Drobo: Transparent Tuesdays

By Mihir Shah, CEO

I was named the CEO of Drobo in 2015 and one of the biggest challenges was creating a culture of trust. The team had always been in the dark about what other departments were working on, the financial condition of the company, etc.  There was no transparency.  I quickly realized that to get the buy in from a team, we as a management team had to be open about what was happening and only then can your team help you be successful.

We initially started off with quarterly Town Halls, but realized that the time in between each event was too long.  So we launched a new program called “Transparent Tuesday,” which we host every week. We video tape it for remote employees, and almost everyone attends or watches.  We also have a small trophy we pass out recognizing one person’s contribution for the week. Our employee engagement went through the roof. We have had very little turnover, but more importantly it has taught us that communicating and celebrating small victories goes along way. In fact, we have minimized the need to put retention bonuses in place as well.