Employee handbook
Welcome
We are super excited to welcome you to the gang! Congratulations for getting through the application process. It is set up around what we think is most important, that you’re a person who shares our values and is someone that has high aspirations. The process is meant to ensure you’re a good fit for us, and us for you! Obviously we think so, so let’s get started with some basic info!
Culture - dare to take charge!
Trust + Togetherness = Innovation. That’s pretty much it. We believe that an open and inclusive culture, where you feel safe to push yourself and make mistakes, is a prerequisite for us being able to truly make awesome innovative products. And it’s also a great recipe for creating an amazing workplace where people feel safe, included and excited to create!
We constantly strive to build this culture through spending time together, doing activities (climbing, pottery, game nights), having weekly after works and helping each other out. Honestly, mostly this is just for fun, but a strong culture is a lucky side effect! Also, once a year we make a trip together where we usually rent a house somewhere warm (think Italy, Portugal etc.) and mix professional subjects with just hanging out and bonding.
Personal development
Given your aspirations and our culture - we believe that your personal development is central to you being happy and motivated, and for Rhyme as an organization. That is why we have a structure in place for guiding towards your goals. Every year we have four checkins where we set up goals for you, give guidance and follow up on progress. But you drive your own development and are also responsible for pushing yourself where you want to go.
We have a kick-off every year where we discuss areas that interest us and setting up new collective goals. You also have a personal budget to spend each year on developing competencies - whether it be literature, courses or conferences. Moreover, we regularly have time set off for educational sessions, where colleagues or external guests share and present techniques, frameworks and ways-of-working for each other.
Salary and career model
At Rhyme there is no personalised salary negotiations. We have a structured model that with defined stages in your career, with corresponding salary and expectations on performance. We believe this is a fairer and more transparent way of remunerating Rhymers, a way of tackling injustices based on sex or experience. Your salary should not depend on how well you argue, but what you achieve. We try to constantly pay you at the right level, which is why we review salaries twice a year in relation to your personal development check-ins.
Hours - flexibility
We cherish flexibility in our working hours. A normal week you work 40 hours, but as long as you are proactive in your communication and it works for clients, you can schedule those hours quite freely. We have an obligatory weekly meeting each week, and most of us come in to the office at 8-9 am and leave at 5-6 pm, with an hour for lunch - meaning 8 hours a day. But if you have a flow one night and want to sit late, you can go home a bit earlier another day. We try not to end up in a situation where we need to do overtime, but sometimes that happens and we then usually chip in as a whole team. In those cases we always encourage everyone to take some time off. We also allow people to work from home when needed - we have complete faith in you not to take advantage of the system.
Vacation
At Rhyme we give our employees 30 days vacation, 5 more than the usual. We see vacation as a crucial part of getting inspiration and recharging batteries after the sometimes challenging project work we do. We are dependent on our clients so generally try to match their vacation, that means that we mainly take out vacation during Christmas and summer (June-August.) Should you want to take vacation at other times that is usually not a problem, but be sure to give a heads up as planning might be needed. We also of course pay Swedish vacation salary supplement.
Gear
It is crucial for us that you have the right tools for performing at a high level. That means both in terms of computers and accessories, and for ergonomics. We have a standard setting of gear, but should you want something else, make sure to let us know and we’ll try to provide you with what you need. (Most of us are Apple nerds, but don’t be a sheep - choose what you want!) We also provide you with a phone (again, most people go for the ubiquitous iPhone) and a quite generous subscription plan, at least enough for streaming music throughout the workday!
Benefits
We know that our type of work means we tend to have a quite sedentary lifestyle. The fact is that we need to be active in order to stay healthy, both in body and mind. Therefore we give all our employees SEK 5 000 yearly to spend on various methods of keeping active, such as gym memberships, massage etc.
Moreover, it is not unusual for us to go for the occasional badminton tournament at Eriksdalsbadet over lunch, a communal run, or a session at the outdoors gym nearby.
Pension
It's easy to forget that there is a life after retirement, especially if you’re early on in your career. We want to make sure we take care of our colleagues and we therefore provide all our full-time employees with defined contribution pensions matching that of relevant union contracts. We have chose Avanza for managing our pensions in order to make sure that fees that you pay are minimized and you get the most out of our paid benefits in the end.
Insurance
Through Euroaccident we have signed health insurance, meaning that your sick pay will be augmented, should you become ill for a longer period and be forced to be put on sick leave. All of our employees also have access to counselling by phone from psychologists, legal practitioners and/or health coaches. The service is available 24 hours a day and meant to support you in whatever issue you may be facing, personal or work-related.
Not yet one of us?
Maybe we would be a good fit? Have a look at one of our job listings or send us an email anyway if you don’t find anything that really fits your profile at hello@rhyme.se