To the Black community: We’re with you

Black people matter. Black people’s rights matter. Black lives matter. 

George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbrey, and Breonna Taylor matter. And so do the hundreds of people--disproportionately Black--killed by police in America every year.

It feels almost unbelievable that our world, our institutions, and our communities today do not recognize these fundamental truths. After witnessing the murder of yet another of our Black fellow humans by someone meant to protect him, we can no longer be silent. Our collective failure to see, speak, and act as we should in the face of pervasive structural racism across a shamefully long history is all of our responsibility to fix. 

Culture Amp is committed to building a world of work where everyone can thrive, which is impossible without organizational justice. We’re committed to designing our organization for equity and fairness. We know that while we’ve put a lot of work in to make Culture Amp a place where everyone is treated equitably, we haven’t always gotten that right. Failing, getting feedback, and learning to do better next time is the process. But acting is the most important part. That action will require us to identify and root out racism in our selves, our operations, our culture, and our world. Here are some of the first steps we’re taking:

Supporting Black employees

We recognize that speaking out is an important part of this process, but that words without action only perform solidarity. 

In the near term, we’re supporting our Black employees by:

• Acknowledging the events: Senior leaders are actively and publicly acknowledging events, their impact on the Black community, and offering what personal support they’re able to give. 
• Sharing educational resources: We’re sharing resources on anti-Blackness, White fragility, and anti-racism with our global team and providing guidance to managers of Black employees on how to support them.
• Giving permission to call in Black: We’re giving our Black employees (and others who feel impacted) an extra day off this week, without a requirement to log vacation time. 
• Holding processing sessions: We’re working with Camp Culture (our ERG for people of color) to hold sessions to connect and process, centering on our Black teammates’ experiences. Our global presence gives us the opportunity to add international context to the discussion with team members in Australia and Europe.
• Supporting our Camp Culture activists: Non-Black Campers are organizing in their dedicated spaces to educate each other and take direct action.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will also:

• Develop and launch a program to support Black employees in collaboration with Black mental health specialists
• Launch a White Allies Educational Initiative for employees who want to grow in their commitment to practice anti-racism
• Pilot a Managing Across Racial Dynamics course for managers of Black employees

Supporting our community

We know that a core part of the work of eradicating racism is using the privilege we have to advocate for change. One of our greatest privileges is having the opportunity to support each of our customers on their journey to building just, engaged, high-performing workplaces. 

We know that you may also be looking to us to understand how you can support Black people on your team and in your community. In the coming days, we’ll be sharing guidance on the actions you can take to support the Black community and Black people on your team. 

Our mission is to create a better world of work. What we need now is a better world.

In solidarity,

Didier Elzinga Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Culture Amp

Doug English Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Culture Amp

Rod Hamilton Founder & Chief Product Officer, Culture Amp