Company Knowledge

3. Update the "Payout Schedule" spreadsheet with the new data of the signed clients for commission based on the new month's spreadsheet

4. Once updated will inform Shelby for approval

5. Commission for release based on the Payroll date process by Haydee.

Employee Referral Bonus Opportunities

Do you know any professional Rock Stars that would be a great fit at Stride? Earn cash incentives for your employment referrals

• $250 upon acceptance of job offer

• $500 when the employee surpasses six consecutive months of active employment

• $500 for each promotion the employee earns - ever!

Ask your manager to submit a task to the BOSS General Admin team (in Asana) when your referral formally accepts an employment offer. Our BOSS team will keep track of the incentive milestones and issue a gift card for each bonus payment!

* In order to receive each milestone bonus, the referred employee must be active and not in the process of off-boarding. Example, an employee puts in their termination notice 2 weeks before their 1 year anniversary. Technically their employment is active on the 1 year anniversary, but they have already begun exiting the company, so therefore the milestone bonus is not applicable

2026 Holiday Schedule

The U.S. and PH holidays will also be listed on Stride's shared Google calendars. If you have a question about company-observed holidays, please check with your supervisor.

U.S. Holidays - recognized on the U.S. time zone/calendar day

These holidays will be observed as an 8-hour paid day off from normal work duties for U.S./PH-based employees. 

Unless otherwise directed by Stride's Executive Team, the PH PAYROLL (Haydee) and the PH ADMIN (Guen) will observe the U.S. holiday schedule. This is due to the nature of their work that correlates with the U.S. The Payroll team needs to be available during U.S. hours to effectively respond to client inquiries/payroll adjustments. Additionally, the payroll team's ability to process payroll is directly impacted by the U.S. bank closures.

IMPORTANT:

These holidays will impact the next business day for the PH team. For example, the U.S.'s Memorial Day, May 25th - Memorial Day - will occur on the Philippines', May 26th due to time zone differences.

• January 1 (Thursday) New Year's Day 🎆

• January 19 (Monday) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

• May 25 (Monday) - Memorial Day

• June 19 (Friday) - Juneteenth

• July 3 (Friday) - Independence Day (observed, as July 4 is a Saturday)

• September 7 (Monday) - Labor Day 👷

• November 26 (Thursday) - Thanksgiving 🦃

• November 27 (Friday) - Day after Thanksgiving 🏵️

• December 25 (Friday) - Christmas Day 🎄

• December 31 (Thursday) - New Year's Eve🎇

PH Holidays - recognized on the PH time zone/calendar day

These holidays will be observed as an 8-hour paid day off from normal work duties for PH-Operation with Minette including PH ADMIN employees only. Unless otherwise directed, clients and the U.S. team should be notified that PH-related tasks and/or correspondence will be resolved the following business day.

IMPORTANT:

These holidays will impact the prior business day for the US team due to time zone differences.

All PH team members will receive a paid day off from work for the following holidays:

PH Observed Holidays:

• January 1 (Thursday) - New Year's Day (Regular Holiday)

• February 17 (Tuesday) - Chinese New Year (Special Non-Working Holiday)

• April 04 (Saturday) - Black Saturday (Regular Holiday)

• May 1 (Friday) - Labor Day (Regular Holiday)

• June 12 (Friday) - Independence Day (Regular Holiday)

• December 24 (Thursday) - Christmas Eve (Special Non-Working Holiday)

• December 25 (Friday) - Christmas Day (Regular Holiday)

• December 30 (Wednesday) - Rizal Day (Regular Holiday)

• December 31 (Thursday) - New Year's Eve (Special Non-Working Holiday)

HR Support - Who Can I call?

Have Questions? Need support? Training needs? Shelby Thompson, shelby.thompson@stride.services

Questions on Medical Benefits/Gusto - reach out to benefits@gusto.com or call 1-800-683-8526 Betterment 401k support - support@betterment.com or 646-600-8263

Deadline to change Betterment deferrals - 4 days prior to each payroll

If you prefer to speak to an outside, objective, non- Stride HR person for advice - Katie O’Donnell from Next Level Strategies is your resource - katie@nextlevelstrategies.net or 415.876.6398 (office) or 415.225.7118 (cell)

Interviews

Interview Questions:

• When have you approached a supervisor/manager for advice/mentoring? Give an example. How did you apply it?

• What is something that you have learned in your current job? How did you learn it? How might it apply to other areas in your life?

• What could your current employer do to convince you to stay with them?

• What tools do you use to stay organized when multitasking?

• If I asked your friends about you what would they say?

• What are some of the key things you look for when reviewing an income statement? what about the balance sheet?

• How would you prepare for a monthly call with a client to review financials?

• Tell us about a time you encountered conflict with a client. How did you respond? What was the outcome?

• What do you consider to be good attributes of a successful cohort team? Why?

• What kind of management style do you work with best? Why?

• If you were "nose down" on an deadline driven project, and a client called with an urgent request, and a few minutes later an Executive Team member made an urgent request, how would you handle this?

Questions Backlog

• When completing a complex process, how do you utilize resources to simplify or speed up getting to the solution?

• Are you familiar with providing week project status updates and how do you go about this?

• If you are asked a question you don't know the answer to by a client, what is your response?

• How do you deal with tight time deadlines - ones that might seem unreasonable?

• How many projects have you owned simultaneously?

• When completing a complex process, how do you utilize resources to simplify or speed up getting to the solution?

• Have you ever been directed to delegate your workload before? What was your process?

• How many clients have you owned simultaneously?

• Would you say you are more task-oriented or goal-oriented?

• How do you manage your life? Your job?

• What do you think is the best way to avoid errors in putting together monthly financials?

• What are some common concerns when putting together a monthly financial package?

• What do you think are some key metrics a client might be interested in?

• What do you think you need to do to give the highest chance of a successful meeting with a client?

• If you are asked a question you don't know the answer to by a client, what is your response?

• What are a few areas you think you can improve?

• How do you deal with tight time deadlines - ones that might seem unreasonable?

• Where have you improved the most?

• What would a former boss say about you?

• Did you ever quit a job? Why? Why not?

• Have you ever been let go? How did you deal with that?

• Do you like working on your own or as part of a team? Can you give an example of when this has worked well for you?

• Can you describe the 3 financial statements - what each of them is used for and your experience with them - also any issues you have seen?

• Have you ever worked in a remote position? How do you feel about working 100% remotely?

Misc.

• Interview feedback form template

  • Please complete this candidate feedback form immediately following the interview https://form.asana.com/?k=-P0yHfPBv662XtDn66BxsA&d=429731583396906

S​ick, Vacation Leave, and Other Paid Time Off (PTO) Requests

Principle - Embrace Reality & Deal with It We all need time off from time to time. Please check with your supervisor and follow the below steps to request/coordinate time off:

Best Practice - Sick Leave

• Employees will alert the direct supervisor as soon as they are aware they will need to take time off. You can notify them either by Google Chat or Gmail

  • Pod - escalate to Shelby as appropriate

  • Add a comment under sick leave that states if the direct supervisor is out, to contact their manager instead.

• Direct Supervisor will create and share a calendar invite on the Stride main calendar* alerting their US-PH team of the absence. The calendar invite should read 'OOO - SL [employee name]' and should be labeled as 'all day' or for the specific period the employee will be absent

• The direct supervisor will coordinate with the employee and their teammates to ensure deadlines are not missed and/or work is delegated as required

• P​H team members should record their leave requests via the SourceFit portal, http://sfms.sourcefit.co/site/login

• All US team members should log their leave requests via their Gusto account. It is important for hourly employees to ensure they are paid accurately and timely. All US employees accrue sick leave days. Please see Haydee or Shelby with any questions.

  • to submit time, navigate to Time Tools, Time Off

Best Practice - Vacation Leave

• An employee will seek approval for vacation time from his/her direct supervisor. This approval should be made via Google Chat or Gmail

  • Pod - escalate to Shelby as appropriate

  • Add a comment under sick leave that states if the direct supervisor is out, to contact their manager instead.

• Once approved, employee will extend a calendar invite* alerting their US-PH team of their anticipated absence. The calendar invite should read 'OOO - VL [employee name]' and should be labeled as 'all day' or for the specific period the employee will be absent

• Employees will send a reminder to their supervisor and any affected team members about their absence 3-5 days before being out of the office

• E​mployees will coordinate with their supervisor and teammates to ensure deadlines are not missed and/or work is delegated as required. Disciplinary action may be taken should an employee fail to make proper arrangements to ensure tasks are completed during the scheduled absence

• P​H team members should record their leave requests via the SourceFit portal, http://sfms.sourcefit.co/site/login

• All US team members should log their leave requests via their Gusto account. It is important for hourly employees to ensure they are paid accurately and timely. Please see Haydee or Shelby with any questions.

  • to submit time, navigate to Time Tools, Time Off

US-PH Teams: MGMT - Alert Direct Supervisor, and others who you are engaged ATL - Alert Direct Supervisor, PH Team and FP Team AL - Alert Direct Supervisor
* Process for setting up the calendar invite:

Open Google Calendar

Select day(s) out sick / vacation

Select the 'all day' box

Select guests to email notification

Description - add 'OOO' - SL or VL - [employee name] and comment to indicate who to contact in employee's absence

Save / Send - Repeat this step for vacation reminders

Sample email to notify others you are out for the day (Accounting Operations):

1. Hi, thanks for your email. I am out sick today and not actively checking email. If you emailed me directly and this is an urgent item, please forward to your accounting team (accounting@yourdomain.com). Have a great day! [Your Name]"

Sample email to notify others you are out for the day (Finance Partners (FPs)):

Hi, thanks for your email. I am out sick today and not actively checking email. If you have an urgent matter that needs immediate attention, please contact Stefani Bruce at stefani.bruce@stride.services.

Have a great day! [Your Name]"

US Team

Verification of Employment Process

Lenders require verification of employment for active and inactive employees. Employees may provide Stride HR email address <hr@stride.services> to their vendors. Admin staff (Guen and Jam) are monitoring this inbox and will tag the Payroll Manager the request. PR will email the concerned (active) employee to ensure that consent was provided before providing the lender with all confidential information such as full name, home address, annual salary, and other earnings. PR will complete the form and will sign it as confirmation. If the form requires a US person signatory, reach out to Becky and/or Shelby.

Employee Expense Reimbursement

Employees:

To be reimbursed by Stride for a one-time expense, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Gusto account.

2. Go to the Payroll section and select Expenses.

3. Click Add new expense.

4. Add a photo of the receipt or purchase confirmation being reimbursed in PDF, JPG, or TNG format.

5. Select category name (e.g. travel, meals & entertainment)

6. Enter a name for the expense, and the dollar amount to be reimbursed.

7. Click Submit expense.

Contractors:

1. Log in to your Asana account.

2. Create a new task (title: Expense Reimbursement) and assign to Haydee Gabriel; make sure it is private between you, the Payroll Manager, and the approver.

3. Upload a photo of the receipt or purchase confirmation being reimbursed in PDF, JPG, or TNG format.

4. In the comment box, write a short description of your reimbursement, enter a name for the expense, and the dollar amount to be reimbursed.

5. Click Comment.

All expenses are subject to approval. Once approved, it will be processed on the next scheduled regular pay. Please contact the Payroll Manager for any questions.

Stride - Employee Address Change

I changed my address - what do I need to do?

• Change your address in Gusto

• Email HR and Payroll to inform them of your address change

Betterment 401k Knowledge and Resources

This card is meant to provide all employees with general knowledge on Stride's 401k program, provided by Betterment (www.betterment.com).

Eligibility

You will become eligible to make 401(k) Contributions and receive Employer Matching Contributions and Non-Elective Contributions on the first day of the calendar month, coincident with or next following the date you attain age 21 and you complete 1 Hours of Service in a 6-month period, provided that you are an Eligible Employee at the end of that period.

If the service requirement is not met in the first consecutive period of months, you will become eligible to participate in the Plan if you complete 1,000 Hours of Service in your Eligibility Computation Period. The service requirement under this Section will be deemed met no later than the end of an Eligibility Computation Period during which you complete 1,000 Hours of Service provided you are an Eligible Employee on the applicable entry date.

"Eligibility Computation Period" means a consecutive 12-month period beginning with your first day of employment. Any succeeding Eligibility Computation Period will then switch to the Plan Year, beginning with the Plan Year that includes your first anniversary of employment. You will generally earn an hour of service for each hour you are paid for the performance of duties for the Employer.

To the extent that the Plan uses the hours of service method to determine eligibility service, if you are an employee whose hours are not tracked, you will be credited with ninety-five (95) hours of service for each semi-monthly payroll period or partial semi-monthly payroll period of service with the Employer.

401(k) Contributions

You may elect to reduce your Compensation (defined below) and make a contribution to the Plan on a pre-tax basis. These pre-tax contributions are known as 401(k) Contributions. You may elect to defer up to 100% of your Plan Compensation on a pre-tax basis.

Federal law also limits the amount you may elect to defer under this Plan and any other retirement plan permitting 401(k) Contributions during any calendar year ($19,500 in 2021).

However, if you are age 50 or over, you may defer an additional amount, called a "Catch-up Contribution", of up to $6,500 (in 2021). These dollar limits are indexed; therefore, they may increase each year for cost-of-living adjustments.

You may elect to start, increase, reduce, or totally suspend your elections to contribute to the Plan effective as of each pay period. Your election regarding 401(k) Contributions is only effective for Compensation you will receive in the future.

Once you've completed 90 days of active employment, you will automatically be enrolled to contribute 6.0% of your pre-tax gross compensation per pay period. Please note, that the automatic elections specified above will only apply to All Eligible Employees who enter the Plan on or after March 20, 2020.

Roth Contributions

The Plan allows 401(k) Contributions to be made as Roth Contributions. Roth Contributions are 401(k) Contributions that are made in the same manner as your pre-tax 401(k) Contributions except that Roth Contributions are made to the Plan on an after-tax basis. If certain requirements are met, a "qualified distribution" from your Roth Contribution Account in the Plan will not be taxed. You must designate how much you would like to contribute on a pre-tax basis (normal 401(k) Contribution) and how much you would like to contribute as an after-tax Roth Contribution. You are not required to make any Roth Contributions.

You may continue to designate all of your 401 (k) Contribution elections as normal pre-tax contributions. The sum of your Roth Contributions and normal 401(k) Contributions may not exceed the annual limit on normal 401(k) Contributions mentioned above. As was mentioned above, a "qualified distribution" of your Roth Contributions (and earnings) is not taxable.

A "qualified distribution" must be made more than five years after the first Roth Contribution is made and must meet at least one of the following requirements:

(i) The distribution must be made after you attain age 59-1/2;

(ii) the distribution must be made to your beneficiary after your death; or

(iii) the distribution must be made on account of your disability.

Please note, that Roth Contributions are not suitable for everyone. Please consult with your tax advisor before making any Roth Contributions to the Plan.

Additional Information/Resources

5-Minute Full Demo of Betterment for Employees

Welcome Guide to Betterment 401k - most useful to new employees because it touches on just the basics of a 401k. This also includes more details on the personalization features Betterment offers.

Understanding Betterment 401k Accounts - is a more in-depth look at specific 401k topics like vesting, withdrawal types, auto-enrollment, and contribution limits. Think "under the hood" of the 401k.

Leaving Stride? Here are your options:

To initiate any of the below options, please log into your account from a web browser and get started by clicking Transfer or Rollover (located on the top right-hand side of the screen) > Withdraw. Moving forward you have four options to choose from. 1. *Rollover your 401(k) to a Betterment IRA:* You may roll your 401(k) to a Betterment IRA. Once you submit your request, funds will automatically be transferred to your IRA within 5-7 business days. 2. *Rollover your 401(k) to a different custodian:* In the distribution process, you may provide us with check mailing instructions for your outside 401(k) or IRA account. A check will be mailed within 7-12 business days. 3. *Cash the funds out:* If you wish to take possession of the funds instead of rolling over into another employer-sponsored or qualified plan. Please note there is a mandatory 20% Federal income tax withholding and you may pay a 10% additional income tax on early distributions. 4. *Leave your account in your current employer's plan:* You may choose to leave the funds in your employer's plan. Depending on your plan's rules - if your account balance is less than $5,000 your employer may force you to take a distribution or take action for you. You may receive the cash distribution via check or a linked bank account. If you would like the funds transferred to a linked account, you must add a bank account to your 401(k) account within your Betterment account. This can be done via Settings > Funding Accounts. An ACH will be sent or a check mailed 7-12 business days after administrator approval.

S​tride Benefits

S​tride offers a competitive benefits package to all full-time employees. This is a summary of benefits available. For more information, please contact hr@stride.services or the individual benefits provider you have inquiries about.

Stride’s benefit period is from September 1 - August 31; the below information is subject to renewal on September 1, 2024

• Basic L​ife, LTD Insurance - Guardian, 800-627-4200

• Medical Coverage - A​nthem Blue Cross of California, 855-854-1429

• D​ental and Vision Coverage - Guardian, 800-627-4200

M​edical coverage

Anthem Blue Cross - Anthem Gold PPO 30/500/20% 8NAP

Anthem Blue Cross - Anthem Silver PPO 2100/30% w/HSA PrevRx - 6RJ5

Anthem Blue Cross - Anthem Bronze PPO 6000/45% w/HSA PrevRx 6RJK

Anthem Blue Cross - Anthem Silver PPO 2100/30% w/HSA PrevRx 6RKO

Anthem Silver PPO 50/2200/40% 6RK6

Dental

Guardian - Guardian EM Dental 18: CA

Vision

Guardian - Guardian EM Vision 9: CA

Basic Life

Guardian - Basic Life/AD&D $25,000

Long-Term Disability

Guardian - LTD 60% of monthly earnings, up to $7,500

PH Team

PH Regularization Policy

{Updated 11/2020}

1. The standard probationary period in PH is 5 months with a 30-day announcement if the employer wants to dismiss the employee.

2. For all new hires, we will be able to dismiss without difficulty any employee prior to the 5-month anniversary.

3. Upon regularization review, the employee will receive feedback from the supervisor but is not eligible for any salary adjustment at this point.

O​ver Time (OT) & Holiday Pay in the Philippines

S​tride works in conjunction with SourceFit to manage PH team performance. All time and attendance records should be recorded via the Sourcefit portal, http://sfms.sourcefit.co/site/login

T​he standard OT rate in the PH is 130% of base pay for any hours worked beyond the standard 8-hour work day.

F​or the purpose of recording time and defining different pay structures, SourceFit uses the term 'overtime' to also describe holiday pay. An employee can incur overtime pay when they work on a designated regular or special holiday (calendar to follow).

E​ach supervisor will notify their team member(s) of their regular schedule and how many hours are to be worked each day. Per labor law guidelines in the Philippines, overtime should be calculated and paid as follows:

Working on Rest day - All PH employees should be given a minimum of one (1) rest day for every six (6) consecutive days worked in any calendar period. If an employee is required to work on a rest day, they will incur the OT rate for all hours worked on that day - (Hourly rate × 130% × total hours worked)

Working on Special Holiday (see holiday schedule for 2022 below) - (Hourly rate × 130% × total hours worked)

Working on Special Holiday and at the same time Rest day - an example of this would be if a special holiday lands on a Sunday and the employee in question worked for six consecutive days leading up to that holiday. If the employee is then required to work the seventh day, a holiday, they earn OT at 150% of their base pay. - (Hourly rate × 150% × total hours worked)

Working on Legal/Regular Holiday (see holiday schedule for 2022 below) - (Hourly rate × 200% × total hours worked)

Working on Legal/Regular Holiday and at the same time Rest day - (Hourly rate × 260% × total hours worked)

Working on a Double Holiday (includes if they land on a rest day) - (Hourly rate × 300% × total hours worked)

Legal/Regular Holidays - 200% of regular base pay

Email candidates that we are not moving forward with an offer

Template 1:

Thank you again for visiting with me this week about the [job title] position we have available with Stride. I really enjoyed learning more about your background and goals. We have, however, decided to continue with our candidate search at this time. I will contact you should new opportunities arise in the future.

I wish you all the best in your job search.

Respectfully,

Template 2 [alternate script]:

Thank you again for visiting with me about the [job title] role we have available with Stride. I've enjoyed engaging with you about this position and see many areas where we align, especially as it relates to culture and skills. We have, however, decided to continue our search for this particular role. I would very much like to keep your resume close, as it would be great if an opportunity came along in the future where we could work together.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I wish you all the best in your job search.



Respectfully,

Employee Referral Bonus Opportunities

Do you know any professional Rock Stars that would be a great fit at Stride? Earn cash incentives for your employment referrals

• $250 upon acceptance of job offer

• $500 when the employee surpasses six consecutive months of active employment

• $500 for each promotion the employee earns - ever!

Ask your manager to submit a task to the BOSS General Admin team (in Asana) when your referral formally accepts an employment offer. Our BOSS team will keep track of the incentive milestones and issue a gift card for each bonus payment!

* In order to receive each milestone bonus, the referred employee must be active and not in the process of off-boarding. Example, an employee puts in their termination notice 2 weeks before their 1 year anniversary. Technically their employment is active on the 1 year anniversary, but they have already begun exiting the company, so therefore the milestone bonus is not applicable

Complete Performance Appraisal Process 

Performance Appraisals Complete Performance Appraisal Process 

IMPORTANT NOTES & DEADLINES

The appraisal period is January 2024 thru December 2024.

January 13 - performance review matrix is completed to denote who will perform

manager and peer evaluations

January 14 - distribute Self Assessment Forms to the individual employees

January 20 - self appraisals are due

January 24 - peer assessments completed

January 24 - Part 1 of the supervisor assessments completed

February 21 - 1:1 meetings completed / documented 

February 28 - Performance Appraisal Asana Project is completed

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

EMPLOYEE COMPLETES THE SELF-ASSESSMENT FIRST

• Use the 'Self Assessment' form emailed to you to assess your confidence and ability for

each task listed. On a Scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best, select the amount that best

represents your skill.

• Please answer all short response questions as thoroughly and thoughtfully as possible.

This review is YOUR time to set goals for the next year and discuss them with your supervisor

on how to best approach and encourage each other to reach these goals.

PEER REVIEWS

• Peer review forms will be sent via email noting who you have been assigned to.

• Please take time to thoughtfully and thoroughly review the peer you have been assigned

to. These assessments are anonymous to the assessment receiver, they will not know

you were the one to review unless you tell them.

SUPERVISOR ASSESSMENT

• Supervisor review forms will be sent via email noting who you have been assigned to.

• Please take time to thoughtfully and thoroughly review the individual you have been

assigned to. These assessments are your opportunity to give constructive feedback to

your individuals and set goals for the next year while keeping our Principles in mind.

Once Assessments are completed, a task will be assigned for the Supervisor to schedule a time for a 1:1 Performance Review Meeting.

For the meeting itself, a dashboard link will be distributed to each Supervisor that is specific to

each individual they will meet with. This link will show the ratings and long-form comment

sections to discuss in the meeting.