Everyday Life
Working at VSHN is a unique experience, rooted in collaboration and communication. This section provides an overview of what makes everyday life at VSHN special, highlighting both the little and big aspects of how we work and live at VSHN.
Our Work Culture is Different
VSHN fully embraces self-organization, meaning there are no team leads and no management; it relies on everyone’s self-responsibility. However, this doesn’t mean there is no structure:
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No bosses - Arguments decide, not people.
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You lead - Not everyone leads everything, but within your responsibilities, you drive things forward.
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Semi-autonomous Teams and Roles.
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Full Transparency unless there is a reason for confidentiality.
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Clear structures, making it clear who is responsible for what.
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We deliver value (results) iteratively; we embrace an agile mindset and way of working, including in Governance - for changing things at VSHN.
And much more, start reading here in the Culture Overview.
Communication, Meetings, and Events
Teams and "circles" of similar or dependent roles have their own ways of coordinating work and making decisions. How this is done depends on the team’s or role’s way of working. Especially when deciding things together or planning work, a Meeting is usually preferred over asynchronous communication. We also have some guidelines and rules for Scheduling Meetings, so that your calendar still allows breaks and a productive day.
VSHN Connect
Until 2024, we had weekly company (all-hands remote) meetings. As an experiment, we replaced this with monthly VSHN Connect events.
Communication
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We use Chat for internal, short-lived synchronous or asynchronous communication.
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We use Zoom for virtual meetings and one-on-one calls.
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We have a wiki for meeting agendas and notes, event planning, announcements, and other frequently updated content.
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More static, curated definitions, rules, and guidelines are in this handbook you are reading now.
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We like to talk in person, as mentioned above.
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We also have Threema channels for technical and non-technical coordination, as well as "just for fun" messages not necessarily related to work.
Social Events
VSHN invests significantly in providing opportunities to socialize and have fun together among VSHNeers, and sometimes including customers and partners. We aim for four company-wide events per year. We are also testing the concept of giving teams additional budgets to organize self-directed team events.
Including VSHNeers from Far Away
From an ecological and economic standpoint, it makes little sense for us to fly VSHNeers in from Vancouver several times a year. We provide them with the same budgets for their own events or try to fly them in for larger events. We have VSHNeers who work part-time in Switzerland and another country; they try to schedule this in a way that allows them to attend major and mandatory company and social events.
Flexible Work Location
You can flexibly decide where you work from, as long as it works for your team. Most teams or roles have some events they attend in the office every week or every other week. Some roles meet for special workshops or events. In general, working 100% remotely isn’t supported by VSHN - we’re Zurich or Vancouver-based.
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To learn about working in our Zurich office, head over to Office Life.
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To learn more about working remotely, see Remote Working.
Flexible Working Hours
You can generally decide when you work within our yearly working hours model, as long as it works for your team or others who depend on you. There are some non-optional rules that apply to everyone. Read more here.
Tasks and Duties
In general, what you do at VSHN depends on your role (the responsibilities you take on) and what you decide together with your team or within the "circle" of your role (others with the same role). You might be working on tasks from a Scrum or Kanban board and have recurring (daily) duties you need to complete. See VSHN Roles and VSHN Teams.
On-Call
The technical teams at VSHN provide an optional 24x7 on-call support service, organized in a rotation. For more details, check the Wiki, or consult with your Mentor.