‘You Can Grow in Any Direction You Choose’ — Why Women Are Thriving at Roku

Roku is all about autonomy. The company that pioneered streaming to the TV is home to a culture that promotes independence and growth in their employees. 

This fast-growing company describes their culture as akin to being on a sports team: everyone works hard, plays to win and collaboration is key. Roku values experience and maturity, and expects high productivity from its team members, while also believing that working hard and having a life aren’t mutually exclusive. 

But how does the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S. stand out from other companies? Roku recently talked to Fairygodboss about just that.

What are Roku’s core values? 

Autonomy, responsibility, accountability, collaboration and openness are key values at Roku. By using these values, Roku is able to provide a beneficial work environment to their employees.

Autonomy.

Roku strongly believes that you can be highly productive at work and still have plenty of time for life outside of the office. That's why they offer a generous time-off policy. In fact, for salaried employees, they don't track vacation or have official holidays. Instead, employees can take as much vacation as they think is appropriate, as long as they get the job done and don't impact their team's work. 

As one employee says, "Roku's culture is the definition of ‘autonomous.’ You are in charge of your own career, your own hours, how you want to work and what you want to focus on. It's empowering for me knowing no one owns my future at the company except for myself.”

Responsibility + Accountability. 

Employees at Roku are trusted team members whose ideas and passions are respected and grown. “Just about everybody I work with loves what they do. And that's phenomenal. There’s passion and enthusiasm and everybody's very good at what they do. And they take that very seriously. We do have a lot of fun. And I know people say this all the time, but it really is a great place to work,” one Roku employee notes.

And, Roku knows that many of their employees have families and a lot of responsibilities to juggle. Roku believes in trusting their employees' judgement in balancing their work and personal responsibilities.

Collaboration. 

Great work doesn't come from rock stars and divas, it comes from people who talk to and work well with each other. Roku is made of independent thinkers who are able to take action and accomplish huge things by working as a team. “The way Roku is, you're empowered as an individual within the team to make a difference,” one employee shared. “I've worked at companies where they've not liked you talking to other teams or the other teams will tell you they haven't got time to talk to you. Roku is not like that; you don't have time to not share your information. Because it's so much part of our culture.”

Openness. 

Roku employees benefit from a transparent culture where teams communicate clearly, in real time, with each other and with other teams across the company. Plans, milestones, and strategic context are broadly known, and leaders provide the context to allow coworkers to make the right decisions.

“It's a great environment to work in because there really is an interest in everyone's opinions and contributions. There's a lot of respect,” says one employee. "So I don't have any qualms with sort of giving my opinions to people at various levels in the hierarchy. And, likewise, I see that there's a kind of a great culture of openness and sharing your thoughts and ideas.”

Employee benefits + flexible leave.

With more than 50 million active users globally, offices on four continents, and billions of hours streamed, Roku is a smaller-than-you'd-expect company offering big benefits. In addition to flexible schedules, Roku offers medical, wellness and financial benefits to help employees stay healthy and happy. Employees get 16 weeks paid maternity leave, unpaid maternity leave up to 26 weeks, eight weeks of paid paternity leave, and eight weeks of paid adoptive leave. In addition, Roku provides eldercare benefits to their employees.

Roku employees also enjoy free snacks and access to a fitness center at the Bay Area headquarters, recieve their own Roku, and can access the Beta Testing program, which offers free TVs and speakers.

Career growth opportunities.

The culture at Roku is direct but not blunt, providing a space where employees can push and better themselves via direct feedback and support. In this environment, career pathing is somewhat atypical. While employees have levels, Roku doesn't assume everyone wants to climb the ladder. Rather than put everyone in a position of thinking, "This job isn't great now, but when I get a promotion, it will all be worth it," Roku wants to make every job worth it now. Employees can grow in any direction they choose, empowering them to figure out where and how they want their career with the company to go.

"I love working at Roku. Roku offers a supportive community where folks who are able to learn fast, work hard and dream big will thrive. Independence, trust, efficiency and work-life balance are all key on my team. We're a growing company with something for everyone” says one Roku employee.

Interested in joining the Roku team? Click the link below to see what positions are currently available.

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