ReadMe Handbook

ReadMe Employee Handbook (No, really—read me!)

How did it all begin? One of my first projects at a programmer in San Francisco was to build an API and embeddable widget for the startup I was at. Building the tech was the easy part. After I finished that, it came time to build some sort of developer hub—document it so anyone could understand, distribute developer keys, provide support, and more. It took longer than the API, and didn’t do a great job of making things easier to use. Ever since then, it’s bothered me how little attention is paid to “documentation,” despite the fact developers spend most of the day reading, writing, or cursing it. When people think of documentation, they think paragraphs of static text that drone on. It should be more than that, though— it’s the entire user experience for an API or code library. Documentation is core to how we build software, yet it’s relegated to an afterthought. When we built websites, we make them intuitive, well-designed, and tailored to the user. When we build APIs, for some reason we’re content with spitting out a few convoluted paragraphs of text and calling it a day. We can do better! We’re building developer experiences that just work. It’s more than just Computer Science grads that are writing code now: millions of tech-literate people are eager to become makers. Our mission at ReadMe is to empower anyone to build something cool.

Greg FOUNDER & CEO

Looking for something specific? We’ve got you covered. Introduction Welcome ................................................................................................. 06 Mission and Values ............................................................................07 Onboarding Structure ...................................................................................................08 Internal Transparency ..................................................................... 09 Objectives and Key Results ......................................................... 10 First Day Items ........................................................................................11 General Ops Communication .....................................................................................12 Coworker Etiquette .............................................................................13 One-on-Ones ..........................................................................................14 Standup ......................................................................................................15 Lunches ......................................................................................................16 Working Remotely............................................................................... 17 Offsites ........................................................................................................18 Happy Hour ..............................................................................................19 Shared Files ............................................................................................20

Equity Guide Our Pledge................................................................................................21 Stock Options ........................................................................................22 Vesting and Cliffs ................................................................................ 23 Benefits and Perks Health Coverage.................................................................................. 24 OneMedical Membership..............................................................26 Holidays ..................................................................................................... 27 Vacation and Leave ........................................................................... 28 Continuing Education .......................................................................30 401(k) ............................................................................................................31 Employment Policies Equal Opportunity Employment ............................................... 32 At-will Employment ........................................................................... 33 Community Code of Conduct .................................................... 34 Complaint Policy .................................................................................36 Employee Privacy ...............................................................................38 Drug and Alcohol Policy.................................................................40

Let’s get acquainted Welcome to the ReadMe handbook! We’re so excited to have you on board! This handbook contains everything you need to know about ReadMe policies, perks and benefits, and what to expect as in our day-to-day. We’re small, so things change quickly. We’ll keep updating this as we grow; you can update it too!

This is Owlbert. He's our Mascot.

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Mission and values ReadMe is on a mission to make documentation magical. We’re changing the way people communicate and share, opening up new opportunities for innovation.

Err on the side of whimsy Life is too short to not use puns and owl doodles everywhere

Make things that just *work* We do the heavy lifting so our users don’t have to

Be the change you seek If you think something could be better, make it so!

Polish the product Just because we’re a small team doesn’t mean it should show

Strive for simplicity We want things easy to understand and easy on the eyes

Do what's right Whether it's for the user, product, or each other

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How we stack up ReadMe has a flat structure for now. Mostly because there’s no good way to make a pyramid with such a small team. Everyone is important, and we value your opinions. This means reach out and talk to anyone you want. We’re building this together! Unfortunately, Owlbert only takes appointments 6 months out.

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Let’s be real We talk a lot and see each other every day, so it’s pretty hard to think there’s any undercover sneakiness going on. At least that’s what Owlbert wants you to think.

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Objectives and key results We’ll set up quarterly goals as a team. Usually at an offsite, but always over food. Individually we’ll set quarterly goals with ourselves, and talk about them if we want. At 1-on-1's we’ll decide what needs to get done for the week. Objective #1 is always to figure out where to eat lunch.

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What to bring your first day Onboarding paperwork requires photocopies of acceptable documents for the I-9 worksheet. The easiest way to do this is a passport (List A), but you can also use a license and social security card or birth certificate (List B + List C), or anything else on those lists!

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Chatting it up Most of our communication at ReadMe occurs over Slack. When we need someone’s attention, we usually just mention them on there (or take a page out of Owlbert's book with a hoot and a holler). Emails are generally saved for outside communication or more in-depth discussions. Obviously, we also talk in person in our regular inside voices.

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A bit of etiquette We assume that coworkers share the same goals, but may work best in different conditions. To help everyone be their most productive, we observe these guidelines for respecting each other’s work and time: HEADPHONE POLICY If a co-worker is wearing headphones, assume that they are in THE ZONE. Science says that it usually takes people 20+ minutes to get focused so this time is very valuable. If what you need is extremely urgent, yell loudly so that we can all handle the emergency situation. If not, shoot them a message on Slack and they can respond when they are no longer focused anyway. MEETINGS Since we’re so small, internal meetings are also a small thing at ReadMe. A lot of meetings happen over lunch. If you do have a meeting, keep it short (