PeopleOps Handbook

Hiring Process

We’re currently using Greenhouse to manage the hiring process and referrals. All employees should have an account.

Adding New Roles

  • Open an issue in the administration repository using the new-job-creation.md template.
  • Fill out necessary details. All sections are required unless they’re marked optional. Having all of this information helps us get the job online and ensures all candidates are evaluated based on the same interview process. This is just an initial version of the hiring process – it can always be iterated on.
  • A Site Admin will add the role to Greenhouse once the issue has been filled out and approved.
  • Site Admin will add the hiring manager as a job admin to this role.
  • Hiring manager will be responsible for screening candidates, setting up interviews, and moving them through the pipeline.

Referrals

  • Log into Greenhouse
  • Click the green “Add a Referral” button
  • Fill out the candidate details and attach a copy of their resume and cover letter if you have them.

Candidates from GitLab

We can not and will not recruit candidates who work at GitLab. Should someone from GitLab approach us regarding an open position, they will be treated the same as any other candidate.

Discussing candidates in Slack

It is okay to reference first names and job titles for candidates in the private hiring Slack channel. However, please do not post feedback.

Greenhouse Administration

Adding New Users

Add users here. Hiring managers can be added as “Job Admin” for a specific role. Other users can be added as “Basic” users and not added to any roles. This will allow them to make referrals.

  • Basic User: Can add referrals to open roles or manage interviews they’ve been assigned to.
  • Job admins: Can control the interview process for a specific role.
  • Site Admins: Can add new roles, see all candidate info, see and modify roles, and manage the job board settings.

Configure Job Introductions/Conclusions

By default, all job posts have an introduction and a conclusion that tells the applicant about Meltano and our benefits.

To configure these:

  • Visit the Job Board configuration page
  • Click the three dot menu next to the job board you want to configure
  • Select “Edit Post Settings”
  • Change the introduction and conclusion as needed

Please note: These settings are per job board. If there are multiple job boards you’ll need to update this setting for each one.

Employee Promotion Policy

When possible, Meltano seeks to promote from within. Our Employee Promotion Policy sets the general guidelines for these promotions.

Eligibility for Promotion

Employees are eligible for a promotion after they have been with the company for at least 90 days and are not currently on a performance improvement plan.

Promotion Criteria

Employees are promoted based on their performance and their workplace conduct.

  • Performance - Employee has demonstrated heightened performance on a consistent basis over time.
  • Value alignment - Employee conducts themselves in a way that is aligned with company values and sets an example for others to follow.

Promotion Process

  • Manager should identify an opportunity for promotion, either by filing a current opening or determining a new role should be created.
  • Manager to discuss the desired promotion with HR, being sure to ask about the new salary range and any new/additional benefits.
    • Performance and value alignment should be well documented in Lattice for HR and manager to review.
    • New salary range will be determined by HR according to our compensation policy
  • HR will present the proposed promotion to CEO to obtain approval.
  • Following approval, Manager will meet with employee to discuss the exciting news.

Background Checks

Purpose

Meltano strives to hire and promote the best-qualified individuals and background checks are an important part of these processes. As of January 3, 2023 all new hires will be subject to a background check. The background check will be performed by our vendor Checkr.

Background checks

The company conducts background checks in compliance with applicable federal and state laws.

Applicants and employees will be asked to authorize a background check before such check is performed.

Consumer Credit Report

The company obtains consumer credit reports only under very limited circumstances, for example, when applicants or employees are being considered for a position in which they will have access to company or customer bank or credit card account information. When the company needs to obtain a consumer credit report, it will comply with applicable federal and state laws.

All information obtained from background checks will be used only for purposes of making employment decisions (e.g., hiring, termination or promotion); will be maintained confidentially, in accordance with applicable legal requirements; and may only be reviewed or accessed by authorized individuals with the approval of human resources

Questions or Concerns

For more information regarding this policy, employees should contact human resources.

Financial operations

Financial operations includes spending company money, guidelines, and the reimbursement policy.

Spending company money

We expect Meltano team members to take responsibility to determine what they need to purchase or expense in order to do their jobs effectively. We don’t want you to have to wait with getting the items that you need to get your job done. You most likely know better than anyone else what the items are that you need to be successful in your job.

Guidelines

  1. Spend company money like it is your own money, but please make decisions with the company’s best interest in mind.
  2. You don’t have to ask permission before making purchases in the interest of the company. When in doubt, do inform your manager prior to the purchase, or as soon as possible after the purchase.
  3. It is generally easiest and fastest for you to make any purchases for office supplies yourself and expense them. If you are unable to pay for any supplies yourself, please reach out to your manager or the Operations Analyst to ask that they make the purchase on your behalf.
  4. You may privately use Meltano property (e.g. MacBook), to check your private e-mails, or watch a movie as long as it does not violate the law, harm Meltano, or interfere with Intellectual Property.
  5. Any purchase that will cost Meltano $1000 USD per item (or over) is classed as company property. Any such items will need to be tracked by Operations.
    1. After an approved purchase, the item description and serial number will need to be provided to the Head of Operations. One good way to do this is via the notes section in an expense report.
    2. You will be required to return these item(s) if you leave the company.
  6. Any non-company expenses should not be paid for with a company credit card.
  7. If team members submit expenses for reimbursement for personal purchases that are not covered in the expense policy, this is a violation of our Code of Business Conduct & Ethics.

Reimbursement policy

  1. Purchases of at least $10 USD require a receipt.
  2. Employees should file expense reports in the same month that the purchase was made. Contractors should include receipts with their invoices.
  3. To be reimbursed for company expenses, please submit a report in Expensify (all team members). Non-US team members will also submit a report in Remote.

US team member reimbursement process

  1. Upload receipts in Expensify and submit a report. Please use the appropriate tags/categories and include comments when appropriate. If a tag/category is missing, you may be asked to edit your report.
  2. Team members in the US will be automatically reimbursed through Expensify after their report is “final approved.”

Non-US team member reimbursement process

Although non-US team members will not receive reimbursement through Expensify, the company needs to have a single source of truth for expenses. So, all team members will need to use Expensify. You’ll then submit an additional report in Remote to receive reimbursement.

  1. Upload receipts in Expensify and submit a report. Please use the appropriate tags/categories and include comments when appropriate. If a tag/category is missing, you may be asked to edit your report.
  2. Once the Expensify report is approved, create an expense in Remote referencing the Expensify report number and matching its full amount.
  3. The approved expense amount will be deposited in your account with your monthly salary.

Office equipment and supplies

The company will reimburse for the following items if you need it for work or use it mainly for business, and local law allows us to pay for it without incurring payroll taxes. Please keep in mind that while the amounts below are guidelines and not strict limits, any purchase (other than a laptop) that will cost Meltano $1000 USD per item (or over) will require prior approval from your manager.

The below averages are what Meltano usually reimburses. If you prefer to spend more on a given item, that’s okay considering the average price. You are also welcome to expense the Meltano Average Price in USD portion, and cover the rest with personal funds. For example, if you purchase a high-end Steelcase ergonomic chair, you are welcome to expense the average price per the table below and cover the rest with personal funds. We are encouraging our members to use their best judgment when spending the company’s money.

When reimbursing through Expensify please select “reimbursable” for the portion which Meltano will be covering, and add a note explaining the receipt difference.

Team members should not use a Corporate Credit Card to purchase office equipment for their personal workspace. All office equipment purchases for a team member’s personal workspace should be made on a personal credit card and expensed.

Setting up a home office for the first time?

Meltano team members are encouraged to create a comfortable, ergonomic workspace. Please do research to find a chair, desk, and other equipment that facilitate good posture and healthy habits.

Software

  1. We do not issue Microsoft Office 365 licenses, as Meltano uses Google Workspace (Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.) instead.
Individual subscriptions

Meltano does not reimburse individual software subscriptions (e.g. Apple Music, Krisp, etc.).

Subscription exceptions

Certain types of individual subscriptions are reimbursable, such as VPN service. If you are uncertain whether a particular service is reimbursable, please contact the Operations.

Hardware

It is uncommon for you to need all of the items listed below. Please use your best judgement and buy them as you need them. If you wonder if something is common, feel free to ask your teammates.

Item Average price in USD reimbursable amount Importance Why
Height-adjustable desk $300 - $500 $500 10/10 We use our desks everyday and need them to be ergonomic and adjustable to our size and needs, whether that is sitting or standing.
Ergonomic chair $200 - $400 $400 10/10 We use our desk chairs hours at a time, and need them to be healthy, supportive, and comfortable.
Headphones (wired or wireless, with mic ability) $100 $100 10/10 We use our headphones everyday during our meetings, to connect with our fellow team members. We need our headphones to be comfortable, functional, and great quality.
16:9 external monitor single or dual monitors $500 $500 10/10 Finding a monitor that is large, comfortable to use with sharpness is extremely important for our eyes and health. You can expense up to two 16:9 monitors (1080p or 4K) if they are required/helpful for your role.
Ultra-wide external monitor $1,000 $1,000 10/10 Finding a monitor that is large, comfortable to use with sharpness is extremely important for our eyes and health. Some team members prefer a single ultrawide monitor over multiple monitors.
Keyboard $250 $250 10/10 Find a keyboard that works for you and is comfortable for your workflow and hand size.
Mouse or Trackpad $80 or $145 $145 10/10 Find a mouse/trackpad that works for you and is comfortable for your workflow.
Laptop stand $90 $90 10/10 Your eyes and head must look at the same angle as you work and so your laptop must be elevated if you are working with an external monitor.
Webcam $80 $80 9/10 If you would like a much better image quality than from the camera in your laptop, a webcam can make video conversation better. For those who interface routinely with clients, leads, and external parties, you may also consider a pricier mirrorless or DSLR camera as a webcam.
Dedicated microphone $130 $130 6/10 For those who routinely interface with clients, leads, media, and external parties — or create regular content for Meltano channels — you may also consider a dedicated microphone to capture your voice with added richness and detail.
Portable 15” external monitor $200 $200 9/10 You have the freedom to work from any location, and having a portable monitor allows that your workflow does not suffer from being constrained to a single small laptop screen.
USB-C Adapter $80 $80 9/10 Most MacBooks only have 1 free USB-C port, so an adapter with additional ports is a necessity.
HDMI / monitor cable $15 $15 9/10 Find a quality cable so that the connection between your laptop and monitor is healthy and secure.
Monitor Privacy Filter $80 $80 8/10 Important if you work in public places and need to be certain your work cannot be seen.
WiFi Router with guest functionality $80 $80 7/10 If your existing router does not allow for isolating your work notebook from your personal devices in your home network, consider buying a router that does.
Ethernet connector $20 $20 6/10 This is if you choose to connect to your internet directly versus by Wi-Fi.
Powerline / WiFi network extender $50 - $100 $100 6/10 Useful for extending your home network to your workspace
Laptop bag or backpack $60 $60 7/10 Carry your laptop and external monitor safely with this travel bag. We recommended you get a bag (or backpack) with straps so the device stays on you when you need your hands free.
Laptop cooling pad $35 - $50 $50 6/10 Useful if you live in a place where summer heat can affect your laptop’s ability to keep itself cool

If you wish to go over the recommended reimbursement, this is an exception and should first be raised with your manager and if supported, should be raised with the Operations Analyst who will review and respond to the request.

The technology price guidelines are based on acquiring products in the United States. Meltano understands prices may vary based on location. If the product cost is higher in your location, confirm that an equivalent product in the United States would be within the above price guidance.

Travel

Meltano will reimburse you for business travel expenses when you need to travel to represent the company. All trips need to be approved of in advance by your manager. Employees seeking reimbursement should incur the lowest reasonable travel expenses.

Upgrades

Meltano will only pay for economy class travel. If you exceed 188cm or 6'2" in height you may:

  • Expense the full cost of an upgrade to a seat with more leg room in the standard economy cabin. These seats are often marketed as, “Economy Plus”, “Comfort+”, or “Main Cabin Extra”.
  • Expense up to the first $300 USD for an upgrade to Business Class or Premium Economy on flights longer than 8 hours.

If your height does not meet the above cm/inch requirement, and you feel unsafe to travel, you may:

  • Expense up to the first $100 USD for an upgrade to a seat with more leg room on flights longer than 8 hours. These seats are often marketed as, “Economy Plus”, “Comfort+”, or “Main Cabin Extra”.
  • Review seating options with your manager (keeping in mind the guidance on “spending company money like it is your own”)
Working while traveling

If you plan to work while at the airport, we will reimburse lounge access up to $50 for airport stays of at least 2 hours. If you plan to work during the flight, we will reimburse in-flight WiFi up to $30 for flights of at least 2 hours.

Non-reimbursable items

Items that will not be reimbursed include the following:

  • Airline club or lounge memberships or enhanced airport services such as TSApre, CLEAR, Global Entry, NEXUS.
  • Airline or train ticket upgrades from economy class. If you are taller than 180cm/6ft, you can upgrade to get extra leg room.
  • Child care, babysitting, house-sitting, pet-walking or pet-sitting/kennel charges.
  • Costs incurred by traveler’s failure to cancel travel or hotel reservations in a timely fashion.
  • Passports, vaccinations and visas when not required as a specific and necessary condition of the travel assignment.
  • Personal entertainment expenses, including in-flight movies, headsets, health club facilities, hotel pay-per-view movies, in-theater movies, social activities and related incidental costs.
  • Travel accident insurance premiums or purchase of additional travel insurance.

Should you have any question about whether an expense is reimbursable, please ask Operations or your manager prior to incurring the expense.

Tools and technology

Tech stack

View the complete list of our tech stack.

Laptop configurations

Meltano approves the use of macOS and Linux. Meltano prohibits the use of Microsoft Windows for the following reasons:

  • While there have been security issues with all operating systems, due to the popularity of the Windows operating system it is the main platform targeted by attackers with spyware, viruses, and ransomware.
  • macOS is pre-loaded onto Apple hardware. Linux is free. To take advantage of the features in Windows as a business, Meltano would have to purchase Windows Pro licensing as these business features are not available on Windows Home Edition. As many purchases of laptops have occurred with employees making the purchases and then being reimbursed by Meltano, a remote employee would typically be making a purchase of a laptop pre-loaded with Windows Home Edition.
  • Windows Home Edition is notoriously hard to secure.

To standardize the hardware provisioned for Meltano team members, Meltano has a number of standard laptop configurations. Meltano maintains an inventory of MacBook laptops that meet these standards. Employees will be provided with a machine of their desired form factor from this inventory if one is availabe. When a purchase is required, employees should choose from the Apple laptop configurations listed below.

The following Apple hardware options are highly recommended for Meltano engineers:

For Meltano team members outside of engineering, choose from the same configurations as above but with 16gb of RAM or one of the following:

Note that the above links are to the Apple Store website for the United States. Some of these configurations are not available off-the-shelf in Apple Stores, and will need to be ordered online. If you are located in a different country, you will likely have to place your order from your regional Apple store website.

Additionally, do not purchase Apple Care and once received make sure not to discard your laptop boxes (inner and outer) in case you need to ship it in for repairs, replacement, etc.

If alternate hardware is required, please request it during the onboarding process. It can be provisioned on a case-by-case basis. With that in mind, the MacBook Air has been found to be insufficient for the needs of Meltano Engineering. Requests for this model by Engineering staff will not be approved.

Laptop refresh

Team members can choose to refresh their laptop after 3 years of use. If the provided laptop is sufficient for your needs, you may opt to continue using a laptop until it no longer receives the latest macOS version from Apple (approximately 5 years).

When a refresh is requested, a new laptop in one of the approved configurations may be ordered after consultation with the Head of Operations.

At the time of any replacement, any old laptop must either be factory reset or returned to Meltano within 2 weeks of receiving the replacement laptop.

Laptop repair

If your laptop is broken and in need of repairs you can take it into an Apple store or Apple authorized repair location. Make sure you have a recent backup before doing so.

If the repair is expected to cost less than $1,000 dollars USD, team members should use the standard expense report method to be reimbursed. For repairs that cost more, please let your manager know, and contact the Head of Operations for approval. If the repair is going to take longer than one day make sure you have a back up laptop to use for work.

Laptops and offboarding

If at the time of offboarding a departing team member has not completed 1 calendar year of employment at the time of offboarding or has received a laptop refresh within the prior year, they have the option to either purchase their laptop for its current market value or to return it to Meltano. The market value will be based on Apple’s trade-in calculator.

If at the time of offboarding, the laptop has been used by the team member for more than one year, the departing team member can opt to either keep it at no cost or to return it to Meltano. If a departing team member choses to keep a laptop it must be factory reset within 2 weeks of departure.

When returning a laptop, departing team members should work with the person in charge of their offboarding to determine where to send it.

Calendars

Please see the Calendars page for a list of company calendars.

SOC2 and compliance requirements

To manage SOC2 compliance, Meltano uses Drata. Compliance from an individual standpoint includes two areas of particular note, as they affect all employees. These are as follows.

Policy Acceptance

Meltano employees are required to accept company security policies in accordance with compliance framework requirements such as SOC2. By accepting these policies, employees acknowledge that they understand the policy and agree to comply.

SOC2 and laptop provisioning

As part of SOC2, Meltano needs to report on certain aspects of laptop configuration across the company. This includes – but is not limited to – screensaver locking, password manager, antivirus software and automatic updates. All of these must be enabled. Their status must be regularly reported.

For ease of monitoring these controls, use of Drata Agent is strongly suggested. This agent is a lightweight application that is granted READ ONLY access to system preferences to verify proper configuration. For a direct download of Drata Agent, use this link.

Employees who do not wish to use this tool, or who can not use it for some technical reason, will be required to report on the relevant SOC2 items within Drata on a regular basis. This can usually be accomplished via screenshots.

SOC2 and two factor authentication (2FA)

As part of SOC2 compliance, Meltano enforces 2FA on its Google Workspace accounts. The default 2FA is a Google prompt on another device. At the time this is provisioned, you will be presented with 10 single-use backup codes you can use if the primary 2FA option is not available. Please store these in a safe place.

It is possible to use a TOTP (Time-based one-time password) such as one provided by an authenticator app for this, but this option can not be set up as the primary 2FA method. After a primary method is set up, one can select, “Add more second steps to verify it’s you” and then, “Authenticator app”. The authenticator app can be 1Password, Google Authenticator, or other another tool.

To set this up within 1Password, find the password item you wish to add it to, select “Edit” and then within the entry, “+ add more”. From that menu select “One-Time Password”. Then, either enter the code supplied by Google, or scan the displayed QR code. Save the changes, enter the displayed code into Google, and you’re done!

GitHub workflow best practices

We use GitHub for project management across the organization. Whether you work in engineering or marketing, GitLab will be the central tool for collaboration and delivery. To ensure end-to-end visibility and asynchronous communication, we use epics, issues, and merge requests to organize our work.

As you work within GitHub, please be sure to follow these best practices:

  1. Directly mention (@username) the people you want to involve in a comment, especially the person you’re replying to. Some people only work through GitHub todos (rather than email notifications), and therefore, they will only see responses to comments/threads if they’re explicitly mentioned.
  2. If an issue is blocked or waiting for someone’s action, the issue should be assigned to those individuals.
  3. Include all relevant information, including labels, milestones, due dates, and details.
  4. Provide updates in a comment to document progress.

Benefits and perks

Please see the Benefits page for more information.

Business operations

Calendar quarters

Use calendar quarters (e.g. 2021-Q4) rather than fiscal quarters (e.g. FY22-Q4) when discussing time.

Address and Phone Numbers

Meltano’s incorporation and mailing address can be found in the Shared 1Password vault item called Meltano Address.

Meltano’s phone number can be found in the Shared 1Password vault item called Meltano Phone Number.

Verification of Employment

All verifications of employment (VOE’s) should go through the Human Resource department and should be done via email. These include but are not limited to requests from government agencies, mortgage lenders, prospective employers and others.

Meltano will comply with all government requests for verification of employment.

Meltano will respond to requests from mortgage lenders, landlords and the like, if the request is accompanied by a release form from the employee. Additionally, employees should notify Human Resources through email that a request may be forthcoming.

Prospective employers and those with collection agencies and others will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Meltano will under no circumstances provide wage information to a non government agency without consent and a release from the employee. Prospective employers will only receive verification of dates of employment and title.

Job Abandonment

While Meltano believes in a flexible work schedule, employees are still expected to complete work daily. When an employee is absent from work for three (3) consecutive workdays, there is no request for PTO in Deel, there is no activity on our platforms (Slack, Gmail or GitHub), and the employee fails to contact their supervisor or HR, they will be considered as having voluntarily resigned as a result of job abandonment. This applies to US employees.

For employees employed via Remote, Meltano will take action in accordance with local laws.

If a manager is unable to reach an employee via email or slack within a 24 hour period they should contact HR. The manager and HR will create an action plan to make additional attempts to contact the employee. Employees should ensure their emergency contact information is up to date in Gusto.

Exceptions

Meltano understands there are extenuating circumstances that may occur. If an employee is unable to contact the company for an absence, they should ask a representative (such as a family member or friend) to do so on their behalf. If the employee or a representative is unable to contact Meltano due to extreme circumstances (such as a medical emergency or natural disaster that prohibits the employee or their representative from contacting the company within three days), the employee or their representative must contact the company as soon as practicable to explain the situation. In extreme circumstances, the employer will consider the explanation and its timing before determining if the voluntary resignation will be upheld.