Algolia Product Design Team Values
Algolia as a company already has a strong set of core values. They align the entire company on how we want to work and grow together. That said, we felt the product design team could create a set of our own values to help us further shape our behaviours and attitudes on the team. As our team scales at Aloglia (we’re hiring!), we want to ensure that we’re all on the same page when it comes to team values, process and mission. In Q4 of last year, the team came together and created a set of team values, which we will help us unify and be our guiding light in the sometimes dark space of rocket ship growth.
How We Came Up With Them
We came together as a team to work on this project as we often do. Each team member filled out a survey specifying what they thought we do well as a team, and what we could do better and strive for. Then, we printed out all of the responses and brought them to our team meeting. In the meeting, we grouped all of the responses into themes (in design speak, we created an affinity diagram). Then, we voted for our top values: a mix of those we do well already and those we would like to do better. This process made us reflect on the team we are and the team we wanted to become as we faced rapid growth.
The Values
Aim Higher.
We don’t settle for mediocre design, experiences and practices. We aim high, and hold each other accountable by providing caring and candid feedback. In turn, we accept feedback with an open heart as a gift meant to help us grow and improve. Through failure, we learn, adapt and move forward. When thinking about improving experiences, we keep the big picture in mind. We don’t just check the boxes, we do what’s necessary.
Dig Deeper.
Our favourite question is “Why?” We are curious, we listen and are ready to learn. We never settle for the first answer, and want to understand what the second and third answers are. We acknowledge that, sometimes, people voice problems through solutions and it’s up to us to uncover what their true needs are. Our design decisions are the result of exploration, and deliberate and intentional decision-making.
Bias Toward Action.
Perfect is the enemy of the good. We look at the facts, recognise that we will never have all the information and make the best decisions to keep us moving forward. Inaction is not an option. When we feel stuck, we know it’s time to do something, like ask for help.
Show, Don’t Tell.
We are visual creatures and recognise that showing is more powerful than just describing. We make abstract things concrete and create a common understanding to achieve alignment in our team. We love to show our work and we do it often, regularly and early. We know that walking the walk is more important than talking the talk, so when it comes to our successes, we will be measured by outcomes rather than ideas.
Welcome Others.
Welcoming means being open to others’ opinions and thinking about other people. When designing, we remember that others experience the world differently from us and ask: “How can Algolia be accessible to them?”. We listen to our users and make sure that our work is infused with their voices. Additionally, we actively include our partners from across the organisation in the design process, because we know we are facilitators and stewards of the design process, but not dictators of solutions.
One for All and All for One.
We are stronger together than when we act alone. Each of us is empowered to contribute to how the team works. We expect high standards and hold each other accountable. We share credit and celebrate wins. Being a team player to us means providing each other with caring and candid feedback. We know we are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with, so we aim to raise each other up.
Living the Values
We want to live and breathe our values, which is why we are getting creative about how we keep them top of mind on our team.
The values review is a standard part of our on-boarding process. We use them to set expectations and to drive behaviours on the team. You’ll often hear us say “Show, don’t tell” in our design reviews and workshops.
Clément Aupiais got creative and made a values playlist composed of good and [some] bad 80’s hits:
How does your team live and breathe values? Tell us in comments below.
