Taiste culture handbook
01 The big picture02 Values as actions03 Employee experience
Production

Culture handbook

This guide aims to describe what Taiste is and stands for. It is mainly written for our own people, but also provides an inside view of the company for anyone interested. The handbook is also available in pdf format.

01The big picture

Taiste in a nutshell

What we do

We build a better digital society by using our design & technology expertise.

The projects we work on

We work on projects that address real, existing needs instead of creating them.

Our people

Our experts are smart, passionate and kind people who care about what they do.

How we succeed

We succeed by creating lasting, real value for our customers and employees.

Our culture

A culture of respect, transparency and care create the best results.

We are in this together

We are peers working towards the same goals.

Our goal

We strive to be among the best technology companies and workplaces on a global level.

02Values as actions

Foreword: We are a value-driven company

The values presented here are general targets we believe to be essential. They direct both our actions and the way we present ourselves. It is our responsibility to keep the discussion concerning the interpretation and implementation of these values ongoing.

Being a value-driven community means that we are ready to pay the short term economic price to achieve what we believe to be the greater good in the long term. Profitability is an enabler, not an end in itself.

This is not the ultimate truth

We recognise that in real life, values are always abstract and subject to interpretation. They become tangible in everyday decisions, large and small, made by all of us.

This document is a framework that can be referenced when making decisions and should be updated as long as we exist as a company. It seeks capture our collective ideas of what a modern company and workplace should look like. Your input matters.

Our core values

Our four core values are: Independence, Purpose, Mastery and Quality.

All of them are important both in terms of the work we do and our daily interactions with each other and our clients. They are strategic goals and they all include examples of actions on how to achieve them.

We believe that following these values will bring value to the lives of our people and the businesses of our customers.

Independence

At Taiste, everyone has the power and responsibility to be proactive and make related decisions.

Everyone is an equally respected team member. No one is “above” anyone else. We are peers and treat each other as such. No discrimination, bullying, harassment or pushing around will be tolerated.

On the company level independence means financial stability and independent decision-making. This enables us to focus on what’s important in the long run.

Actions to achieve independence

  • We focus on hiring people who are proactive and respect each other as peers.
  • We openly share information within the company. This creates individual growth and a high level of situational awareness.
  • We maintain a solid and consistent culture that creates an atmosphere of safety and supports independent decision-making.
  • We maintain a healthy & stable financial position.

Purpose

We don’t produce digital waste. We seek to improve the world, one digital user experience at a time.

People are happier and do their best work when they have a strong sense of purpose. Since this is highly subjective, we invite you to think what this concept means to you.

Actions to achieve purpose

  • We foster both company-wide and individual-level conversations that help us define what is meaningful to us.
  • We seek projects that are important for our customers and meaningful from the point of view of our company, team members and society.
  • We strive to create a positive, supporting and inspiring work community that is an end in itself for the people involved.
  • We seek ways to combine personal well-being and goals with those of the company.

Mastery

Mastery enables efficient results and inspires a sense of humble self-confidence. It requires a mindset of constant learning, curious attitude and willingness to step outside one’s comfort zone.

The quest for mastery is not a continued sensation of not being good enough. Rather, it should be an inspiring journey of learning new tricks of the trade.

Actions to achieve mastery

  • We ensure that the barrier to seek and share knowledge is low and that there are many options for such activity.
  • We encourage our team members to seek out opportunities to share and ask for feedback from others.
  • We encourage and support our team members to achieve their educational and professional goals.
  • We include professional development as a key part of our regular growth discussions.
  • We inspire a sense of humble self-confidence in our team members.

Quality

Our team of top level professionals always, at the end of the day, produces a high quality result. To achieve this, always caring about what we do is our guiding principle.

Our work ethic is that of artisans in the digital age. Careful, well thought-out and fine-tuned work should stand the test of time and be top-notch. Our processes always include double checks and peer reviews.

The equipment we use is always up to date and meets the standards for professional use. Our offices are well-equipped, ergonomic and inspiring.

Actions to achieve quality

  • We recognise that being required and allowed to do high quality work is a key element of our value proposition to our people & customers.
  • We constantly improve our processes to ensure that our quality goals are met.
  • We engage in projects that have a sufficient budget to achieve high quality results.
  • We make sure that our team members have the necessary resources, processes and support of colleagues at their disposal.
  • We always prioritize a high quality result over short term economic benefits.

03Employee experience

The foundations

Our work culture

Our work culture is built upon personal freedom, caring and emotional intelligence.

Teams and roles

Our roles are flexible. New perspectives widen our expertise.

Remote work and flexibility

We work flexibly at the office, from home or anywhere we choose.

Comprehensive well-being

We take care of our team members and support their personal goals.

Supporting learning

We encourage and support personal growth.

Onboarding

To ensure our new team members get up to speed as soon as possible, we have implemented a 4-week onboarding program.

All new team members are paired with a Taiste Buddy. The Buddy is a colleague with at least a year of experience in working at Taiste.

Together with the Buddy, the new team member goes through a number of checklists and tasks, including setting up the necessary tools and introductory meetings with various people in the company.

Work culture

Work culture is not some static thing or collection of rules. Rather, it’s developed further every day by each member of the community.

It’s the small everyday stuff that create kind, respectful and supportive environments. Each interaction with your team members matters.

We have the freedom to work from anywhere we choose. Whether we’re communicating remotely or in person, the same basic principles apply: we’re respectful, responsive, supportive and caring.

We're all humans here

A significant amount of our time is spent discussing ideas with each other. It is crucial to keep the tone respectful and encouraging, even under stress.

Never mock or downplay someone else’s ideas (google the “yes, and” principle). Remember that the time for constructive criticism is never amidst stress and deadlines. It is crucial to be supportive towards each other in all situations. That’s what creates both the best work and the best environments.

Growth discussions

To support professional development, we commit to organising regular growth discussions with every team member. The goal of these is to provide a simple, proactive and interactive discussion forum. The discussions should always end up with concrete plans for the future.

Growth discussions strengthen our goal of creating a culture of open discussion and ensure that no one’s job satisfaction and career development is forgotten.

Benefits

We have chosen a set of benefits that we believe to be central for a better quality of life. This is an always evolving collective effort: the focus is on what we as a collective find helpful and delightful.

List of benefits

Here you will find a current listing of the benefits. Something missing? Let us know – your input greatly matters.

High quality working equipment

Laptops and workstations, software, phone & subscription, headphones and other gear are tailored to each person’s needs and wishes and are updated regularly when needed.

Pleasant and inspiring working environment

Our modern offices are equipped with carefully selected, ergonomic furniture and good acoustics to maintain a stress-free environment for our professionals.

Comprehensive healthcare

Health benefits in the form of regular and specialised doctor appointments, including psychologist’s services. Physiotherapists and massage are also at your disposal.

Sport & culture vouchers

We provide you with vouchers that can be used for almost any sports activities. They can also be spent on other free-time activities, such as movie or theatre tickets or even public transport.

Learning and self-development

Books, classes and other learning material are provided whenever you want to learn something new. Seminars and other professional networking events is also supported.

Freedom and flexibility

You are free to flexibly work whenever and wherever you want – as long as your project’s teammates are okay with that.

Healthy refreshments

Our office fridges are filled with healthy snacks, fruits, smoothies and sodas – all free of charge. Top of the line espresso machines (or regular Moccamasters) are also at your disposal.

Taiste Clubs

Our team members can join any number of our self-organised free-time clubs (board game club, DJ club etc.) – or start their own. Taiste sponsors these clubs with a yearly budget.

Bicycle benefit

We offer our employees a company bicycle benefit. Great for both our physical health and the environment!

And last but not least...

Come as you are. You are respected for who you are.