Shopify told employees in a companywide email on Friday that it would be changing its approach to evaluating their work.
Tia Silas, Shopify's chief human-resources officer, wrote in the email that the goal was to create a system that was less ambiguous and more "evidence based."
"We are committed to delivering a product that better reflects your true contributions to Shopify," Silas wrote (emphasis hers) in the email, which was viewed by Insider. "A product characterized by better inputs, more clarity, coordinated feedback cycles, and dedicated time with your lead."
The revamped evaluation system is set to roll out as tensions over layoffs and performance reviews remain high at Shopify and other tech companies like Meta.
Shopify laid off about 10% of its workforce, or roughly 1,000 people, in July. And several former employees accused the company of falsely citing performance issues as the reasoning behind what the employees argued were actually layoffs of several dozen workers earlier this year. It continued to lay off dozens of employees following July's mass layoff, the Globe & Mail reported in September.
In the companywide email, Silas wrote that the first step in the process would be for all leads at the company to participate in an exercise "designed to help establish Shopify's baseline measurement of impact (aka: how is this high-performing sports team of ours doing anyway?)."
(Previously, in an internal email sent in August 2020 and first reported by Insider, CEO Tobi Lütke said Shopify employees should think of themselves not as a family but as a sports team.)
Silas quoted Lütke in her email about the new performance-evaluation product, attributing these words to him: "There are two choices: roll products out as they are done or artificially delay some. The choice is easy when the goal is to always get incrementally better every day at Shopify."
Silas joined Shopify in April, filling a role that had been left vacant for nearly a year after Brittany Forsyth departed in May 2021. Forsyth had joined Shopify as its 22nd employee in 2010.
Shopify began revamping its compensation structure shortly after Silas joined. Called Flex Comp, the system gives employees the ability to determine how much of their compensation comes in the forms of cash and stock. Previously, Shopify faced employee complaints over stock-based compensation and loss of talent.
In her email Friday, Silas said Flex Comp was just the first of several revamps that would be coming from the talent organization in the coming months. She said the company would also be creating consistency around job titles and team structures, as well as launching a new "level and sublevel philosophy" that would offer a clearer path to advancement in a given role.
"As with Flex Comp, we are looking to reinvent this space and deliver performance management products characterized by better data inputs, simplicity, and clarity — an approach consistent with our values as a product-first company," a company representative told Insider in a statement.
The email comes at a time when concerns about performance evaluation are high.
A representative previously told Insider that employees who were "not meeting expectations of their role" were not eligible for Flex Comp as it was being rolled out in September but that they would "have the opportunity to enroll in subsequent allocation windows after demonstration of positive impact."
And some workers are worried that more layoffs could be on the way. These employees wished to remain anonymous out of a fear of professional repercussions.
"On first read the email breeds a lot of anxiety as I can only assume we will be watched closer in our day-to-day," one employee in the Support organization told Insider.
"My concerns are do they now hold metrics and absence in higher light than before," another employee said.
The company representative said no layoffs were currently being discussed.
If you're a Shopify employee with a story to share, contact this reporter at mstone@insider.com or on the encrypted messaging app Signal at (646) 889-2143 using a nonwork phone.
