6 ms·

The Gitlab Team Handbook

127 points by pella 4y ago

bilalararou 4y ago
Really intresting - will try to copy some ideas for my company.
asicsp 4y ago
Related discussion on one of the sections: "Gitlab Handbook's HN Page" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221 (3 months ago | 191 comments)
ldoughty 4y ago
Thanks for sharing, really interesting to have open access to a company manual/guide like this... The CEO shadow idea is fairly cool, GitLab itself is copying others with it, sort of, with their own take on it, and because of this open document I could share this with my own company, compete with justifications for the program... Might have to look through this handbook later for more ideas to borrow!
- waynesoftware 4y ago
  (GitLab Team Member) I got a lot out of the CEO shadow program (https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/07/08/ceo-shadow-impressions-takeaways/ https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/07/08/ceo-shadow-impressi...). So much in fact that it inspired me to create something similar for my role as an engineering director (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/development/shadow/director-shadow-program.html https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/development/sh...).
unixhero 4y ago
This is extremely generous of Gitlab to share.
- Gigachad 4y ago
  They used to share the salary for every role but it’s gone private since. I’m guessing competitors were using it to put bid them.
  - dhaulagiri 4y ago
    That and the salaries were low which made me and other colleagues not even want to bother applying
  - probably_wrong 4y ago
    My guess is that people didn't take kindly to their salary calculator showing how much more you could be making if you lived in SF. And for a company that claims "Hiring and working from all over the world", the list of countries from where they don't accept applicants was also not a good look. Edit: Found a related HN thread discussing the change: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24893211 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24893211
    - deepsun 4y ago
      > wing how much more you could be making if you lived in SF. Are you sure it's "more" and not "less"? Cost of living in SF is horrendous.
      - maccard 4y ago
        Yes. On a salary of 120k in San Francisco, after taxes and 2500/month in rent, you are left with more than the median developer in Europe makes pre tax and pre rent. Many European cities have costs of living that are comparable - try renting in Dublin, London or Amsterdam. No matter what way you swing it, you'll make far more in SF.
        0des 4y ago
        Skillwise those two may be equal, but the totality of the unit that makes up an employee is not equal. People bring connections, and become articulating surfaces of the organization. Someone local brings more to the table in that regard while someone overseas might not make it to the next monthly Catalina Wine Mixer.
Niksko 4y ago
Thanks for sharing. I'd seen snippets of things out of GitLab, but in particular their section on remote work is a treasure trove of great ideas and practices.
elpakal 4y ago
I work at a big public company that isn’t a tech company but is trying to do tech things. The Engineering Productivity metrics Gitlab publishes helped us build something similar and justified some pretty large and much needed actions due to the problems the metrics exposed. Really cool they publish stuff like this.
- echelon 4y ago
  More and more I see non-tech companies doing tech things. I think the era of "tech eating the world" meaning "tech puts you out of business" is almost over. Lots of traditional companies got the memo and now have competent engineering leadership. I'm not saying this is an end of "innovator's dilemma", just that the internet and having software engineers as a part of your org aren't it anymore.
  - mistrial9 4y ago
    " Lots of traditional companies" here in California and USA got the outsourcing memo, for the last two decades. Cheerful "it's getting better" does not pay bills for people who build things. Executive management coasting and stalling for years, while on-commission intermediaries are more than happy to bring hapless workers for low, low wages.
kuharich 4y ago
Past comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23162199 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23162199, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221
robinhood 4y ago
The handbook has always been there and open. I don't get why people think it's a new thing.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
beepbooptheory 4y ago
I'm very much just a wannabe developer, not yet had a tech role anywhere, but have been coding and making stuff for a long time. One thing Gitlab is great at, besides being open stuff like this, is being extremely welcoming to oss contributors. I applied for a technical writer job there, and before I even heard back I started looking at doc issues and making MRs. Messed up a little the first time, and was immediately helped by some employees and given feedback and direction. I kept going for like a month and felt like part of the team for brief moments. Someone there even offered to video chat with me and go over some career advice. It was really nice, I got nominated that month as a contributor MVP. I was unfortunately screened out of the job at the first stage, but still very much appreciate how nice the people I was working with were.
- john_cogs 4y ago
  Hey, I’m on the Community Relations team at GitLab. Thanks for your contributions and the kind words. I would love to connect and learn more about your experience contributing to GitLab. You can reach me at jcoghlan at gitlab com.

127 points by pella 4y ago

Really intresting - will try to copy some ideas for my company.

Related discussion on one of the sections: "Gitlab Handbook's HN Page" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221 (3 months ago | 191 comments)

ldoughty 4y ago

Thanks for sharing, really interesting to have open access to a company manual/guide like this... The CEO shadow idea is fairly cool, GitLab itself is copying others with it, sort of, with their own take on it, and because of this open document I could share this with my own company, compete with justifications for the program... Might have to look through this handbook later for more ideas to borrow!

waynesoftware 4y ago
(GitLab Team Member) I got a lot out of the CEO shadow program (https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/07/08/ceo-shadow-impressions-takeaways/ https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2020/07/08/ceo-shadow-impressi...). So much in fact that it inspired me to create something similar for my role as an engineering director (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/development/shadow/director-shadow-program.html https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/development/sh...).

unixhero 4y ago

This is extremely generous of Gitlab to share.

Gigachad 4y ago
They used to share the salary for every role but it’s gone private since. I’m guessing competitors were using it to put bid them.
- dhaulagiri 4y ago
  That and the salaries were low which made me and other colleagues not even want to bother applying
- probably_wrong 4y ago
  My guess is that people didn't take kindly to their salary calculator showing how much more you could be making if you lived in SF. And for a company that claims "Hiring and working from all over the world", the list of countries from where they don't accept applicants was also not a good look. Edit: Found a related HN thread discussing the change: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24893211 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24893211
  - deepsun 4y ago
    > wing how much more you could be making if you lived in SF. Are you sure it's "more" and not "less"? Cost of living in SF is horrendous.
    - maccard 4y ago
      Yes. On a salary of 120k in San Francisco, after taxes and 2500/month in rent, you are left with more than the median developer in Europe makes pre tax and pre rent. Many European cities have costs of living that are comparable - try renting in Dublin, London or Amsterdam. No matter what way you swing it, you'll make far more in SF.
      - 0des 4y ago
        Skillwise those two may be equal, but the totality of the unit that makes up an employee is not equal. People bring connections, and become articulating surfaces of the organization. Someone local brings more to the table in that regard while someone overseas might not make it to the next monthly Catalina Wine Mixer.

Niksko 4y ago

Thanks for sharing. I'd seen snippets of things out of GitLab, but in particular their section on remote work is a treasure trove of great ideas and practices.

elpakal 4y ago

I work at a big public company that isn’t a tech company but is trying to do tech things. The Engineering Productivity metrics Gitlab publishes helped us build something similar and justified some pretty large and much needed actions due to the problems the metrics exposed. Really cool they publish stuff like this.

echelon 4y ago
More and more I see non-tech companies doing tech things. I think the era of "tech eating the world" meaning "tech puts you out of business" is almost over. Lots of traditional companies got the memo and now have competent engineering leadership. I'm not saying this is an end of "innovator's dilemma", just that the internet and having software engineers as a part of your org aren't it anymore.
- mistrial9 4y ago
  " Lots of traditional companies" here in California and USA got the outsourcing memo, for the last two decades. Cheerful "it's getting better" does not pay bills for people who build things. Executive management coasting and stalling for years, while on-commission intermediaries are more than happy to bring hapless workers for low, low wages.

kuharich 4y ago

Past comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23162199 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23162199, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30003221

robinhood 4y ago

The handbook has always been there and open. I don't get why people think it's a new thing.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

beepbooptheory 4y ago

I'm very much just a wannabe developer, not yet had a tech role anywhere, but have been coding and making stuff for a long time. One thing Gitlab is great at, besides being open stuff like this, is being extremely welcoming to oss contributors. I applied for a technical writer job there, and before I even heard back I started looking at doc issues and making MRs. Messed up a little the first time, and was immediately helped by some employees and given feedback and direction. I kept going for like a month and felt like part of the team for brief moments. Someone there even offered to video chat with me and go over some career advice. It was really nice, I got nominated that month as a contributor MVP. I was unfortunately screened out of the job at the first stage, but still very much appreciate how nice the people I was working with were.

john_cogs 4y ago
Hey, I’m on the Community Relations team at GitLab. Thanks for your contributions and the kind words. I would love to connect and learn more about your experience contributing to GitLab. You can reach me at jcoghlan at gitlab com.