Your Career & Us
We, Flatt Security, are a team of professionals. We know each of us is excellent and has much potential to walk into any job, anywhere, anytime.
So what makes us work together? It is the fact that we are all in the same boat towards our mission. We always align ourselves to the mission, and each has a clear role to contribute. If the mission interests you, you will be happy to work with us.
However, we know that one has one's own life. Each of us is on a different journey in life, and Flatt Security is or will be just a part of it. We respect that and want to help you achieve your life goals.
Hence, everything in our HR fields is designed to connect your career with Flatt Security in the best way. Flatt Security is the engine, and everyone fuels the growth. The growth drives everyone's career forward.
To progress your career as much as possible, we at Flatt Security will:
- Contribute to your life story after Flatt Security via growth experiences
- Keep everyone aligned to seek the fastest growth via three systems
Contributing to the After Story
Being an early employee that took us from very early to the public is a precious experience for your career. You might have many opportunities within a detailed project within a big company, but you will never have a chance to experience the whole journey of a startup.
We provide:
Experiences in the journey from early to public
You'll see how we grow from a small team to a big team and from a small business to a big company. Every big decision will be made in front of you, and you'll be able to learn how to make decisions in a startup under our Transparency principals. You'll also be a decision-maker for our future. You will have great power (with great responsibility).
These experiences will be an excellent asset for your career, which every recruiter thinks of as valuable. Your commission to the growth directly progresses your career; you will literally walk into any job anywhere, anytime, as we achieve our mission.
Autonomy and permissions
We don't limit you and will push for much more than you may think is possible. It will feel stiff but rewarding. You will get used to not asking for approval.
Transparency to Public
Transparency is one of our core values; we are also transparent to the public. We are open to the public about our business, and you can share your achievements with the public.
We are willing to open-source your work and eager to see your articles about your work in our media.
We do not provide:
Fancy titles
We have titles describing your role, but we don't use them just for your career. Even if you want a Staff title in your next job, we don't give it to you just for that. Everyone is aligned to the mission, and we don't want to make a hierarchy if it is hard to align everyone. Everything is aligned with the mission and momentum toward the mission.
What builds your next career is your achievements. We appreciate any disclosures of your accomplishments that can appear in your resume, even under NDA, via our tech blogs, release notes, etc.
Career Coaching
We're willing to empower you to achieve more towards our mission via training and coaching, but we don't provide any career coaching. You build your career with our growth, and we are just a part of it. You have control over your job, and we respect that.
Rather than spending 1 hour/month on career coaching, we'd rather spend that 12 hours/year/person on product growth experiences, which will make everyone's career 10x.
Systems to Aligning Everyone to Speed Up Growth
Thinking of your extraordinary career after Flatt Security, our career system is basically designed to align people for the fastest growth under our mission. The growth speed is the king. The mission is the king.
Under this principle, we have three systems:
- Ladder, for sharing long-term expectations on your roles from your achievements
- Evaluation System, for sharing short-term reviews on your achievements
- Compensation System, for paying properly for your massive contributions
Ladder
The Ladder defines expectations on your achievements, not directly on your skills. This is where you know what level of work you're supposed to achieve.
Here is the ladder:
| Level | Expectations |
|---|---|
| 6 | Change the game |
| 5 | Contribute to multiple abstract missions by leading multiple teams |
| 4 | Contribute to one abstract mission by leading a team |
| 3 | Achieve one given goal by leading a team |
| 2 | Achieve one given task alone |
| 1 | Achieve one given task with a mentor |
Needless to say, to achieve the expectations, you need to have the skills. The intent to describe this is on your achievements rather than your skills: skills are just a tool to achieve something, and just being capable of something is not a factor that brings you to the next level with your growth.
Determining the Initial Level
When you join us, your level will be determined with expectations on you. During the probationary period, we may adjust your level based on your achievements if the expectations still need to be met.
Leveling Up (Promotion)
Your level will be reviewed every six months (i.e., per evaluation round), and it will be changed if your expectations are changed.
Evaluation System
Evaluation System is a system to share short-term reviews of your achievements. This is where you know how much you've achieved in the period and how much you're aligned with the mission.
We have two evaluation rounds in a year, and we evaluate your achievements in the period. In each round, you will submit a self-evaluation, and the management team will determine your achievements (what you did, not what you are). The management team will also ask for feedback from your teammates if necessary.
Good Achievements, Bad Achievements
The achievement is a vague term, but it is anything visible and committed to our mission, regardless of its size.
The quality of the achievement is evaluated by how important it is to our mission and how much it is achieved. Exemplary achievements will drive us to the mission and deliver much value to our customers. The important thing is that your achievements are not necessarily one big thing; even by piling lots of small achievements, like helping customers with massive messages every day, you can be aligned with the mission and deliver a lot of value to our customers.
On the other hand, bad achievements will not drive us to the mission and will deliver little value to our customers. However you work hard, if it is not aligned with the mission, it is not a good achievement. However, if you feel satisfied with your work and your story on how it is aligned with the mission needs to be more convincing, you may get unexpected, lousy feedback.
Keep in mind that the mission is the king! We are biased for real work. Avoid fake achievements.
Compensation System
Compensation System is a system to pay appropriately for your massive contributions. This is where you know how much you are or will be paid for your past and future achievements.
Given the level (i.e., a long-term expectation of your achievements) and the evaluation result (i.e., a short-term review of your accomplishments), we determine your compensation for the next six months.
The compensation consists of:
- Base salary: for paying your achievements (and indirectly your skills)
- Stock options: for paying your risk for joining us
Base Salary
Base salary is constrained by the level (i.e., each level has a range of base salary), and the evaluation result is used to determine the exact amount.
The base salary should pay enough for your achievements, even without stock options. Base salary alone should be enough to live in Japan. Now, every employee should be in Japan, so our base salary is designed to be competitive enough for living in Japan.
Stock Options
Stock options are determined by the level, the evaluation result, and how long you've been working with us. The longer you've been working with us, the more stock options you get.
Our stock options are designed to incentivize you to stay with us for a long time. We also think of it as what pays for your risk for joining us; you pay your time, which is the most valuable asset for your career, so we pay what can "scale" up by time. In other words, this is an investment in your time.