The Couchbook & Our Code Of Conduct
In Spring of 2020, our People & Legal teams collaborated to launch our Couchbook, a modern version of an employee handbook that serves as a field guide to living our values and our code of conduct. The Couchbook (and the code of conduct within it) is a living document that we continue to refine, and is meant to be a resource to all our Couchbasers.
We’ve asked some of the key contributors to share important highlights and perspectives of The Couchbook & Code of Conduct below. We hope you find them enlightening to how we do things at Couchbase!
Our Culture Starts With Our Values, But Is Championed By Our People.
Our six value statements serve as a promise to our Couchbase team, customers, community, partners, and shareholders. They are unique manifestations of the essence of Couchbase, weaving together our individual aspirations and collective mission, and are the genesis of every decision, strategy, action, and intention. They guide us through times of uncertainty, doubt or misalignment.
- Be a Good Human, Always
- Act with Uncompromising Integrity, Period
- Serve Your Family, As Defined By You
- Attack Hard Problems, Driven by Customer Outcomes
- Play to Win, Together
- Make Tomorrow Better Than Today, Start Now
Crystal, you were a part of the original Couchbook rollout as well as the new version. In that time how have you seen us champion our values?
I review our values each week while onboarding our new hires. You might think that the weekly repetition would begin to make them feel false or scripted, but it is not the case. I truly believe you can see and feel our values lived each day – in our communications, at our quarterly all hands, and demonstrated in how we treat each other. I can also see it embodied in my manager. For example, when I make a mistake, my manager treats it as a collective learning point, rather than reacting or assigning blame. She also honors & protects the time I devote to my family. – Crystal Montejano, People Team
Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We commit to building and supporting a diverse and inclusive team, and it all starts with our very first value: Be A Good Human, Always. This commitment is grounded in passionate advocation for humanity and belonging. We will always strive to be good humans, and we do that by insisting that we live Our Values through authenticity, acceptance and connection. We aim to foster a culture where we can be our true and best selves, valuing others, and sparking the innovation and creativity required to maximize our collective potential. When we collectively do this, we can then deliver our best value unmatched by our competition.
Amy, you are a member of the Collective, our Diversity & inclusion employee-led effort – can you tell us what the commitment statement in our Couchbook means to you?
I believe that in order to achieve any goal, you have to define the objectives, hold yourself and those on the mission with you accountable, and decide the path you are willing to take. In my eyes, this is what the mission statement of the Collective does. While no one paragraph, or even an essay, could capture all of the complexities or nuances of diversity, inclusion and belonging, we have committed to a journey of defining what these things mean for Couchbase and that we hold ourselves and each other accountable. Moreover, it shows that we will strive towards these goals in line with Our Values as we venture on this journey together with our mission statement to guide us. – Amy Tu, Legal Team
Commitment to Equitable Workplace
We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees, and administer all aspects of the hiring process and employment without regard to race, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (including gender-related appearance and behavior), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical condition), age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability (including HIV/AIDS), medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), military or veteran status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, genetic information, marital or registered domestic partnership status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with local laws.
We expressly prohibit any form of employee harassment, bullying, discrimination or retaliation based on any of the characteristics mentioned above. Improper interference with the ability of other employees to perform their duties is not tolerated. We also do not allow any form of retaliation against those who raise issues of equal employment opportunity.
Vicki, you are a member of our People Team. Can you talk more about some initiatives Couchbase deploys to create a more equitable workplace?
I am proud to say we do frequent compensation reviews that seek to prevent any inequities (IE: gender, race, etc). We offer market-based regional pay, that is equitable relative to the cost of living in each country. We also standardize several perks regardless of region, based on our philosophical viewpoint. For example our Lifestyle Account is a perk available to all in at the same amount. We always review benefits that can be offered globally, and where possible apply in all countries. – Vicki Beumeler, People Team
Reporting Violations & Whistle-blowing
We believe all at Couchbase have a responsibility to report activity that is in violation of our code of conduct or laws, and offer multiple avenues for reporting. We also, as a matter of policy, offer whistleblower protection with regard to disclosure of information that relates to suspected wrongdoing or dangers at work (generally a breach of a legal, statutory, or regulatory requirement or unethical, or immoral behavior).
Randy, you worked on the whistleblowing protections in our Couchbook. Why are these protections important to you?
I am personally proud to see this section in our Couchbook because it backs up the words in Our Code of Conduct and Our Values, with action. It gives us the tools to combat and address violations, at every level, in a fair and equitable way. It’s equally important to me that our policy is explicitly non-retaliatory so all team members feel comfortable speaking out when they have concerns. – Randy Li, Legal Team
