Snowball Playbook
1. Welcome!
The success of any company is directly tied to the well-being of its employees. And well-being comes from one place, and one place only: a positive work culture.
To ensure that your time with Snowball is as positive and productive as possible, we have compiled this Playbook to help you navigate through all the different topics related to working with us.
This Playbook will also introduce you to Snowball’s culture, work philosophy, and our perks and benefits (but please note that some are specific to employees living and working in Norway).
Essentially this is what you can expect from us, and what we will expect from you.
The coming chapters detail the how’s and the what’s of working at Snowball Digital. We’ve kept this online Playbook short and sweet, with the complete details found on our people platform upon hire.
Inclusion is a huge part of what we do. As such, if you have suggestions for changes or see possible improvements, we encourage you to share your thoughts Be it for this handbook or how we work in general, so we may continue to improve together!
2. Values to Steer By
As part of the New Normal Group, Snowball works closely with other group companies that share our greatest loves: craftsmanship, diversity, and people. As the growth engine powering the companies that dream of changing the truths of their industries, we are always challenged to push the boundaries of our fields.
Similarly, when working with our varied clients we act as an extension of their team, bringing whatever expertise is needed to help them reach their product goals.
This is why we so deeply believe in diversity. It allows us to create magic by combining the things we love the most: product design, development, strategy, and marketing.
And we add value by converging this diversity with specific values values that steer our deliveries:
Passion
Execution
Speed
Entrepreneurship
3. The Practical Bits
We know that there are countless tools to be used and countless pieces of information to process. So to help you better navigate in our world, we’ve collected some practical information that you can have a quick look at if you ever get lost.
The overview includes a list of Systems & Tools we frequently use to make sure our workdays run as smoothly as possible. Here’s an example: everyday, we need to share information, spread our cool ideas, and just talk to each other. For this, we use slack. Meanwhile, bob is our people platform where we handle all things people related (data, development, time off, and much, much more).
Another practical, yet crucial bit, is Work Equipment. But don’t sweat it, we provide the equipment you need in order to perform great work.
As many of us will move to Norway, where we are headquartered, from abroad, a lot of us will also need a Work Visa. But once again, don’t worry! We cover all of the application fees for you, and if you need assistance, HR is happy to help!
4. Putting in the Hours
We know that you are all eager to put in the hours. Work is fun! But we also believe in flexibility. We trust all of you to be able to structure your own work. You were hired because you are extremely good at what you do, and we want to give you the flexibility to do just that.
At the same time, we also believe that work is more fun and rewarding when done side by side with our excellent colleagues. Therefore, we provide a flexible work scheme where you can define your weekly 40-hour timetable within the frames of our core hours.
Overtime
We only work overtime when there is a special and time-limited need. While there are times when business requires a little extra, we believe that extra-curricular activities are vital parts of a healthy work-life balance that help us re-energize our minds and gain new perspectives. As such, we strive to impose as little overtime as possible.
Registering your hours for billable projects
At Snowball, we all work on different billable projects. To stay on top of things and have control, we ask that you register the hours you spend on your tasks at the end of every day.
5. Remote Work
We celebrate flexibility and allow a great deal of it in terms of where we work from. This is because we realize that at times you need to work remotely, whether it be from home, from the cabin, or your parents’ house. Or anywhere, really.
Regardless of where we work from, know that we are always here for each other, ready and able to help and support fellow colleagues in their daily work. Teamwork makes the dreamwork!
But to best help these colleagues plan their work and reach out when needed, please remember to:
- Plan your schedule with your team
- Update your calendar so everyone knows where you are and how to reach you
- Make sure to be online during core hours (if your time zone allows it)
- Be present on Slack
- Highly prioritize your availability for customer meetings and required assistance
6. Working Together
Being a diverse team that creates magic across other teams, locations, and skill sets, means that respect and collaboration must be at the heart of what we do.
We encourage all of you to learn new things. Try, fail, then try again. Help others understand something you’re good at and show interest in what others are doing.
Although we’re all about “work hard, play hard”, we also need some structures in place to secure our work environment. Keep reading to learn more about this!
Do Not Disturb
Co-creation and collaboration are important aspects of growing our business. However, there are times when we all need to focus and concentrate on specific tasks.
If you encounter a closed door, a do-not-disturb on digital communications channels, or see a colleague working with their headphones on – please do not disturb.
- In our offices: keep the volume on your phone low and step out of the room for longer conversations
- Quick questions and clarifications can very well be done via Slack
Our Home Away From Home
Many of us share our workspace so we ask that you kindly keep it neat for those around you.
Make yourself at home and use the entire space by having discussions and meetings around the building!
7. Absence and Leave
Work hard, play hard. We all need to relax and take some time off every now and then.
But sometimes, life throws us a curveball, and forces us to slow down for a while.
Whether you’ll be away for vacation, a sick leave, or something else – please notify your manager as early as possible. This makes it easier for us to plan for upcoming tasks and projects.
Vacation
We all enjoy 5 weeks / 25 days of vacation each year.
Holiday
In addition to national holidays, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are days we all should spend with family and friends.
08. Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE)
Your health and safety are important to us
We work methodically with matters related to health, safety, and the work environment for all of us at Snowball. Speak up if you have suggestions or input to this work, we can always do more and be better.
To further your voice when it comes to your health and safety concerns, we have designated a safety representative, who collaborates with management and HR on all things related to HSE.
Non-harassment Policy
We do not discriminate based on gender, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, or culture. None of us should ever be subjected to harassment or other improper conduct.
Disagreement & Conflicts
Wellbeing, a supportive work environment, and mental health are core to our daily work. Together, we all do our best to create and sustain a psychologically safe environment where we can ask questions, suggest improvements, and point out any wrongdoings in a constructive way.
However, when different people co-create and exist together, disagreements are bound to happen. Sometimes even conflicts. Differing views are often a strength and contribute to better products and solutions. But sometimes, they can create difficult challenges.
We should all aim at solving any disagreements or conflicts at the lowest level possible. However, if you need to report an issue, we have a digital tool named Your Voice designed to help you to do so.
When not Working
While it is important to have fun at work, it is equally important to have fun outside of work.
Every year, we organize a get-together for everyone, where we can dress up, dress down, be ourselves and just have fun.
Because many of us are new to the country or the area, we encourage socializing with colleagues, and getting to know the area and the people living here, all while making sure to include everyone who wants to join.
09. Perks and Benefits
Development benefit
You can receive up to NOK 10.000,- ex. VAT per year to cover various development initiatives with the aim to grow and develop in your role or aligned with the company strategy.
Examples of what can be covered: software, equipment, books, courses – as long as the aim is to grow and develop your competence, skills or magic there are a multitude of things that can be covered by this benefit.
Development Friday
The last Friday of every month is dedicated to growth and development. No customer projects, no meetings. Just focus on whatever you wish to focus on; learn something new, read a book, watch a talk – get your geek on!
Of course, learning is easier and way more fun when we do it together. Collaboration is encouraged!
Finder's fee
We believe that great people know other great people!
Team members that refer a friend or a connection that end up being hired by Snowball, will receive a reward of NOK 7.500 as a thank you.
Similarly, the new hire will receive NOK 7.500 once they have been with Snowball for 6 months.
Profit share
When the company performs well, we are all rewarded for our hard work through our profit share program.
Other benefits
For employees, we cover mobile phone subscriptions and home broadband.
In addition, we have various employee discounts on internal group products.
10. Pension
After years and years of doing awesome, important work, it’s time to retire and enjoy the fruits of your labor. We offer a defined contribution pension scheme plus disability pension for our employees in Norway.
11. Insurances
We need to be prepared for life’s hardships. In case anything happens to you, we offer the following insurance coverages (in Norway) to provide a more secure future you and your family:
- Personnel insurances: occupational injury insurance, other- /leisure accident insurance, child benefit in case of loss of life
Working outside of Norway? Contact your team lead for information about insurance setup.
12. Career and Development
We aim to sustain a learning culture characterized by innovative thinking, where every one of us takes responsibility for our own learning and development, and where feedback is provided to ensure continuous development. Our ambition is to ensure that you can develop with the company and its changing needs.
Feedback throughout the year
At Snowball, we encourage continuous dialogue and feedback.
We have identified 3 questions designed to help you and your manager reach a shared understanding of your status quo – use them at will:
- How is work right now – are you learning new things and having fun?
- Is there anything you would like to change or improve?
- Is there anything you need help with?
Career development and performance
To aid in the dialogue, we also conduct more formal talks, with focus on your career development and performance. These form the basis for the discussion of the development of your skills and competencies.
- Skills and Qualifications
- Performance
- Career Development
- Goals
Focusing on your own growth
We’re dependent on having people who want to be the best at what they do.
People who work hard, invest their time and are eager to learn new things. Do so, and you will be able to grow with your tasks and position as the company grows.
Career development can take many forms; it could be new tasks, bigger challenges, be part of or even lead bigger projects, or it could be changing roles completely. Think big!
13. Leaving?
We will always be sad when someone chooses to leave our team. But we know that there are so many things to learn and experience in the world, so we will root you on and wish nothing but the best for you. We’ll always have your back!
Just remember to inform your manager and HR of your decision to leave Snowball as early as possible, and we’ll make sure you get all the information you need for a good send-off.