, that means we need to be more thoughtful in how and when we work

2024-12-16 17:54:19 UTC

I agree with pretty much everything in the pulse survey and think that it's a helpful org culture snapshot

2024-12-16 17:55:06 UTC

Debriefing and multi-directional feedback are lacking and we create urgency around making changes that we can't stick to

2024-12-16 17:55:06 UTC

DW is a company that has tried on many approaches, systems, structures, etc. and going forward should work to hone what actually works for the work and workplace we want to have

2024-12-16 17:56:21 UTC

Not understanding the framing for 32 hour workweek.

2024-12-16 17:56:39 UTC

Nothing standing out as very misaligned. Our schedule/pace issues are multi-faceted, and there isn't a clear or new path through that complexity apparent here.

2024-12-16 17:57:16 UTC

Internal communication is a sore point, and feels like we haven't fully pinned down whether it's a tool problem or an expectation problem just yet since there are highlights in the survey about monday, process benchmarks, note taking, and slack.

2024-12-16 17:57:39 UTC

we have had lots of turnover this year, and in general, which is hard and means we've been going through a lot of change.

2024-12-16 17:57:52 UTC

Structured debriefs would be a priority for me

2024-12-16 17:58:27 UTC

Clarify expectations and systems across the board, support deepwork/focus, debrief and spotlight sessions

2024-12-16 17:58:49 UTC

Client work is making strides, but it feels like we have more to do and learn as it relates to our culture - being clear about who we want to be and living into that

2024-12-16 17:59:08 UTC

DevelopWell is a company that is figuring out how to live into its values while being a small, startup consultant org, and going forward we should work to improve internal systems more slowly with clearer, more realistic expectations for implementing them.

2024-12-16 18:00:28 UTC

Retention issues feels like an elephant. also role changes and structure changes that haven't really been discussed

2024-12-16 18:01:16 UTC

we need to hold ourselves accountable to internal/ culture work in the same way we hold ourselves accountable in client work

2024-12-16 18:01:35 UTC

I think we've put a lot of the challenges we've faced on Lola, rightfully so in some cases, but it does feel like we still haven't hit our stride or figured out a healthy balance between excellent client work, flexible scheduling, and staying within hours, which Lola certainly contributed to but it feels like there's a long way to go in solving for these things given the way we currently work

2024-12-16 18:01:39 UTC

DW is a company that is adaptable and malleable, and going forward should work to solidify where we can/cannot be flexible internally and externally and build, then reinforce clarity around that.

2024-12-16 18:02:20 UTC

The one thing the survey doesn't speak to is the sales process and need to be profitable. Understandably, the survey is not designed to address this, but this is a driving factor in the urgency and sustainability area. I wonder about the tension between needing to be profitable and maintaining protected time and time for focused work.

2024-12-16 18:02:22 UTC

If a client was having these type of retention issues, we would probably tell them that it's them that's the issue, not the people who are leaving

2024-12-16 18:03:57 UTC

DevelopWell is a company that is seeing progress in some areas, particularly client work, and pain points in others, particularly around culture. Going forward, we should work to define and lean into systems and determine what's most important for us regarding the culture we want to have so that we can effectively live into it.

2024-12-16 18:05:05 UTC

We have a tendency to want to identify solutions to things and act on them so quick, and it makes it harder to be aligned on what we're doing and why, we go back on decisions, and rushing it isn't helping us in the long run with urgency and capacity issues

2024-12-16 18:05:07 UTC

clarifying internal communication and what effectiveness is. it's not included here, but different roles need different levels of info at various times. to reduce some of the slack and ad hoc communication to free up space for focused work, aligning internal comms w/ long term goals could be a great use of our prioritization

2024-12-16 18:05:10 UTC

Mitigating urgency - we spend a lot of time during the day on slack about tasks that may not be immediately necessary, and it takes time away from work that feels more necessary

2024-12-16 18:06:12 UTC

Burnout was mentioned in the survey, but not sure it was addressed and feels important

2024-12-16 18:06:28 UTC

The high rate of organizational and process changes and pivoting. We are frequently reacting and rebounding, more than we are not.

2024-12-16 18:08:38 UTC

DevelopWell is a company that deeply cares about employee experience in the social impact / social change workplace; and going forward should work to define what its own individual standard of care is with our clients, the employees/constituencies we serve. We can't move the bar for each and every client and would be well served to name what success looks like for each offering.

2024-12-16 18:10:28 UTC

Are we specialists? Generalists? Or opportunists? We seem to be willing to take on any type of project is the money sounds good.

2024-12-16 18:13:25 UTC

I think if we narrowed our focus on client work, we would get a lot of mental space back. We spend so much time doing so many things. If we could really clearly define what we do as opposed to doing everything, I think that would get us a lot of time back. I think we assume that what we are selling is "come to us to do it all" but that that orientation is not setting us up for success, sustainability, or growth

2024-12-16 18:14:54 UTC

We put too high expectations on our staff. It's great that we have extremely high functioning people who don't need a lot of direction, but that is an unfair expectation on new people especially when people have different working styles. We expect people to 'hit the ground running' but that is really code for throw them into the work so we can relieve the pressure on others.

2024-12-16 18:14:58 UTC

We don't give ourselves enough credit for the things we do really well. We have a highly adaptable and nimble team who solves organizational problems and has a high rate of satisfaction. It feels like most of our client conversations are about what hasn't gone well or where we need to be better on hours, and that doesn't always feel good morale-wise.

2024-12-16 18:16:29 UTC

We move too fast, make snap judgments quickly, and I wonder how we can harness this and lean into slower thinking when necessary.