Code of Conduct

As an employee, you are responsible to behave appropriately at work. We outline our expectations here.

1. Introduction

We can’t cover every single case of conduct, but we trust you to always use your best judgment. Reach out to your manager or HR if you face any issues or have any questions.

This Code of Conduct applies to all entities within the Infinum group and all other persons working in Infinum entities on another basis (such as student contracts, contractors, etc.).

2. Expected behaviour

We are professional and respectful to each other. We strive to be a place where everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, citizenship status, race, or religion, can collaborate to solve problems and produce amazing results that make a positive impact in the lives of our clients and their users.

In pursuit of this ideal, we have created a code of conduct to govern our interactions in the various areas of our shared professional lives. This includes the Infinum offices and coworking spaces, home offices, off-site company events, Slack, video conferences, email exchanges, social media, pull request feedback, industry events, and any situation where you, as an employee or collaborator of Infinum, represent Infinum.

We created this code because we believe that articulating our values and obligations to one another reinforces the already exceptional level of respect among the team and because having a code helps us provide clear avenues to quickly address issues should they arise and/or correct our culture should it ever stray from its expected course.

2.1. These are our values

Infinum is powered by its principles. This code of conduct should guide us in our interactions with our colleagues.

We demand respect and honesty. We want our team to be a fun, productive, and safe space for all members. We support diversity and believe it creates informed, productive teams. While we recognize that no one organization can single-handedly do away with bias and prejudice in the workforce, we can make an impact by always hiring the best person for the role, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, background, political or religious beliefs. We must also constantly monitor our own internal culture.

Above all, we strive to be a unified team where we can all learn from each other. We maintain open lines of communication and foster good and friendly working relationships with one another. Collaboration is core to our success, so we commit to evolving and improving this code with the help of our team as we learn and grow together.

2.2. These behaviors are expected

Every member of Infinum is expected to work hard, be considerate of their colleagues and our clients, and contribute to a collaborative, positive, and healthy environment.

Be supportive of your colleagues, both proactively and responsively. If you see someone struggling or otherwise in need of assistance, offer to help (without being patronizing or disrespectful). If someone approaches you looking for help, be generous with your time; if you’re under a deadline, direct them to someone else who may be of assistance or give them a clear timeframe of when you can help them.

Be collaborative. Involve your colleagues in brainstorming, sketching sessions, code reviews, planning documents, etc. It’s not only okay to ask for help or feedback often, it’s unacceptable not to do so. Don’t succumb to either impostor syndrome (believing that you don’t deserve to be here) or blowhard syndrome (believing you can do no wrong). Recognize that in addition to asking for feedback, you are similarly obligated to give it.

Be generous and kind in both giving and accepting feedback. Feedback is a natural and important part of our culture. Good feedback is kind, respectful, clear, and constructive, focused on objective goals and requirements rather than personal preferences. You are expected to give and receive feedback with grace and always in service of producing the best work for our clients.

Be respectful in remote and in-person interactions. While many of us can meet up in person easily, other equally important team members live far away. Adopt habits that are inclusive and productive for team members wherever they are: make liberal use of video conferences, document meetings and decisions thoroughly, record meetings when appropriate, and be responsive, articulate, and concise in all communications and project management tools (i.e., email, Slack, Productive). Be mindful of time zones when scheduling events. Understand that meetings are expensive and time-consuming. Set meeting expectations clearly by writing up a thoughtful agenda. During meetings, be mindful of and balance the length of the meeting against the material to be covered and get everyone’s input. Only invite people that need to be in the meeting.

Be humane. Be polite and friendly in all forms of communication – especially in non-verbal communications, where opportunities for misunderstanding are greater. The tone is hard to decipher online; assume statements are made in good faith and clarify whenever possible. Use video conferences and in-person meetings when it makes sense, as face-to-face discussion benefits from all kinds of social cues that may go missing in other forms of communication. Over-communicate to make sure your intent is clear, and don’t allow tension from misunderstandings to build up.

2.3. These behaviors are unacceptable

Infinum is committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment for everyone regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, age, citizenship status, race, or religion. Discrimination and harassment are expressly prohibited.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, age, race, or religion.
Deliberate “outing” of any aspect of a person’s identity without their consent except as necessary to protect vulnerable people from intentional abuse.
Publication of private communication that is not job-related and that does not represent harassment itself.

Much exclusionary behavior takes the form of microaggressions. These incidents are often considered too small to be reported but contribute to the pervasive and damaging feeling that the recipient is a lesser member of their industry or community. These are often unconsciously delivered, but regardless of intent, they can have a significant negative impact and have no place on our team.

Some examples of microaggressions:

Treating a female colleague differently than you would treat a male colleague in the same role.
Expressing surprise or disbelief when a colleague contributes a good or productive idea. Along the same lines, implying that an accomplished or intelligent individual is somehow exceptional to their race or gender.
Assigning different labels to the same personality traits based on gender, e.g., a forceful, opinionated woman is labeled “bossy” whereas a man with the same qualities is “ambitious.” Several behaviors that occur frequently in the tech industry are also worth calling out as specifically unwelcome.
“Well, actuallys”—pedantic corrections that are often insulting and unproductive.
Interrupting your colleagues while they are speaking.
With rare exceptions, multitasking during a conversation rather than giving the speaker your full attention is counterproductive.
Responding with surprise or disdain when someone asks for help and patronizing colleagues when giving that help.
Assuming complete and unfailing knowledge of a topic, even when your conversation partner is equally or more knowledgeable in that topic.
Excluding people from learning opportunities.
Dismissing legitimate concerns about communication as the recipient being “too sensitive.”
Tone policing as “a means to deflect attention from injustice and relocate the problem in the style of the complaint, rather than address the complaint itself.”.

Something went wrong–what can you do about it?

These guidelines are ambitious, and we’re not always going to succeed in meeting them. When something happens—whether it’s a microaggression or an instance of harassment—there are a number of things you can do to address the situation with your Infinum team members or with your manager, or the leadership team. We know that you’ll do your best work if you’re happy and comfortable in your surroundings, so we take concerns about these matters very seriously.

Depending on your comfort level and the severity of the situation, here are some things you can do:

Address it directly. If you’re comfortable bringing up the incident with the person(s) who instigated it, pull them aside to discuss how it affected you. If you’re not comfortable approaching them, let your manager know why – that’s important too. Try to approach these conversations in a forgiving spirit; an angry or tense conversation will not do either of you any good. The case may often be that the offending person had no idea they were at fault and will very much appreciate you bringing it to their attention.

Talk to a peer or mentor. Your colleagues are likely to have personal and professional experience that could be of use to you. If you have someone you’re comfortable approaching, reach out and discuss the situation with them. They may be able to advise on how they would handle it or direct you to someone who can. The flip side of this, of course, is that you should also be available when your colleagues reach out to you. It’s key in these kinds of conversations that nothing gets turned into gossip or fuels a rumor mill.

Talk to your manager, VP of HR, HR Business Partner, or anyone from the People & Culture HR subteam. They probably know quite a lot about the dynamics of your team and the company, which makes them a good person to look to for advice. They may also be able to talk directly to the colleague in question if you feel uncomfortable or unsafe doing so yourself. They will be able to help you figure out how to ensure that any conflict with a colleague doesn’t interfere with your work.

Taking care of each other, always.

Sometimes, you’ll witness something that seems like it isn’t aligned with our values. Try to be understanding and compassionate in situations like this.

Committing to improvement, but understanding when enough is enough.

We understand that none of us are perfect. It’s expected that all of us, regardless of our backgrounds, will, from time to time, fail to live up to our very high standards. What matters isn’t having a perfect track record but owning up to your mistakes and making a clear and persistent effort to improve. If you are approached as having (consciously or otherwise) acted in a way that might make your colleagues feel unwelcome, refrain from being defensive; remember that if someone calls you out, it likely took a great deal of courage for them to do so. The best way to respect that courage is to acknowledge your mistake, apologize, and move on—with a renewed commitment to do better.

That said, repeated or severe violations of this code will be addressed. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately, and failure to do so can lead to disciplinary actions, including termination.

2.4. How to further foster inclusion within Infinum?

Active Listening

The first technique is active listening. Topics around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging can be highly sensitive. Opening up about experiences of feeling excluded or discriminated against can be very difficult, especially for individuals belonging to marginalized groups. It is, therefore, even more important to listen very carefully when employees do share their experiences. Make sure to actively listen to them and to promote active listening across the organization by following these 10 best practices:

Show that they are important and being heard. When employees entrust you with their stories, clearly show them that you care about their experiences and their well-being. Create space for them to share their feelings. Be candid and open.

When appropriate, face the speaker and have eye contact. In most Western cultures, eye contact is considered a basic ingredient of effective communication. It shows that you are interested and following the conversation.

However, it may not always be appropriate in other cultures, so be sure to act according to your context. Be attentive to nonverbal cues. This way, you will pick up on hidden meaning in addition to listening to what is said. Facial expressions, tone of voice, and other behaviors sometimes tell you more than words alone.

Be nonjudgmental. Listen without judging or jumping to conclusions.

Show that you’re listening. Use your body language and gestures to show that you’re engaged. These can include nodding, smiling, encouraging the speaker to continue through verbal comments such as “Uh huh”, “Yes, I see,” and so on.

Don’t interrupt. It is great to ask clarifying questions (see next point), but at its time. Allow the speaker to finish each of their points before asking questions, and don’t interrupt with arguments.

Ask clarifying and reflective questions. Be sure to wait until the speaker makes a pause. To ask questions, you could use phrases such as a. “What do you mean when you say…?” b. “Is this what you mean?”

Stay focused.

Don’t think about what to say next. Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal or a smart response. Be sure to fully focus on trying to understand the experience or point of view being shared.

Paraphrase and summarize. Some useful phrases to paraphrase are: a. “Let me paraphrase to be sure I understand.” b. “What I’m hearing is…” c. “I understand that…”

Conducting Crucial Conversations with Dignity

The second technique to foster an inclusive culture is conducting crucial conversations. Conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion are necessary for building a better company and community. However, many people shy away from these conversations because it is easy to make missteps, and the consequences can be great. It can be particularly difficult for employees to use their voices to challenge -isms and bias. It is crucial, though, to not shy away from these conversations. Instead, practice leaning into them, but be sure that when you do that, you’re listening with curiosity and responding with grace.

When you are preparing for difficult conversations, especially around topics of diversity, you can conduct a self-check-in and ask yourself the following questions:

Why do I feel this way?
What do I want to learn from this conversation?
Am I open to understanding a different viewpoint?
If I hear something about myself that I don’t like, am I willing to fix it?
Could my thinking about this be wrong?

Crucial conversations are confrontations that need to be handled with care. In these conversations, it can be challenging to keep a productive dialogue going. To ensure to keep the dialogue productive, you can follow three steps:

Start with a “When…I…” invite. Assume that you don’t know the full story. To open the conversation, you can share your perception of the situation with the other person by using a “When…I…” invite:

“When situation abc happened, I felt like xyz and jumped to this conclusion.” To invite them to share their perception of the situation, you can follow up with a phrase such as
“I probably don’t see the whole picture. Can you help me understand what’s going on?”

By being assertive with the facts and honestly sharing your experience, chances are the person you’re confronting will be inclined to clarify the situation rather than being defensive.

De-escalate emotions by defining common ground. In case a crucial conversation is not going well, it can be helpful to remind the other person that you are actually not their opponent but working towards a common goal, value, or purpose. Finding common ground can help transform your conversation from a fight to a strategy brainstorming session. Useful phrases could be:

“I don’t want to fight. I just want to find a way for us to achieve [common goal or purpose].”

“I know we both care about [common value].

Let’s see if we can find a way that allows both of us to get what we want.”

Prime the other’s view with goodwill. If your conversation partner remains silent, nudge them back toward productive dialogue by priming their view. You can do so by using the following phrases:

“Are you thinking that…?”

Oftentimes, you can get a conversation back to speed by making a good-faith guess. First, always assume that the person you’re talking to is a reasonable, rational, and decent person. Second, assume that you’re likely responsible for this conversation going sideways and be willing to own up for it. By demonstrating a dose of goodwill and a sense of humility, you will likely succeed in getting the conversation back to productive dialogue. By starting your crucial conversations with “When…I…”-invitations, de-escalating emotions by finding common ground, and priming with goodwill, you can transform every crucial conversation away from verbal violence or silence and into a realm of productive dialogue. The more you engage in dialogue, the more likely you are to find agreements and resolve the problem at the heart of the crucial conversation.

Establishing Inclusive Language

A crucial step to fostering an inclusive culture is establishing the use of inclusive language. Examples include, but are not limited to the following ones:

When being concerned about mispronouncing a person’s name or saying something the person might possibly find uncomfortable, explain your positive intent: “I don’t want to make a mistake in the way I phrase this. Please let me know if I am.”
Acknowledge the other person’s feelings: “I know that you or communities you may be a part of are in pain. Let me know if there are ways I can show you support.”
Expressing confidence in the person’s knowledge, skills, and professional experience: “I am excited to learn from your expertise and insight while we work together.”
Asking the person how they would like to be involved in a project: “I think your insight on this project would help drive its success. If your workload allows it, I would be delighted to have you on this project.”
Encouraging the person to speak up and ask questions: “I have the time.”
Stating your commitment to being a collaborative teammate and following through: “It’s important to me as your teammate to help you be successful. Let me know if there are actions I can take to ensure that happens.”
Reinforcing and rewarding positive behaviors: “Congratulations on XYZ, outcomes like this are exactly why we hired you.”

Challenging Beliefs

It’s crucial to keep the conversation around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging going and to continuously challenge your beliefs. To constantly challenge your own biases, we’d like to invite you to put yourself into an example situation where you were biased toward another person. You can think of a past situation you experienced in which you were biased toward someone. It can be an example from work, your social circle, the supermarket, the bus stop, or just about any other kind of human interaction in which you were biased.

2.5. Never stop learning, evolving, and improving

A code of conduct is a step towards creating a better working environment, but it’s not the last step. All members of Infinum are encouraged to contribute to this code of conduct by talking with their manager or the leadership team to raise concerns they may have or share feedback.

If you have a question or suggestion about these policies, provide as much context as you can. All changes and suggestions will be taken seriously and vetted by the leadership team, and, if necessary, by the legal department.

3. Credit

This code of conduct borrows heavily from the ETR and AIHR DEIB certification programs.

4. Local regulations and procedures

In addition to this Code of Conduct, please also refer to other documents of your Infinum entity:

Labour Bylaw of each Infinum entity
General Handbook of Infinum group

Please keep in mind that, under the Labour Bylaw, other internal acts, and local regulations of your Infinum entity, a breach of this Code of Conduct can also constitute a breach of employment obligation, which could lead to a warning or even termination of your employment contract or other engagement with Infinum group. Also, as a breached party, you may be entitled to additional protection mechanisms (such as the procedure for the protection of employee’s dignity before appointed persons and similar). Please refer to the regulations of your local Infinum entity to learn more.

5. Final provisions

This Code of Conduct enters into force on June 12, 2024, and remains in force until its suspension, i.e., termination.

This Code of Conduct shall be published in accordance with local regulations applicable to each Infinum entity.

Infinum group of entities:

1. Infinum d.o.o., Croatia
2. Infinum SI, računalniške storitve, d.o.o., Slovenia
3. Društvo sa ograničenom odgovornošću “Infinum” Podgorica (Infinum DOO), Montenegro
4. Infinum DOOEL Skopje, North Macedonia
5. Infinum Limited, UK
6. Infinum, Inc., USA
7. Infinum B.V., The Netherlands

Useful reads:

Guide to Inclusive Language