Payments and Settlements Executive, Flagstone

The day to day work itself offers plenty of opportunities to learn, but on top of that, Flagstone has a really positive culture of personal development. One of my favourite things about working as an engineer at Flagstone is the one day of personal development set aside per sprint. It's a day protected from meetings where the focus of the day is on personal development. I love those days where I can really deep dive on some learning!

Autonomy is weaved into all of the company values. Ownership is encouraged and new ideas are welcomed with enthusiasm, no matter where they come from. There is clarity in both company direction and how different areas of the business can contribute to that direction. This combination of ownership, openness, clarity and ambition supports people to really lean into having their autonomy and thriving in it.

There is a genuine support for wellbeing and a healthy and sustainable work/life balance is actively encouraged. There are lots of initiatives to support wellbeing and good provisions for mental health and wellbeing support. Most importantly, these are not empty initiatives because the support for wellbeing runs through every level of the company. The talk from the CEO on the new joiners day was one of the most refreshing perspectives I've ever had on joining a company, and confirmed I'd made a fantastic decision joining Flagstone.

Flagstone benefits from a workforce that is truly diverse in terms of culture, ethnicity, religion, nationality, socioeconomics, gender and neurotypicality. Difference is celebrated and everyone is strongly encouraged to be 'their authentic self'. We regularly mark occasions relating to diversity (e.g. Pride, Neurodiversity week, Black History month, Mental health day, Women in tech etc) with events, talks and food. We are supported and encouraged to attend training relating to diversity and inclusion e.g. ACAS training sessions. All of these factors contribute to an energetic and vibrant team atmosphere. One of Flagstone's three mantra's is 'Community Counts', and it truly feels like it does.

Flagstone is growing at an incredible rate. We aim to increase to the size of our business significantly in the next three years and are in the process of expanding our workforce by c.20% in the next few months. We are innovating constantly, and in addition to growing our establish business areas, we have plans to add new product lines very soon. This speed of change makes for huge opportunity for staff to diversify their role, push for promotion within and outside of their teams, and learn new skills in new technology.

In Flagstone, 50% of staff appraisal is based on cultural/behavioural factors e.g. how collaborative are you, how much do you support others, how approachable are you for advice, how considerate are you of the way you communicate information. Everyone is encourage to provide regular (at least weekly) feedback to their colleagues, not just to congratulate and celebrate them, but also to course-correct and refine their delivery. Staff are all measured on the same metrics irrespective of seniority. Staff are rated not only on the quality of the feedback they have provided, but also on the manner in which they have received an adapted to feedback. I believe it is this focus on open and honest commination encourages collaboration and teamwork and deters people from attempting to excel personally at the expense of anyone else.