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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/SDG_Den on 2023-08-17 19:07:01+00:00.
EDIT: apparently someone did already make a transcript, i couldn't find one hence why i made one. apologies if this seems to be a repost, i did infact transcribe everything myself. please do go upvote the transcript on the original post so people can find it more easily.
so, for the sake of the discussion going on, i decided to transcribe the entire HR video as the audio quality is pretty bad and not everything is immediately understandable.
context: allegedly this meeting was held very shortly after madison's departure from LTT, effectively this meeting was called to try to address the issues that caused madison to leave.
i've tried to leave the notes to a minimum.
[start of transcript]
*chaotic chattering*
linus: so we called this meeting because it has come to our attention that we need to have a quick chat about the best way to handle HR related feedback and rumors.
we wont be naming any names for what we hope are extraordinarily obvious reasons, but what we can do is go through the following guidelines for problem solving and conflict resolution
linus: sorry that this is all boring and corporate, but.... *small sigh* here we are *heh heh*
linus: number 1: always stand up for what's right, uhm, we're only a team as long as we're all working together (uninteligible chatter) and that's the most important part.
linus: number 2: always reflect on your own personal experiences and use your common sense. few things in life are truly black and white.
linus: number 3: always wait to hear both sides of the story before passing your own judgement, be cautious when you know that one side is bound by legal and ethical disclosure guidelines, when the other is not. carefully consider what it says about the character of someone who would engage in that type of gossip against someone who has no power to defend themselves.
linus: number 4: always encourage openness and transparency. if you have a problem, you need to speak up, we want to fix it. if you receive feedback about somebody else at this company, the first response is "have you spoken with this person" followed closely by "you need to speak with this person". we don't solve interpersonal issues here or really anywhere in your life if you wish to live in a drama free zone by engaging in watercooler politicing, so if for any reason the individual is not comfortable approaching the person they are having a conflict with, we have (emphasis) a chain (emphasis) that they're supposed to follow.
linus: so first: you advise them to take the problem to their manager, followed by me or yvonne, followed by our third party HR firm.
linus: i hope that you all trust that we're here to make this a safe, fun and productive workplace, and we won't tolerate mistreatment of any of our team members.
linus: if you have any reason to believe otherwise, then i refer you again to point number 4, which is to adress the issue with the individual directly, or bring it to me or yvonne, or bring it to our third party HR firm.
linus: since i'm not at liberty to share any details about what occurred, all i can do is ask that you trust me and yvonne. uhm, some of you know us very well, you have been here for a very long time. uhm. some of you have not (emphasis) been here for as long, but i'd like to think that whether you've been here for nine years or nine days, uhm (slight chuckle) you're here for a reason, and you believe we do our utmost to run this company with integrity and compassion.
linus: ehhhm.... we can't solve problems we don't know about though. so on that note, i'd like to invite anyone who has concerns about a fellow team member or about their managers to submit their feedback either (emphasis) by speaking with their managers, me or yvonne directly or (emphasis) if you'd like to provide your feedback anonymously, we have an option for that as well. it's the manager and coworker feedback form. uhm yvonne- (sentence cuts off in the middle here as linus switches to a different sentence) if you're not aware of it, show of hands who is not (emphasis) aware of it?
linus: okay, a lot of people aren't aware of it, good, so now we all know, there's an anonymous form. if for whatever reason you are not confortable either talking to me or yvonne directly about it, then thats fine. we understand. that's why we have (emphasis) these options. yvonne's gonna post it in the general trat, in the general chat (linus misspoke and corrected himself here). it's a... just safe (emphasis) space to provide us ideas for improvement or... if you're consumed by the holiday spirit and you wanna say nice things you can do that too (short chuckle from multiple team members)
linus: does anyone have any questions?
*nothing happens*
linus: not a single question? wow, that must have been a really good speech.
james: you gonna dance on that table or just stand on it?
linus: thats it! so uh, 'vonne, do you have anything you wanted to add?
yvonne: (authors note: had to turn up the volume a lot to hear this, it was very quiet) somebody sent to me an *uninteligible* (probably some cleaning product, this was during covid.) so if you guys want to sanitize your hands, help yourself
*the call bursts into laughter*
linus: yeah that was actually just.. totally random timing, it came up the stairs a moment ago.
yvonne: yeah
linus: dennis is on it. alright.
*the call bursts into laughter again*
linus (loud): take care everyone, have a wonderful and uh... productive rest of your day. and weekend.
[end of transcript]
personally, there's a couple observations i've made from this.
#1: people have been arguing that linus genuinely wouldn't have known of what was going on with madison, because he's the CEO. this video (and the transcript of it) shows that the company's protocol for dealing with interpersonal issues at the time was: talk to the person > talk to yvonne or linus > talk to the independent HR firm. linus is an integral part of the interpersonal issues protocol here.
#2: linus's third guideline looks like a way for him to be "the victim" in this scenario. he's the one bound by legal and ethical disclosure guidelines. it's not mentioned obviously but this vibes as if it's an attack against madison's conduct in the matter.
#3: the "just talk to the person you have a problem with" method does not work in various situations. sure, if you are simply having a disagreement you can talk it out. but "just talk to the person that keeps inappropriately touching you" is a terrible action plan especially in the case where that person may hold power over you (which we do not know is the case but that could be a scenario)
#4: the fact that a lot of people weren't aware of the anonymous report form is.... pretty damning.
#5: linus opens by making a *joke* about how this is a very boring corporate meeting, as if this is something he has to check off a list. the little laughter at the end really makes it vibe like he takes it quite lightly.
#6: in general, the choice of words here feels VERY dismissive of the situation. "HR related feedback and rumors", "watercooler politicing", "use common sense",
#7: james's only contribution here was making a joke. that's... pretty yikes.
note, these are my personal observations and are obviously biassed by how i see things, you are free to disagree.
