Tech leaders are actually pretty optimistic about their companies’ growth for 2021: Survey

Tech companies are optimistic about their growth, even as they confront remote and racial equity challenges.

That’s the consensus from an informal survey of HR and operations leaders taken by Technical.ly on Feb. 24. The survey was part of our webinar focused on our inaugural Hiring and Workplace Culture Trends Report. Professionals representing 65 companies answered the survey. Most were in software, web or other tech-enabled firms between 50 and 250 employees, with a few smaller and larger.

The details:

Two-thirds are optimistic or very optimistic about their company’s growth for 2021.

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How optimistic do you feel about your company’s growth plans for 2021?

• Very optimistic — 19 — 29.23%
• Optimistic — 29 – 44.62%
• Neutral/unsure — 14 — 21.54%
• Pessimistic — 3 — 4.62%
• Very pessimistic — 0 — 0.00%
• Total: 65

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One in five companies don’t have a plan for compensating remote or distributed employees.

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Do you have an existing policy for compensating differently employees living in more/less expensive places?

• Yes, and it’s established — 7 — 11%
• Yes, but it’s still new — 1 — 2%
• Sorta!? — 14 — 22%
• No, but we need one — 14 — 22%
• No, but we don’t need it — 29 — 45%
• Total: 65

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Three-quarters expect to identify as “remote-flexible” companies, prioritizing offices but welcoming employees to work remotely.

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How do you expect your company to identify related to “work from anywhere” after the pandemic restrictions are completed?

• Primarily office-based — 6 — 9%
• Remote-flexible — 46 — 71%
• Remote-first — 11 — 17%
• Remote-only — 2 — 3%
• Total: 65

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85% of companies instituted new DEI policies in 2020.

Did your company institute a new policy, commitment and/or effort related to DEI since 2020?

• Yes, added to existing efforts — 42 — 65%
• Yes, it was a new focus of ours — 13 — 20%
• Yes, but I’m not sure of our commitment yet — 5 — 8%
• No, but we’re working on it — 3 — 5%
• No, and we’re not even talking about it — 2 — 3%
• Total: 65

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Just one in 10 companies have a formal and active employee alumni network.

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Does your company have any employee alumni engagement?

• Yes, formal and active — 6 — 9.23%
• Yes, formal but inactive — 2 — 3.08%
• Yes, informal only — 18 — 27.69%
• No, not that I know of — 39 — 60.00%
• Total: 65

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How is your workplace thinking about these topics? Share your thoughts with me, via chris@technical.ly, or with the newsroom, below (pick “Pitch a story”):