VSHN Connect

Purpose

The purpose of VSHN Connect is to get everyone on board with the current direction of the company, share business information & updates, present & celebrate OKR cycle updates and discuss topics in open spaces as well as concluding with a social event.

We believe it’s crucial for everyone in an organization, especially in a business, to understand the big picture - what we do, why we do it, how we’re organized, and how we work, collaborate, decide, and behave. We strive to foster transparency on our Values, Vision, Business Model, Roadmaps, and OKRs, and by documenting and training on how VSHN operates. Despite these measures, achieving a common understanding can still be challenging, it’s still easy to miss decisions or reasons for what’s happening. This may be due to time constraints, the need to shift focus on high-level topics, or difficulties in applying these principles to their own contexts. It can also be tough to grasp the work and perspectives of other teams when focusing on your own work.

We have regular events that involve all VSHNeers, in person, at one location. These occasions focus on fostering a shared understanding of who we are, what we do, why we do it, and how we do things. By taking a break from our routine, coming together as a whole organization, independent of current team structures, we can generate a better common understanding. These events offer a platform to discuss topics that might otherwise be overlooked, brainstorm collectively, and socialize in person - a valuable opportunity, also to meet those who primarily work remotely in real life. This approach can strengthen our sense of unity and reinforce our identity as one company.

General

Our half day VSHN Connect event takes place quarterly, focusing on alignment and shared understanding.

  • It’s an opportunity for all VSHNeers to meet in person. We’re looking for a great location for this event and we expect every VSHNeer to attend. Customers will be informed 1–2 weeks in advance, that we will only handle incidents during this event. Teams must ensure a minimum workforce to handle incidents. As such, it may be necessary for some VSHNeers to intermittently work during the event.

  • If you can’t attend for private reasons (holidays etc.), that’s okay.

  • To ensure a great experience, the event is non-hybrid. People who usually work remotely attend in person according to VIP-42.

  • VSHN Canada will hold a similar event if possible and presentations etc. will be shared beforehand with VSHN CA. We aim to fly in VSHNeers from Canada at least once a year that they can also attend in person.

    • We’ll take notes and photos, and slides will be published internally. However, there won’t be recordings of talks or discussions.

  • VSHN Connect is considered work time (half day, 4 working hours, not more).

    • Lunchtime and social events, according to the agenda, are not work time.

  • The official social event is paid by VSHN. Travel expenses for people who are employed in VSHN Zurich are not covered (as with the normal work commute).

  • In alignment with our idea of Leadership and shared accountability, there is no default instance (like the Management Team) that drives the topics discovered during VSHN Connect open spaces forward. It’s up to whoever feels responsible or motivated to drive things forward. A summary is usually documented, though.

Planning

  • VSHN Connect typically falls on a Thursday to avoid impact from Maintenance Tuesday, and because Monday and Friday are perceived as not ideal by many VSHNeers.

  • People Operations plan logistics, with Management leading content planning.

  • Necessary announcements are made timely to allow Teams to plan their responsibilities around VSHN Connect.

Planning details can be found in our wiki for each VSHN Connect.

Format

VSHN Connect involves company and OKR updates, interactive work, presentations on focused topics, spontaneous discussions, and socializing. Team building activities and VSHNeer-proposed topics are encouraged, provided they align with the VSHN Connect’s scope.

Travel expenses

For VSHN Connect we want to bring all VSHNeers from all over the world together. Therefore the travel and accommodation for VSHNeers employed abroad are paid for by VSHN. In general inviting VSHNeers from abroad to Switzerland is handled like a business trip. Expenses are therefore paid according to our expense regulations.

As it would be very wasteful to bring people in just for a single day at VSHN Connect, we want people to use the time at our headquarters to our advantage by Improving the social team and company coherence with in-person meetings and activities. VSHNeers should use this time to work together in person with their teams and get to know the rest of VSHN. To ensure this happens, meetings and workdays must be planned by the incoming VSHNeers beforehand. VSHN pays 6 nights in total. Longer stays are paid by the VSHNeers - we suggest staying for the weekend before and after.

Other than that the normal travel expenses rules apply.

Notes: Accommodation is booked by PeopleOps VSHN Switzerland according to our Expenses rules favoring either a group accommodation via AirBnB or similar for all visiting VSHNeers that need accommodation.

VSHN Connect is tracked and reviewed as ticket.vshn.net/browse/VIP-316