Tech department is in a nosedive - Software Developer Embrace Pet Insurance Employee Review

To our former team member who posted this… We appreciate your candid feedback. Our tech department is the backbone of so much of what we do at Embrace. With fast-paced growth comes a need to find balance between being agile and nimble while writing sustainable, stable code. Quality assurance is our top priority and we want to know when code isn’t up to par, whether it’s coming from our in-house team or a third-party contractor. We understand that returning to the office twice a week was an adjustment for some, especially those who were hired when we were completely remote due to the pandemic. This decision was made with both the needs of the business and the team in mind, and we are confident that we are better for it. Thank you for helping us grow for two years. We wish you the absolute best as you continue your career journey. For anyone who might be reading this, here is the background on our return to hybrid… For years prior to the pandemic, we had a hybrid model allowing team members to work from home two days per week (three days in the office). As such, everyone had the necessary equipment and we were well positioned to keep everyone home full time at the onset of the pandemic. This allowed us to be one of the first companies to move to full-time work from home in March of 2020. From the onset of working from home full time, there were team members who asked if we’d ever return to the office. The answer was consistent: we are executing well right now, and as such, there’s no need to rush back; however, we were a hybrid model prior to the pandemic, and if we returned, we would be a hybrid model again (i.e. we’d never be full-time in office). This was consistent. The health and wellbeing of the team are and were always the top priority for us. By May of 2021, vaccines were readily available, and any adult who wanted the vaccine could have had two shots by then. Accordingly, we did not require people to return to the office, but we encouraged anyone who felt comfortable to return 1 – 3 days per week. Tuesdays and Thursdays became the most popular days in the office, consistently attracting ~30 people to the office. On those days, we witnessed the benefits of being in-person which included team members solving problems informally, a reduction in scheduled meetings by being able to answer questions quickly and informally, formal and informal instances of creativity and ideation, and generally, people connecting socially – laughing, chatting, going to lunch, having happy hour, and building relationships. As a mid-sized company that has tripled our business and team in three years, we’re a highly-aspirational, fast-paced, and gritty environment, so we believe in these benefits and that the business and the people who are seeking this kind of experience are better because of them. Accordingly, beginning November 8th of 2022, we asked all salaried team members within a 35-mile radius to return to the office on Tuesday and Thursday, continuing to work from home three days each week. This applies to ~80 of our ~300 team members. We made every effort to use multiple channels – our all-company meeting, email, Teams, etc. – to communicate the changes, and most importantly, to make ourselves available and accessible to address questions and concerns. We made the November 8th date flexible encouraging team members to talk with their immediate leaders if they required more time and flexibility to make the change to returning to the office two days per week. And for those who asked for flexibility, we granted it. We are always willing to reasonably work with our team members who come to us openly and honestly about their needs. We believe that we made every attempt to execute this return thoughtfully and with care. Certainly, execution is never flawless, and there are growing pangs in the process. Those things are consistent with any change in any organization. As such, we will continue to listen to our team, take their feedback seriously, and consistently work to implement what benefits our team and our business.