This blog was written by Jennifer Finn, Employee Experience Lead.
What do you think of when you hear “HR” or “Human Resources?” Many people might think of paperwork, rules, attendance or policies. In fact in HR eOnline’s HR’s Not Dead, It’s Just Changing Names article, most people refer to their company’s HR departments as a “necessary evil.”
At Solstice, the HR function encompasses many areas of expertise and rebranding was an impetus for the recent name-change to Employee Experience.
We don’t want to be known as the company police department but rather your advocates, advisors and coaches in all things benefits, training and more. Employee Experience, we feel, more accurately reflects the employee journey through Solstice and we are your partner through it. Certainly, there will be times that difficult conversations need to be had in order to uphold the integrity of the firm. However, in an environment where mentoring is so deeply engrained in our culture, there are many other touch points for feedback and opportunities to discuss growth.
Brian Souza wrote in his book The Weekly Coaching Conversations, “Great coaches consistently get the most out of their people, because they consistently put the most into their people.” At Solstice, our people are our greatest asset, therefore we feel the Employee Experience is the most valuable investment.
What is the Solstice Employee Experience?
- Onboarding: An orientation program for new hires to help them integrate into the Solstice culture and community. A new hire will learn everything from culture, policies and health benefits to our North Star Manifesto.
- Mentor Program: Upon entering the firm, each new employee is assigned a mentor in the organization to foster career growth and be a guide for the calendar year.
- Solstice Connect: A home-grown 6-week cohort program for groups of around 8 new employees. Each session is led by a seasoned Solstie who inspires new Solsties in our company culture, our 8 principles, and other leadership and self-awareness skills.
- Committees: Programs created to encourage social activity, skill building, company improvement, and self improvement. Employees can join the following committees: Wellness, Philanthropy, Green Team, Social, Book Club, Fiber Arts, many sports teams and more!
- Communities: Common discipline communities across every skillset in the firm allows individuals to connect, teach and learn from individuals on other projects playing similar roles. Communities exist for Engineers, Designers, Product Managers, Quality Assurance Engineers and ScrumMasters.
- 60-day Interview: The first few weeks for a new employee can be like trying to drink water bursting from a fire-hose. The 60-day interview is a one-on-one check in with the Employee Experience Team to see how a new Solstie is adapting to the culture of the firm and projects to which he or she is assigned.
- Solstice U: An internal training program with over 50 tailored courses developed and taught by employees here at the firm. These courses are on a repeating cycle and every employee is encouraged to set aside time to attend core and discipline-specific trainings to further his or her skill sets.
- Training Budget: A generous opportunity afforded to every employee, starting day one. Each employee has a training budget of $5,000 used for advancing a skill or developing a new one. The budget can be appropriately used, with discretion from the Employee Experience Team, for things like conferences, classes, or even books.
- Chicago Dance Marathon: Solstice Mobile is the proud title sponsor of the Chicago Dance Marathon, a yearly dance-a-thon to raise money for families of kids who are at Lurie Children’s Medical Center in Chicago.
- Global Impact Initiative: A Solstice-developed grant program established to foster global outreach to tech communities in foreign countries. Solstice employees have the opportunity to apply and be accepted to work with fascinating teams on difficult projects. Recent trips have been to Nairobi, Kenya.
- Exotic Work Location Program: If the circumstances are right, an employee has the opportunity to work remotely from a unique destination!
So, after practicing some introspection, we took a long hard look at ourselves and thought it was time for a change. Join us on our journey through the Employee Experience that is Solstice!
