Are Founder Lead Cultures Intentional?

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Founder lead cultures are generally very early. And i think this is something that a lot of early employees face as they remembered the idyllic days of yester year, when we were 20 people and we did all these awesome things. Being able to embrace and celebrate what you can do now as a bigger company than you couldn't do before,. equally as much as what you could do when you were little was important. So how are you supporting your l g b t c plus community? How are you supporting both those identify as a community and allies? And how are but that also extends to human interests, our bookworms and our shefs and our pelaton writers?, he asks.

During this conversation on Jorgenson’s Soundbox, I have my beautiful and brilliant fiancé Jeannine on as my guest, and we talk about all things HR, now known as the People Function or People Team in many organizations. Currently, Jeannine is leading the People Team at the startup Density, which has grown from 40 employees to 180 in the last year and a half.

To start our discussion, I ask Jeannine to dispel some of the misperceptions of HR – she says often they are spending more time and energy fighting on behalf of employees. She also talks about the relationship between the CEO and the People Team and says she considers the CEO as a part of the People Team.

We transition to talking about recruiting and why Jeannine self-proclaims herself to be the world's worst recruiter as she shows candidates the underbelly of the company and paints a realistic landscape of what working for the company will really be like and the hurdles they may face. She elaborates on the different kinds of recruiting, and she highlights how the People Team changes as companies reach different milestones in growth.

Jeannine walks us through internal communications and some of the different systems she’s used, and she gives some examples of why people may seek out HR business partners for assistance. We talk about using Slack and whether it is a synchronous or asynchronous tool. She explains the necessary systems and processes and likens them to tree rings, with the HRIS (human resources information system) at the center, a ring for how the company gives and receives feedback, which we dive further into, and a third ring for things such as bonus programs and learning and development tools.

Towards the end of our conversation, we talk about why people leave companies as well as the difficulties of having to fire someone, and we discuss companies’ compensation philosophies. We also explore the reality of Flat Organizations and how transparency and clarity are the more important factors. Jeannine says that now companies are focusing more on creating better work-life balances and true wellness including physical, mental, and financial health. We wrap up with Jeannine’s learning journey and talk about building company culture.

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Additional Episodes If You Enjoyed:

Andrew Wilkinson: De-risking Leverage, Investing vs. Operating, and the Best Part About Business

Shane Mac: Building Messaging Protocol for Web3 (XMTP), Company Culture, and Scaling Trust

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