Toxic and political workplace - Anonymous employee Vareto Employee Review

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. While it is hard to hear about your experience, your insights are crucial in our continuous pursuit of a better workplace environment. We value transparency and want to highlight the steps we're taking to continually improve our culture. 1. Cultivating a Supportive Environment: Since our early founding days, we’ve set out to build a positive and collaborative foundation for our culture and this mindset continues to be at the forefront of our daily operations. Regular feedback sessions, open “Town Hall” forums, and individual mentorship are encouraging a supportive work climate. They do require active participation from each team member — meaning people need to raise their hands and help flag areas that still need improvement. We are grateful for the engagement of our team in this area and continue to strive to ensure everyone feels encouraged and comfortable voicing their concerns. Our People Team is actively working on this area. 2. Organizational Stability: Like many other tech companies, we were forced to do a round of layoffs in 2023 due to the SVB bank crisis. We recognize that seeing some of your colleagues leave—or perhaps even being asked to leave yourself—must have been a very difficult experience. Our management team took multiple measures to reduce the impact (for example, by personally taking pay cuts and actively helping departing employees with job referrals). We wish we could have done more, and we welcome your feedback on how we might have better handled this situation. 3. Leadership Consistency: As a fast-growing and fast-moving startup, we continue to revise our approach to leadership transitions. We are striving for smooth integration and support for new leaders, to ensure a seamless transition and an overall positive experience for our entire team. 4. Product Development: As any company at our product development stage, we are moving fast and remaining nimble when it comes to building a product that meets our customers’ needs. This may require occasional retrospections and pivots, and we strive to do so while maintaining clarity of priorities and alignment within the team. 5. Employee Well-Being Initiatives: To achieve progress in the above categories, we invest heavily in providing our teammates opportunities to build connections, have fun, and get support when needed. This is further supported by our flexible work arrangements, fully remote environment, annual company retreats, team off-sites, and recognition & mentorship resources. Your feedback confirms we’re focusing on the right areas, and also sheds light on ones that require further attention. We are committed to continuous improvement and are grateful for your input as we strive to create an even better work environment. If you have any additional comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at sasha@vareto.com. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback. Warm regards, Sasha Martin, Head of People