Night Shift - egos & nepotism

Try reading the post.

 

Exactly. May the situation be more nuanced than initially described? Quite likely. But longtime employees leaving while family members being hired is a huge red flag. Not being present is a red flag. While it’s not specific, I can’t remember a complaint of general lack of empathy that wasn’t accurate. That doesn’t mean it’s so, but that’s not “I didn’t like this action” complaint which leaves room that they don’t understand the context of that action. It reflects people not feeling like they’re being heard...which is a huge red flag.

Further, a company that has grown large and hired people at upper levels of management who are cleaning house at a successful company... is a huge red flag.

So sure, there could be more to the story, but if I were a betting man there’s worse to come, not better.

 

And what if it's not true? You're going to boycott a company based on hearsay? And then this hurts not just the owners, but also the employees that are left there that were apparently good people according to this thread.

I would expect turnover in an industry as rapidly changing as this one, and in a company like Nightshift who has rapidly expanded not just in size, but in the types of businesses they've started (roastery, distribution, restaurant...etc.).

Nightshift isn't exactly The Alchemist just expanding to Stowe.

Do you have any experience working in corporate environments in upper management/leadership roles?

No, you don't need to be an asshole and you absolutely should treat people well. But when decisions need to be made that will affect the company decades in the future, and millions of dollars are at stake, tough decisions and conversations have to happen.

I do agree with you in that people should be treated like humans, but we should also keep in mind other aspects of this story.

The issue with this is that these events happened 2-3 years ago. Nightshift has been VERY successful in that time.

 

Howdy all,

Just chiming in again. Connecting unrelated events over a span of 3+ years tends to weave a story that's inaccurate and damaging. Out of respect for the folks that are being unwillingly dragged into this, and due to legal reasons, we can't and won't discuss individual employment history.

Night Shift was founded with a core principle that we want to craft a better working world than the one we left. That is still the case today. Of course profits are important. If we didn't make profits we would be out of business and over 220 hard-working folks would lose their jobs. Profits fuel our growth and allow us to re-invest in our people through raises, promotions and benefits. We hear and hope that this place continues to be a special place to work. Not everyone will always feel similarly, but we hear and hope that most people do.

At Night Shift Brewing we:

• Believe in paying above industry average to attract and retain the best and brightest.
• Our minimum wage is $15/hr (for non-tipped employees). We could save $100Ks of dollars if we lowered our starting rates.
• We pay 75% of health benefits. Legally we only have to pay 50% and could really improve our bottom line if we did that.
• We offer 3 months fully paid Maternity Leave. For a business with young families, this is incredibly expensive and nearly unheard of in the brewing world. Legally, we only have to offer 3 months of zero pay! That's absurd so we decided to do better.
• We offer unlimited vacation - life should be more than just work. Take what time you need so you come to work at your best.
• If someone's role allows it - flexible schedule. If you are a night owl and want to work noon to 8pm, that's fine.
• We offer 401k with company match. Another $100Ks line item that we believe is super important.
• We invest in continual education, from internal folks training staff to sending people to conferences.
• We offer two free beers per shift. The number of folks who stay after a long hard day and sit down with their peers for another hour or two to just bond is incredible. We have a team that truly enjoys one another's company.
• Full-time staff get $150 a month to spend on beer and merch. Again, $100Ks of free product to our crew. But we want people to enjoy what they work so hard for without having to pay for it all the time.
• We have an internal group called Parliament (a collection of owls by definition!) run entirely by non-management staff that, among other things, serves as an anonymous channel for feedback so we can make this place even better.

The list could continue but just a small sampling of how we live our values - people come before profits here. In 2016, we were a totally different business; by the end of 2019, revenue and headcount had quadrupled. A normal business evolution is always at play - what worked in 2016 is radically different from what works in 2020. And with finite resources, we need to evolve, shift, and move with a very challenging marketplace. That doesn't mean we are cutthroat, treat people like trash, or value money above all else. Some small fraction of staff (current or former) might have this perspective, but that's almost always the result of a bad culture fit or mismatched vision of the company's direction, usually no real blame warranted on either side. Any decision that involves parting ways with a person, no matter the reason, is incredibly difficult and complex. We consistently aim to do it with respect and empathy.

I sent the below email to our entire company earlier this week. If anything, I hope this at least reinforces what I just said above:

--------

Our people are the most valuable part of our company. As we grow, the strength of our culture only becomes more critical, and we want to ensure that we’re creating an environment that fosters transparency, honesty, and communication. If you're ever unclear about our company's direction or intention to do the right thing, please reach out. Rumors are incredibly dangerous, I'd love us all to work against the spread of misinformation.


The best way for us to address problems is to hear them and talk about them amongst each other (perhaps not a public forum). Facilitated by HR and our management team, we've tried to build a support system that encourages stronger and stronger communication between all levels of the company. And we're actively working to improve that system further in 2020 as a constructive outlet for thoughts, concerns, and ideas.


We are three friends who started a journey to craft better. Along the way, we've made a lot of mistakes, and we've learned at least one thing - we don't have all the answers. We see our mistakes as opportunities to constantly improve ourselves. Most importantly, we need your help and input to continue to improve ourselves with the same integrity, passion, and sense of community in which it has always been rooted.


Any one of the Founders will happily meet with any person or group of people here to talk about anything on your mind. We’re here and we’re ready to listen.

---------

If you have any concerns, thoughts, ideas, feedback you can always reach out ([email protected]).

Cheers,
Rob

 

Sounds nice. Are you hiring?

 

It's a shame that folks can just come on a website anonymously and trash a company. You are not anonymous. Right there is point one in your favor, we at least know you exist in the capacity you say you exist. The rest is all he said she said, including your responses.

We have all lived and worked with folks who think that they know better than management how to run the company they work for. And folks who think they deserve better treatment than they get. And folks who plot revenge against a boss that treats their prima donna asses so unfairly.

Don't like a job? Quit. Think you are treated illegally? Sue. Pretty much those are the options where everyone will agree you did the right thing. Otherwise both mgt. and employees can expect the skepticism and backlash they now receive

 

Yes, and more roles are in the pipeline too. https://nightshiftfamily.com/careers/

 

I dunno, unlimited vacation and free beer sounds pretty terrible.

 

I am certain there are many attorneys willing to take the civil case against a boss who deludes himself into thinking he is a leader and surrounds himself with grapevine loving fanboys. When a judge hears this it is certain to move the case your way. But when a judge hears that there is a HR leader who has illegally not gained approval from all employees, well, it is likely this case will be referred to criminal court. Sorry for the hardships you have to endure. I admit to having had jobs and bosses that seem far, far worse than yours, but I am sure you have left out many details of even worse things happening that would change my opinion. Good luck in court. Cheers!

 

Yawn

 

Rob had me convinced until he spelled Founders with a capital F. You guys sound full of yourselves by doing that...

I was a Barrel Society member for 3 years, went to the original taproom regularly and spread the word to all my friends about how great NSB was. Then the beer started getting boring, the taproom started getting overcrowded, the business model focused on distribution and essentially profiting from whatever other smaller coffee or food providers brought to the scene by appropriating those into NSB businesses... supporting NSB felt like taking money away from other local brewers, food trucks, coffee roasters, etc and I now only stop by the beergardens in the summer to try non NSB beers.

Craft better beer and tone down your egos NSB and you’ll get your original vibes back.

 

I thought the Parliament was anonymous? Why would someone be afraid of giving feedback?

 

Unfortunately that's how the world works in many scenarios. I speak from personal experience being involved in a couple of law suits. It's a shitty and lengthy process, and you may not win, but if you have a valid case, you have a shot at being justified in the end.

 

This guy/girl/non binary individual. Why don't you email him this and put your name on it instead of hiding behind your avatar. As someone who worked at a brewpub where the owner went to federal prison for tax evasion, and was asked to leave green flash after 8 years with a one week severance because the scumbag owner was a fucking idiot and ran it into the ground and they laid off half the company. My advice to you is tender your two weeks notice and leave, instead of posting vengeful hate speech anonymously. Good luck to you

 

“Yawn” wasn’t really a commentary on how the world does or doesn’t work. His post - yet again - was a sarcastic, facetious load of not-remotely-constructive, patronizing nonsense.

The automatically pro-business / this is how a growing company works 101 / zero empathy posts are just as annoying as the auto-boycotting ones.

 

My read on it is that “Parliament” is a collection of known individuals, who receive feedback anonymously from other employees. The implication in the post you quoted is that said feedback is not shared (or is perhaps selectively shared / dumbed down / sugar coated) with the Founders, because Parliament themselves are afraid of the repercussions on them.

 

Ah gotcha.

 

@cavedave are you a NSB employee? Because you seem to be taking all of this really personally

 

I don't even know if he drinks their beer to be honest.