Reddico

Reddico is a digital marketing agency based in the UK, founded in 2012 and predominantly focusing on SEO services. It wasn’t until 2017 that the business began a cultural revolution to reinvent the framework of the company – which at the time was led by a desire to become a better place to work for everyone.

A manifesto was created, outlining six key areas of change – and subsequently rolled out over a 9-month period in 2018. Although unknowingly, Reddico had already started to incorporate some of the key elements of Teal and has since continued to build and expand on a company culture that puts trust, freedom, and responsibility at the heart of everything.

Some of the core changes include removing managers, creating a work ‘anywhere, anytime, anyway you want’ policy, and stripping back traditional processes such as budgets and annual appraisals.

Original manifesto: https://reddico.co.uk/uploads/2021/06/manifesto-2021-1.pdf

Content : o Organizational Structure: A sociocratic framework, with Teal principles o Training and Coaching: Full responsibility to work in a way that’s right for you o Commitment, Working Hours and Flexibility : Freedom & trust – just make a positive impact o Feedback and Performance Management: No managers. Just choose your own coach. o Decision-making: Clear roles and responsibilities with the advice process o Conflict Resolution: A simple process to resolve conflict in an adult way o Information Flow: Delivering full transparency across the team

  • J. Information and communication
  • United Kingdom
  • 1-100

  • Profit

Teal Practices

Reddico’s structure uses the principles of Teal, with a formalized model taking the shape of a typical sociocratic framework.

All departments and teams are self-managed – each group then decides how it will operate (how often meetings will be, how information will be shared, who will be part of that group etc.). Information from team meetings is distributed to the whole company (radical transparency), with the majority of the team working on the current 90-days.

Each team also elects a representative for wider circle discussions (for instance, Operations). Information is then able to flow throughout the organization.

https://reddico.co.uk/uploads/2021/07/org-structure---july-2021-jpeg-2.jpg

Training Everyone at Reddico can decide how they want to push their career forward. There is no fixed training budget, meaning the team can spend what they need to enhance their skills and expertise.

The only caveat is they must use the advice process.

Reddico also has a career matrix and marketplace salary research available for most departments. The career matrix highlights the skills, experience, and knowledge needed from an entry role through to senior positions in the company. The team self-manage their matrix, again using the advice process if they want to complete a section.

Link to career matrix: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xuhG-dGhgSuzZAGKXLXqsr8r7u3ajBALilDoxoVxVNc/edit#gid=1034081211

Coaching As a manager-less environment, the team can self-manage everything. However, to promote reflection and progression, a coaching set-up has been created. The team is able to choose their own coach (from those who’ve put themselves forward) and schedule sessions to discuss anything that‘s on their mind, or any challenges they’re facing.

Coaching is on the individual to decide when and if they need to book a session – as with everything else, it’s completely self-managed. The only two requirements are that an individual choose someone from OUTSIDE their department, and there’s the minimum of a quarterly coaching session (inspired by Happy’s process). Link to coaching form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJDeT9yKed3ZhMjbsT0NYOyrPbzNMekveD07jM8e6uc/edit?usp=sharing

Reddico operates as a completely self-managed company, where individuals are accountable for how, when, and where they work best. The following applies:

  • No set number of days holiday each year. Everyone has to take a MINIMUM of 28 days (including Bank Holidays), but outside of that it’s up to the individual.
  • Choose where you work. This could be 100% remote, 100% in the office, or a hybrid of the two. Reddico also supports individuals who want to move abroad permanently or temporarily.
  • Choose the hours you work. There are no core hours, and team members are able to decide the best times for them. It could be 6am or 11pm – whatever works for you.
  • Pay all sick days. Reddico trusts the team to be open and honest. If you’re sick, take time off to get back to 100%.

The only caveat to all of this is ‘you must make a positive impact’.

With the removal of managers from the company, Reddico also scrapped traditional management responsibilities such as annual appraisals and performance reviews.

This type of performance review has been replaced with quarterly check-ins with your own coach – each individually picked by the team member. The check-ins are designed to create a positive, reflective experience, discussing areas such as success, aspirations, values, and job role happiness.

Link to Reddico coaching form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJDeT9yKed3ZhMjbsT0NYOyrPbzNMekveD07jM8e6uc/edit?usp=sharing

Each team has built out the roles and responsibilities of everyone in the group, so it’s clear who would be able to make decisions within the company on different subjects.

If a responsibility falls into an individual’s area, they’re able to direct change and improvement using the advice process.

This video provides more information on Reddico’s advice process, and how it works: https://www.loom.com/share/07ffe72b66d542c9bcbc08fea83556cf

Please note that even though it’s stated in the video “Strictly private and confidential”, it’s OK to share it :-)

https://reddico.co.uk/uploads/2021/04/conflict-resolution-04.jpg

Step 1: Direct conversation Once you know what you want to talk about, and how you’re going to approach the situation, it’s important to talk directly to the other person. This conversation is crucial in helping to give an overview of where you’re coming from, but it’s also an opportunity to listen to the other person as well. If you need any support in addressing the issue, or how to raise it, you can speak to your coach or team conflict mediator, who may be able to help you identify opportunities for this. In many cases, having this clear, honest and upfront conversation can help to resolve the issue, and leave you with an action plan going forward.

It’s important this first step is taken in resolving the issue – talking directly to the other person helps both parties feel heard and appreciated, paving the way for a resolution.

Step 2: Mediation Following a direct conversation in Step 1, the initial issue has been communicated and both parties should have had the opportunity to talk and listen. If, following this, next steps and a resolution haven’t been agreed (or the issue has resurfaced in the future), you may want to escalate to Step 2. The key to this step is identifying a mediator both parties trust, who can review the situation, hear from both parties and give any thoughts about the issue. It’s important to remember, the mediator can’t resolve the issue. They’re simply there to provide a different perspective on the situation. However, the mediator can help keep discussions on track and ensure conversations are kept to the facts. If the two parties are unable to find a mutual mediator, they may each choose a mediator they trust (this could be a coach or team mediator, for example). For clarification, the mediator isn’t on someone’s ‘side’ – they’re chosen to review the issue and provide unbiased thoughts.

Step 3: Designated arbitrator In the majority of situations, a direct conversation or mediation session will resolve any issues of conflict. However, if the conversation remains deadlocked, a designated arbitrator is required to join the discussion and hear from all parties. If a resolution is unable to be made, the arbitrator will (as a last resort) make a final decision. Ultimately, all disputes must come to an end. The designated arbitrator would likely be Reddico’s Managing Director.

Information flows throughout the team, creating a high level of transparency across the business. We work on a policy of being open by default. Some of the practices include:

  • Weekly all-agency: Every Friday morning, the whole company meets virtually to share information across the business (top level insights/main discussion & outcomes). Reddico’s Managing Director will also share any news or information with the wider team.

  • Meeting notes: All areas of the business take notes in their weekly, biweekly, or monthly meetings, and distribute these to the whole team by email. It provides greater transparency on what is happening throughout the organisation.

  • Financial reports: Monthly and quarterly financial reports are created and sent to the whole team, outlining revenue, profit, overheads, cost of sales, and more.

  • Quarterly Reddicons: Reddico’s quarterly reviews are an all-team event to summarise the last three months and share plans for the next quarter. There will also be brainstorms and questions posed to the wider team to get thoughts and opinions on company initiatives and strategy.

Notes and references