Can N26 continue to attract talent?
An edifying survey published last week by Sifted and conducted by their correspondent in Germany.
Annual staff turnover is above 40%. N26 has spent the last two years locked in a tussle with BaFin, the German financial regulator, over its lack of money laundering prevention. It also pulled out of the US market in November last year, its second major market withdrawal after it waved goodbye to the UK in February 2020, blaming Brexit.
Still, the fintech was able to raise $900m in October 2020 at a valuation of $9bn, close to Germany's second largest listed bank, Commerzbank. It now has 7m customers and plans to IPO next year. What was a fairly easy-going culture, where emphasis was put on the quality of the work you do, changed into a “highly pressurised environment driven by numbers” says a former employee. Some N26 insiders say that a big reason for the high turnover at the company is because of poor wages and an unequal promotion system that makes too many employees feel “undervalued”. Lack of trust, arbitrary decisions, unhealthy work culture: the challenges facing the start-up are numerous. Read the survey here 🤏
Speak up 📣 The great resignation, what’s next ?
Millions Americans decided to quit their jobs. Despite the spread of the omicron variant, job openings have recently moved closer to their record highs, resignations remain high as workers continue to hold the cards amid a labour shortage.
A similar phenomenon is occurring in China, referred to as “tang ping”, and Germany apparently is leading the trend in Europe where the unemployment rate is at its lowest. There’s a link with Covid for sure. People have had time to think… Being confronted to a great change can have this effect : a heads up event, for people who might have been “heads down” for years, and not asking themselves many questions.
Read the rest of Romain Vidal's post (Teampact Ventures) here 👈
DATA 📊 Should you focus on hiring brilliant individuals or great team players?
The hiring process relies on individual skill evaluations. But in companies, where collaboration is paramount, does it make sense?
In this meta-analysis published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that group collaboration processes often outdo individual skill when it comes to team performance. And the more socially perceptive the teammates, the more effective the team. (Take the test here to know where you stand!)
So what’s the takeaway? Of course, we’re not telling you to stop hiring Software Engineers if you need them. Instead, ask yourself this question given the task at hand. How important is individual skill versus group performance? And remember that covering all relevant topics is as important as excelling at each of them.
Hot News 🗞️ How are young people doing? Not very well
This is what emerges from the 6th wave of the DJEPVA barometer of nearly 5,000 French people aged 18 to 30. Among the themes addressed in this survey: satisfaction with current life, experience of the pandemic, confidence or concern about the future. Only 46% of young people declared a positive state of mind. The more difficult the personal or professional situation (unemployment), the greater the perceived hardship. The pandemic has also been more difficult for young women, as the crisis has caused a kind of backlash against parity. In 2021, psychological difficulties outweigh socio-economic ones. Six out of ten young people consider that their current life corresponds to their expectations. This proportion is down 6 points from 2020 and at its lowest level since the introduction of the measure six years ago. It’s interesting to note that the pandemic is not dampening the enthusiasm of a large proportion of young people for associative participation (sport, culture, etc.) or voluntary work.
🇧🇪 Belgian civil servants will no longer need to answer emails out of hours
The country became the latest in Europe to offer workers the right to disconnect. The law means 65,000 federal officials are able to make themselves unavailable at the end of the normal working day unless there are “exceptional” reasons for not doing so.
The Belgian minister for public administration said the law was necessary to combat a culture of people feeling they should always be available. Belgium has followed a trend set in Europe by Volkswagen in Germany, which decided in 2012 to ban certain employees from accessing emails after hours in order to avoid burnout. In France, the sense that a different work-life balance needed to be struck was turned into action in 2017, when organisations with more than 50 workers were required to start negotiations to define the rights of employees to ignore their company smartphones and laptops. It highlights the importance of separating work and personal life in a remote mode.
To remind you
"ppl first" will be committed and benevolent for employees, managers, and founders !
What is ppl first ? It's a company that puts the employee at the heart of the strategy, considering that a fulfilled worker will make a healthy and sustainable business.
Why ppl first ? Everything is accelerating and for years customer is too often the top priority, the employee is sometimes an adjustment variable. Less considered, he/she's also less committed.
How ppl first ? There are many ways to achieve this (or to stay this way) but there is a common base. When a staff member would not recommend to his friends to work with him/her, when the management does not have clear values to defend etc. Staff is at risk and the company with it. To have or maintain a people first culture you need to care about your employees as individuals.