High Performance Culture & Teammate Development

Formal performance impact reviews

At Sourcegraph, we have a formal performance (impact) review process that takes place twice a year.

• 1st review period of the year: launches in February
• 2nd review period of the year: launches in August

The purpose of our annual reviews, which take place via Lattice, is to gather formal feedback from the Teammate, their Manager, and their Peers. The purpose of our annual reviews, which take place via Lattice, is to gather formal feedback from the Teammate, their Manager, and their Peers.

Our impact review process is explained in detail here

Why is recognition important

Employee recognition is important because it:

• Boosts morale and motivation: Recognition shows when hard work is valued and appreciated, which can help boost morale and motivation.
• Increases job satisfaction: Teammates who feel appreciated and valued are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs.
• Builds a positive work culture: Recognition helps to create a positive work culture by fostering a sense of teamwork and collaboration among Teammates.
• Increases loyalty and commitment: Teammates who feel valued and appreciated are more likely to be loyal and committed to their organization, which can help to improve retention rates.
• Improves performance: Recognition can help to improve teammate performance by providing positive reinforcement and encouraging employees to continue working hard.

How do we use the #thanks channel?

Anyone at Sourcegraph can use Lattice to send a message to the #thanks channel. Both managers and Teammates are encouraged to use the channel regularly. The Lattice praise feature can be used any time you want to recognize and thank a teammate in the #thanks channel.

You can also scroll through the #thanks Slack channel history to see recent examples.

How do we use Lattice Thanks/Praise to post in the #thanks channel?

There are two main ways to share public Thanks/Praise for your peers or, if you’re a manager, teammate. Please see detailed instructions below and Loom trainings.

1. Submit your feedback in Lattice (Loom)
   1. Login to Lattice
   2. Select the “give and request feedback” link under your name plate on the homepage
   3. Fill in the question of who you want to give feedback to
   4. Select the “public” button below IF you want it to appear in the #Thanks channel
   5. Type out your feedback in the text box
   6. Select “Send feedback” button
2. Submit your feedback via Slack in the Lattice app (Loom)
   1. Scroll down to the apps section of your Slack menu bar on the left side
   2. Select the Lattice app
   3. In the message box type “help”
   4. Lattice will respond asking what you would like to do, and possible options
   5. Select “Give praise”
   6. It will ask who you would like to give praise to. Select the teammate’s name you’d like to send thanks/praise
      • You can select up to 10 Teammates. Once you select one, the drop down will close and show “choose a colleague” again. Select the next teammate you’d like to praise/thank.
   7. Once you’ve selected the name, a green “write praise” button will appear. Select it.
   8. A text box will appear. Type your thanks/praise here.
   9. Press “share” and the thanks will be shared in the #thanks channel

What we expect from Teammates

• We expect Teammates to give thanks to peers or leadership regularly
• Examples of when to share thanks include, but are not limited to:
  • Thanking a teammate for significant contributions on a project
  • Thanking a teammate who helped you solve a problem
  • Recognizing a teammate who displayed Sourcegraph’s values
  • Congratulating a teammate on a recent accomplishment

What we expect from managers

• Managers are reminded to recognize one or more of their Teammates at a minimum on a monthly basis.
• Managers are expected to give thanks/praise in real time - the sooner the better! (within 1-2 days at the latest)
• Managers are expected to praise both publicly and privately, while only giving constructive feedback in private.
• Manager can recognize individuals or their entire team

Best practices for using the #thanks channel

• Be direct. Select the teammate(s) you’re recognizing in the Lattice Slack app.
• Focus on the positive. Praise in public, criticize in private.
• Be specific with your praise. What is the specific behavior you are praising? Praise genuine behaviors. You don’t have to wait for significant events to reinforce good work.
• Be timely. The sooner the praise is delivered, the more powerful.
• Be sincere. Mean what you say and deliver the praise in a genuine manner. People want sincere meaningful praise.
• Be consistent. Consistently recognizing good work will help create a positive work culture and encourage others to do their best. It’s important to recognize people regularly, not just once in a while.
• What if I want to thank more than 1 person in a thanks post? You have the ability to select multiple people when giving praise/thanks in Lattice.
  • Select the first person you want to thank once selected the dropdown will show “choose a colleague” again.
  • Select the next teammate you’d like to praise/thank.
  • Continue the process up to 10 Teammates for one message.

Why is general feedback important?

General feedback is important because it:

• Improves performance: It gives Teammates an opportunity to grow their skills/behaviors
• Increases job satisfaction: It shows the company’s investment in their development
• Creates career growth: It can provide Teammates meeting or exceeding expectations the feedback to advance their career
• Builds a positive work culture: It addresses behaviors or skills not aligning with expectations before it becomes a performance issue.

How do we use feedback?

Teammates and Managers are expected to share feedback regularly in a timely manner. The goal is to keep general feedback in private through the Lattice tool and regular 1:1s.. Lattice allows for quick, real-time feedback to be given in both directions (lateral, upwards, & down). The feedback can then be discussed in the next 1:1 or a specific meeting, if necessary.

What types of general feedback can I give in Lattice?

• Peer feedback: This is when a teammate gives someone on their team or a cross-functional team feedback around their work or behavior to help them improve their skills.
• Teammate to Manager: This is where a teammate gives upward feedback to their leader
• Manager to Teammate: This is where Managers give general feedback around their Teammates performance, skills, values alignment, and behaviors

Who will see the general feedback I give a Peer, Manager or Teammate? Lattice will give you the option of who you want to see the general feedback. As a reminder general feedback should be given in private and only praise/thanks feedback should be public. In Lattice you can choose one of the following visibility options when giving feedback: _ Private - This will only go to the teammate you have selected _ Private + Manager - This will go to the teammate you selected and their direct manager * Manager - This will only go to the manager of the teammate you selected

How do we use Lattice to give feedback?

Lattice allows us to centralize general feedback and track updates. There are two main ways to share feedback through Lattice. Please see detailed instructions below and/or our Loom training.

Giving feedback is not to create or resolve conflict. If you are experiencing any form of conflict at work please review our handbook page on conflict resolution. Your People Partner is always a resource as well.

1. Submit your feedback in Lattice (Loom)
   1. Login to Lattice
   2. Select the “give and request feedback” link under your name plate on the homepage
   3. Fill in the question of who you want to give feedback to
   4. Select one of the following you feel is the best way to document the feedback
      1. Public - This can only be used for thank/praise. Do not submit constructive feedback publicly
      2. Private - This will only go to the teammate you have selected
      3. Private + Manager - This will go to the teammate you selected and their direct manager
      4. Manager - This will only go to the manager of the teammate you selected
   5. Type out your feedback in the text box
   6. Select “Send feedback” button
2. Submit your feedback via Slack Lattice app (Loom)
   1. Scroll down to the apps section of your Slack menu bar on the left side
   2. Select the Lattice app
   3. In the message box type “help”
   4. Lattice will respond asking what you would like to do, and possible options
   5. Select “Give feedback”. A new message will appear, select “give feedback” again
   6. It will ask who you would like to provide feedback about. Select the teammate’s name you’d like to provide feedback.
   7. Once you’ve selected the name, type your feedback in the text box.
      • Remember that using the SBI (Situation, Behavior, and Impact) is a very useful way to provide constructive feedback.
   8. Select the visibility you desire:
      • Private - This will only go to the teammate you have selected
      • Private + Manager - This will go to the teammate you selected and their direct manager
      • Manager - This will only go to the manager of the teammate you selected

What we expect from Teammates

• Follow the general feedback best practices
• It’s important that managers receive feedback from their team. We expect Teammates to share specific and actionable feedback with their manager. Have examples of the behavior, work, process, or concern ready to share.
• We expect Teammates to share feedback with their peers in a kind, direct, timely and thoughtful manner.
• Ideally, Teammates share feedback with each other prior to looping in management unless the concern is large and/or egregious.

What we expect from managers

• Follow the general feedback best practices
• Direct communication & immediate feedback / coaching
• Understand career goals: when Managers understand a Teammate’s career & development goals, they can help better coach them to get where they want to go.

Best practices for general feedback

• Use the SBI method: The SBI method is explaining the situation, behavior, and impact it caused, followed by the desired change and expected impact due to the change.
  • Example: While working on our latest project you did not provide status updates on your work which caused me to feel stress around meeting our deadlines. When we work on future projects together, providing weekly status updates on your work will reduce stress and create a better working partnership.
• Be direct: we expect Teammates to promote a culture of ongoing feedback - meaning direct, in-the-moment, immediate feedback… both positive everyday praise, as well as feedback on opportunities for growth.
• Be timely: when something goes wrong or a teammate is not following through, we expect our Teammates to provide feedback early and often. If something occurs that warrants feedback, a conversation should take place immediately, and, where necessary leadership should be looped in.

How do we use Lattice to request feedback?

Lattice allows us to not only give, but request feedback. There are two main ways to request feedback through Lattice. Please see detailed instructions below and/or our Loom training.

1. Request your feedback in Lattice (Loom)
   1. Login to Lattice
   2. Select the “give and request feedback” link under your name plate on the homepage
   3. Select the “request feedback” square at the top of the new window
   4. Fill in the question of who you want to receive feedback from
   5. Select one of the following you feel is the best way to document the feedback
      • Private - The feedback given will only be seen by you
      • Private + Manager - The feedback given will be seen by you & your manager
      • Manager Only - The feedback given will be seen only by your manager
   6. You can then select either:
      • A suggested feedback question
      • Type out what you would like feedback on
   7. Select “Request private feedback” button
2. Request your feedback via Slack Lattice app (Loom)
   1. Scroll down to the apps section of your Slack menu bar on the left side
   2. Select the Lattice app
   3. In the message box type “help”
   4. Lattice will respond asking what you would like to do, and possible options
   5. Select “Request feedback”. A new message will appear, select “request feedback” again
   6. It will ask who you would like to request feedback. Select the teammate’s name you are seeking feedback from.
   7. Once you’ve selected the name, type out what area or project you would like specific feedback on in the text box.
   8. Select the visibility you desire:
      • Private - The feedback given will only be seen by you
      • Private + Manager - The feedback given will be seen by you & your manager
      • Manager Only - The feedback given will be seen only by your manager

How we use Lattice for 1:1s

Managers have access to sync 1:1 meetings with Lattice templates. The templates are structured to drive productive 1:1 conversations. Managers and Teammates can add agenda items to the agenda in Lattice. Items stored in 1:1s can be referred back to for writing formal reviews.

1. Managers 1:1 setup (loom link)
2. Adding to a 1:1 agenda (loom link)
3. Managers setting up monthly “updates” for the team

What we expect from Teammates

• We expect Teammates to do the following for every 1:1
  • Come prepared to discuss recurring items
  • Add relevant agenda items (loom)
  • Ask for constructive feedback and whether you are meeting or exceeding expectations. There should never be any question with respect to how a Teammate is performing due to the weekly check-in
• We expect Teammates to prioritize attending their 1:1s
• We expect Teammates to provide manager constructive feedback through Lattice and discuss it in the next 1:1

What we expect from managers

• In addition to immediate feedback, we expect Managers to have regular 1:1s with everyone on their team. This should happen weekly or bi-weekly at a minimum.
• Managers should use Lattice 1:1 templates to prepare, host, and track each Teammates 1:1s
• We expect the following to take place in every 1:1:
  • Personal check-in
  • Solicit direct feedback from Teammates (“What should I start / stop / continue?”, “How happy are you?,” is there anything I can do to better support you?,” etc).
  • Provide direct feedback on performance. Managers should share performance feedback during every single 1:1.
    • If giving negative feedback, Managers are expected to provide specific examples and follow the SBI (situation, behavior, impact) model.
    • If coaching has taken place, we expect a follow up agenda item on progress (improvement, decline, no change).
• Utilize the automated recommendation questions in each 1:1
  • You will see a box within our 1:1 agenda where you can pick a specific area to have a random thoughtful question generated
  • Select an area of focus that aligns with the topics of that week’s agenda topics.
• Utilize the “Update” feature to check-in on your team at least monthly.
  • Instructions on how to set up can be found here

Best practices for 1:1s

• Add agenda items as they come up throughout the week
  • How to loom video
• The following agenda topics should be part of every 1:1:
  • Personal check-in. Everyone at Sourcegraph cares about Teammates’ well-being in and out of work.
  • Business highlights/pass down from manager
  • Project updates from Manager & Teammate
  • Challenges/Feedback (Teammate)
  • Feedback/Coaching (Manager)
  • Parking lot (future topics)
  • Wrap-up/Review - this weeks priorities, expectations, and action items
• 1:1 should be scheduled for 30-45 min per week with the flexibility to shorten or add additional time based on the agenda
  • If agenda items remain be sure to schedule additional time to touch base in another meeting or a-sync the same week

Templates found in Lattice:

• Weekly 1:1 - Our standard 1:1 template
• Weekly 1:1: coaching - A template with an emphasis on coaching areas
• Weekly 1:1: Focus on promotion - A template of our standard 1:1 with emphasis on preparing for a promotion

How we use Lattice for career development

Managers have access to growth templates in Lattice. The templates are designed to be initiated by Managers, and Teammates have the ability to add agenda items.

What we expect from Teammates

• To be open and honest about their career goals
• Review and be familiar with their team’s career frameworks
• Use their yearly professional development budget towards career goals
• Seek guidance from your Manager and/or People Team if you need help formulating a career path or goals

What we expect from managers

• Host a 1:1 dedicated to career development and/or advancement at least quarterly
• Setup a recurring career development template in Lattice for each of your direct reports
• Be familiar with your departments career frameworks
• Use the time to intentionally discuss the Teammates career goals and aspirations
  • If the Teammate is unsure of their desired career path, seek to understand their favorite parts of their job, and strongest skills. Use the knowledge to provide recommendations/options on possible career paths. The People Team can help here as well.
• Work together to build short- and long-term goals to achieve their career goals
• Work to understand what types of task, or projects you can get them involved in to contribute to their short-term career goals

Templates

Lattice has a Career Growth Check-in template to use for your quarterly career-development 1:1 with your Teammates. The goal is to focus on Teammates’ short- and long-term career goals, or if the path is not clear, discover possible career paths together.

Never hesitate to reach out to your People Partner if you have questions or need assistance discovering possible career paths.

Best practices for growth & career-development conversations:

• Review your career goal monthly
• Have a conversation with your manager at least once a quarter
  • Come prepared to your growth conversations. Be ready to provide an update on your goals, aspirations, ask questions and ask for feedback
• Make short-term goals to build up to annual goal (monthly & quarterly)
• Make long-term goals for the next 2-3 years
• Be flexible with your career development goals and career aspirations as they may change over time

Best practices for Teammates:

• Loom on how to create a “note to self”
• Create notes when:
  • You have a big accomplishment you want to remember for performance reviews
  • A monthly reflection on work completed/accomplished over the last month
  • Feedback you want to remember to work on

Best practices for Managers:

• Loom on how to create a “note to self”
• This is a great way to collect small examples of positive interactions you have with teammates between review cycles
• Create notes when:
  • Teammates go above and beyond
  • Teammate responds well to feedback given
  • Teammate makes a positive impact in a team or cross functional meeting
  • Teammate shows a skills you want to ensure to remember to highlight
  • Teammate shows interest in expanding their role in certain area(s)
  • Teammate shows small areas of improvement you want to remember for reviews