How we replaced Salary Negotiations With a Sinatra App
Konstantin Haase @konstantinhaase / @rkh_popcorn
Travis CI travis-ci.com
(Most of the) Slides in English, talk auf Deutsch.
It’s better than an unverständliches Mischmasch.
During this talk, I’ll tell you how much you could make
working at Travis CI. Not including other compensation besides base salary, and only for employees
working in Düsseldorf, but feel free to approach me later if you’d like to hear other numbers.
There will be code. I promise.
What’s in a salary?
$1,000,000 per episode $100,000 per episode
10x actor?
“Why are the best programmers 10x more productive than
mediocre programmers, but paid only 3x as much?”
“How do bootstrapped companies hire talent?”
‣ bootstrapped
‣ 38 employees
‣ top talent
‣ base in Berlin, Germany
Travis CI
‣ 9 countries, 16 nationalities
‣ 53% women (50% in engineering)
‣ wide range of backgrounds
‣ we’ll keep hiring
Travis CI
Salaries account for 46% of our spendings, making it the
biggest cost centre.
We don’t negotiate salaries.
A Sinatra application tells us what to pay someone.
Negotiation skills don’t reflect your value to the
company.
Negotiation skills don’t reflect your financial needs.
Salary negotiations harm underrepresented
groups.
Source: Fortune Magazine
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Diversity is not a checkbox.
It is more than just how many women or people of color work at your company.
Diversity is not charity.
It is about building the best team possible.
The Travis CI Salary Framework™
Developing the “Framework” took a full year.
Everyone could participate.
We pay by value. We pay by needs.
We use generalised rules that apply to everyone.
Value = Level Level + Location = Salary
Level 7
Level 8
Level 9
Level 10
Level 11
IS level
SHOULD level
Level 7
Level 8
Level 9
Level 10
Level 11
IS level SHOULD level
Level 7
Level 8
Level 9
Level 10
Level 11
IS level
SHOULD level
How do you define a 10x developer (if they exist)?
Example: Software Engineer — Level 10
Shows an intuitive grasp of situations, analytic approach used only in novel situations.
Is self-motivated to the point that they create new work (for themselves and sometimes others) and has their own
vision for what needs to be done.
Understands business requirements. Does not just understand but also shape
the big picture.
Engineering Career Path defined up to level 17 at the moment.
Employees should level up about once a year.
If an employee doesn’t get a raise, that’s considered a bug, not a
feature.
We use a generalised “needs” model based on location.
www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index
What are living costs?
Consumer Price Index Consumer Price and Rent Index
Long term living costs can differ even if CPI/CPRI is the same.
These differences are usually the greatest between countries.
Paying more for having children or a debt is complex and discriminates
life choices.
Only compare data points from the same source.
Country base line based on how market rates* compare to Berlin.
City adjustments based on how the living costs compared to national average.
Income tax estimation is added on top.
* Factor adjusted upwards for low income countries, for city states Consumer Prices and Rent Index will be used if higher
http://open.buffer.com/transparent-salaries
Rates calculated for 3563 cities in 209 countries
Four countries also have 92 regions.
youtube.com/user/CGPGrey
Everyone can participate in the salary discussion.
What’s important:
Competitive, Comfortable, Fair, Feasible, Prospective
Thank you!
Konstantin Haase @konstantinhaase / @rkh_popcorn
Travis CI travis-ci.com