Coinbase, the sometimes-controversial cryptocurrency tech startup founded (and up until recently, based) in San Francisco, is testing out a strange new employee review system.
As first reported by the Information, the company has soft-launched a service internally that lets employees rate each other after every interaction — whether that’s a meeting or a chat at the proverbial water cooler. The program they use is called Dot Collector, a product of Principles, a management company started by notable venture capitalist Ray Dalio.
How does the rating system work? Employees can give each other a thumbs-up, a thumbs-down or a neutral rating, the Information says.
On its website, Dot Collector promises that the reviews — or “moments of micro-feedback” — help “improve individual and collective performance.” The Information reports that employees are graded on the company’s 10 “cultural tenets.” Some are fairly standard corporate qualities, like “clear communication” and “efficient execution.” “Positive energy,” another one of the tenets listed by the Information, is far less tangible.
Among its proponents are media magnate turned sleep influencer Ariana Huffington, who claims the service helps foster “compassionate directness” in her company.
But as of now, this service is still largely a proof of concept.
Whether this service will actually be helpful in fostering employee camaraderie — or even if this social rating system is a beneficial one for any company to use — remains largely unclear, except for one data point. Business Insider reports that Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund Dalio founded, uses the system. Employees at Bridgewater can grade each other on nearly 100 attributed traits using iPads.