12 Jun 2020
Salesloft Response
6yThanks for taking the time to share your frustration. I'm sad this is your experience and appreciate the feedback. I’ll use it to get better
I appreciate you bringing up how we discussed my approachability during SKO Q&A. I wish I had delivered my message more effectively. I was trying to share how hard it's been to connect with Lofters as much as I could in the past when we were smaller. It’s a tension. I wanted to encourage everyone to be bold and seek me out. At the same time, I could’ve shared the steps I’ve taken to meet and build relationships with new folks as well. I didn’t mean to put it all on you. As the leader, I go first. I do take every request I receive to connect with anyone on the team. But that’s not enough. I can and will continue to be more proactive in building those bonds and careful not to spend too much time with longer-term team members.
On Diversity and Inclusion, when selecting our consultant we vetted over a dozen companies. Buck Davis & Company stood out among all of them. They connected with our culture and core values. Buck’s co-facilitator was a person of color and together they modeled the type of healthy dialogue and navigation of difficult conversations we hoped for our teams. This also enabled them to speak to our white employees about being an ally. When we were considering qualifications, we weighed their team’s race among other key criteria and felt his team’s diversity was ultimately a strength. I can understand how without more context this might send a mixed message or come off as tone deaf. I hope you were able to attend. They've received very positive reviews.
On expense reduction, the choice was not one we took lightly. I’m sorry you were blindsided. We aimed to balance the positive news of having plenty of money in the bank (especially compared to many other companies) with the reality of a global pandemic and deciding to adjust financial plans and secure our long-term trajectory and ensure go-forward Lofters has the best opportunity to thrive. My intent was to raise everyone’s awareness without causing unnecessary anxiety. We tried to do this throughout the decision process. I specifically remember myself and Rob saying at All Hands, ‘We wish we could tell you that you won’t be affected by this. Unfortunately we can’t.” It sounds like we could’ve done more of that although I heard a good bit of feedback that others saw it coming. Our intent was to operate with the highest levels of integrity, transparency, empathy, and compassion and share decisions as soon as we had them. Transparency with incomplete information is usually unhelpful.
In closing, again, thank you for sharing. Even if anonymous and without being two-way, it helps encourage the dialogue that is so necessary for a healthy team environment. I, and the ELT, are always available to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Kyle