Chapter 7
Long-Term Effects of Self-Selection

The real benefits of self-selection at Trade Me did not emerge in the short term. Yes, people were happy on the day itself and for the weeks that followed, but the positive effects were mainly realized over the long term.

It’s now a number of years after the company’s first foray into self-selection, and we’re in a position to share with you the impact it has had on employees, squads, and the wider organization. In fact, self-selection has been so successful that it has become the default method by which teams are created as the company continues to scale.

In some cases we know Trade Me has attracted people to join solely as a result of self-selection. “Is it really true that people get to choose whom they work with here?” became a common question at recruitment events.

The company continues to grow in size and revenue, and while it might be hard to measure the direct impact of self-selection on the company’s stock price and bottom line, there are a number of areas that we could measure directly and track against our work in order to draw conclusions. In this chapter we demonstrate how employee happiness increased, stress levels dropped, and productivity rose above and beyond our expectations.