SPOTLIGHTS
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Appreciating and celebrating our team is a part of Backbone’s innate philosophy. Backbone understands that appreciation starts with celebrating people for who they are; listening and empathizing are baked into our culture. Our leadership regularly encourages open discussion and asking questions. Constructive feedback from leadership is accessible to anyone in the company who is seeking it. We’ve built our company culture with these ideals in mind to ensure: everyone feels safe and heard, everyone works together, job titles don’t limit information flow and anyone’s ideas are worthy of exploring. We depend less on employee appreciation software tools or award systems but rather focus more on maintaining a culture where people feel they can be themselves and know their contributions matter. At Backbone, we know that words matter. We know that communication style matters. We always assume good intent and support each other rather than police one another. We always strive to provide feedback in one-on-one conversations, never in larger groups where someone may feel singled out. Team leads and team members participate in one-on-one calls each week that serve as a space to talk about more than just the work queue. It’s also for checking in about wellness & mental health, career pathing at Backbone, and life in general. We focus on the whole person and regularly acknowledge that we all have lives outside of Backbone that require our attention and care. We’re focused on solving problems together and further expanding our culture of innovation and creativity. We’re aware of each team’s job and constraints and can hold dissenting perspectives in mind. We are committed to hiring empathetic, kind people who excel at collaboration. Founding members of Backbone set an example of inclusion, empathy, and innovation early on, and this innate culture continues to drive our company’s ethics. An essential component of Backbone’s core values includes acknowledging the incredible accomplishments our team consistently achieves. More specifically, we do this by giving credit, saying thanks and shouting out successes in company meetings, team calls and on Slack. Backbone even has an active #love channel on Slack where we post positive customer feedback and give one another props for particular projects or efforts. We also celebrate birthdays & work anniversaries on Slack (and ask beforehand if a team member wants this or prefers to decline celebrations). Acknowledgment and appreciation are key pillars of Backbone’s company culture, and we strive to ensure that every member of our team feels cared for and valued.
Backbone’s inception came at a time when cannabis related businesses were not widely accepted. However, our founders saw incredible potential and growth for the future of the cannabis industry, which led them to create a product that would bolster this growth. Backbone’s very existence is built upon uplifting, empowering, and accepting those who don’t fit within the societal mold. We are also committed to providing communities, entrepreneurs, and operators of all sizes the resources needed to create equitable economies and a diverse workforce. Through an established customer partnership, we offer educational opportunities for marginalized groups of people who are interested in entering the cannabis workforce, specifically insight on how to use our software. We also give access to our software free of charge for marginalized people looking to grow their businesses in the cannabis industry. We have compiled equity resources on our website in order to make social equity programs, financial resources and mentorship programs more digestible. We’ve been lucky enough to attract a diverse group of individuals who have referred us to their diverse networks. We are intentional about each team’s composition, and our hiring strategy seeks to create balance in gender, race, age and several other areas. Backbone has a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) working group that meets regularly to define, explore, and create what diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging truly mean to Backbone. Notably, we’re also in the process of defining our company’s structure more precisely, narrowing pay bands, and implementing procedures that ensure pay equity. One of the most critical aspects of our company is acting on employee feedback to ensure that we are creating a space of equity, inclusion, and belonging for all. This includes discussing challenging topics openly and having regular “culture meetings." We’ve examined topics like race and gender, the signs of burnout, and the pitfalls of unlimited PTO. Backbone’s leadership is exceptionally transparent when it comes to company updates. We model honesty and safety when owning a mistake. When something is amiss, we endeavor to never sweep it under the rug.
Backbone is not only made up of engineers and computer scientists, we are also a team of friendly, funny and kind people. We’ve fostered an environment where you can grow, find a mentor, make mistakes and feel a strong sense of pride in the work we do. Growth and exploration are important values at our core, and we’re continually seeking to add people who exemplify them. At Backbone, we think it’s essential that our employees build boundaries for maintaining hobbies and life outside of working hours, and we have the management style to prove it. As our founders often say: Backbone last! We value team members who have events occurring outside of work, and they are encouraged to take the time they need to attend to them. Additionally, we offer unique employee benefits:
At Backbone, empathy is exhibited in everything we do. From customer management to daily workplace interactions, we have worked tirelessly to ensure our culture is built around empathy. From our unique employee benefits to Backbone’s reason for being, we ensure our operations are always human-first.
