For more than 15 years, TextExpander has grown from two developers with lots of ideas into the closely-knit, geographically diverse team we are today. In that time, and through a thoughtful hiring process, TextExpander’s new recruits maintained the values that Greg and Philip, TextExpander’s co-founders built the company on. As the team grew, it became important to define those values to better communicate them with others.
Through a series of sessions and workshops, the team came together to not just define the values, but to document them so that the growing team can continue to live them and keep them ingrained in our team culture.
TextExpander’s Company Values
TextExpander’s values are:
- Passion for Customer
- Accountability
- Teamwork
- Integrity
All TextExpander staff are screened on these values in the hiring process, and the team works hard to uphold these values daily, in every task we do.
Philip Goward, one of TextExpander’s co-founders, explains why he and Greg Scown felt it important for TextExpander to appoint values:
“From its outset the company began operating on values both Greg and I as founders held. At the time we didn’t think of them in that way, though living by them. As the company grew we realized we were hiring to our values and those we had imbued to others in the company anyway. We decided it would be better to proceed by being upfront about what those values are, and be clear about them with everyone from the start. This way rather than impart the values from on-the-job experience they become part of hiring, onboarding, and day to day work-life.”
Greg Scown, TextExpander’s other co-founder, explains how TextExpander’s values were decided:
“TextExpander‘s values were lived by the team for many years before they were committed to writing. Our values were easy to enumerate, as we simply wrote down the tenets of how we’d already been doing things.”
What do these Values Mean?
As a team, we have a shared understanding of what these values mean to us as a company. Greg Scown describes what each value represents:
Passion for Customer
TextExpander has always placed high value on providing excellent service and support to our customers; they are the bedrock of our business.
Accountability
TextExpander places a great deal of trust in one another to make the company run, and that trust is earned and reinforced by meeting our commitments to one another.
Teamwork
We’ve got each other’s backs, we grow and nurture our team, and we take joy and delight in others’ successes.
Integrity
We do business honestly and honorably; we treat others as we wish to be treated; we do what we say we’ll do, and others can count on that.
How We Live Our Values
We’re proud to say our values aren’t just posters on the office wall. As a remote company, that would be difficult anyway. 🙂
Each member of the TextExpander team brings these values to work every day. They act as our guiding posts for the attitude with which we approach work, our customers and one another.
The recruitment process focuses on finding people who already embody these values and the learning doesn’t stop there.
What’s in a TextExpander Values Talk?
When a new employee joins TextExpander, during onboarding they go through four different talks with different members of the TextExpander team to discuss each of TextExpander’s values.
In each values talk, a member of the TextExpander team and the new recruit discuss:
- What the value means to them
- How that value can be measured or defined
- Examples of living that value
- Examples of others demonstrating they possess that value
The talks aren’t interviews and they’re not intended to closely examine the new teammate. They act as an introduction into each of the values, so all of our TextExpander-ers know what is expected of them in their new role at TextExpander.
Why Our Values Matter
We’re proud of our values. Having passion for our customers means we remain acutely aware at all times that they are the bedrock of our business. Accountability means we’re able to rely on our colleagues. Teamwork means we have each others’ backs and can execute remote working efficiently. Integrity means we approach our work honestly and honorably.
Do you live TextExpander’s values? Please visit our job posts here.