Survival guide

for Odooers
You’ll have the freedom to be awesome.
But we expect you to transform the company
Welcome Aboard!
Congratulations, you have finally landed a new job!
No more painful interviews, no more psychological
tests from HR people, no more boring companies to
visit…
challenges
Actually, your pains are just starting!

Let's be honest, working at Odoo is not easy; we are

not perfect. We evolve so fast that we often break
things, we challenge the status quo, and everyone
has to bear real responsibilities.

That being said, Odoo might be the best working experience you'll ever
have. People here do not wear suits1, they value intelligence over hierarchy,
they are free to be themselves, they argue with each other because
they care. They transform our company, and our company transforms
the market!

It's not easy, but it's fun. At Odoo, you will evolve faster than in any other
company. Whether it's for a sales, consultant or developer's job, you will
gain 5 years worth of experience within 1 year at Odoo.

As a company, Odoo is unique: no legal department, no buying process,

no budget, anyone's decision does not require approval, etc. We focus
on what matters, avoiding the usual corporate hassle. We value common
sense, autonomy & responsibilities, more than processes and control.

At first, you'll need to adapt to this environment, but we hope that

our openness will make you feel at home quickly.

Welcome aboard.
Fabien

1. You might find a few suits in the sales departments though. You don't sign a contract
with a customer wearing a t-shirt and flip-flops, right?

1
Table of Content
Getting Started .............................................................................................. 5

Your first days . ............................................................................................... 6

Our culture & values ....................................................................................... 7
Who is your manager? . ................................................................................ 15
What do we expect from you? ..................................................................... 16

Our Company ............................................................................................... 19

Organization ................................................................................................. 20
The story . ..................................................................................................... 24
Facts ............................................................................................................. 26

Career Path .................................................................................................. 29

Choose your own path ................................................................................. 30

The tools to help you evolve ........................................................................ 31
How is your salary computed? . ................................................................... 34

Work Hard, Play Hard .................................................................................. 37

Unlimited after-work parties . ...................................................................... 38

Team-building & Events ............................................................................... 38
After-work sports ......................................................................................... 39

Our Offices . ................................................................................................. 41

HR Policies ................................................................................................... 53

Annexes . ...................................................................................................... 57

3
Getting Started

Do you work for Odoo, or are you a volunteer?

— Website visitor on the Live Chat

5
Your first days Our culture and values
So, you've just arrived at Odoo wearing a slick new outfit and you notice Two documents will help you understand how we think and act:
people wearing shorts and t-shirts2. Welcome to Odoo!
1. The Odoo Culture 6
You'll get a quick tour of the company (you'll meet our Grumpy, Doc, 2. How we train managers7
Sleepy, Dopey, etc.) before (or after) starting a 2-week training on the
product. You'll learn this through the eLearning platform 3 by creating your Open Source
own database4 and by having fun with our business game 5 . At the end of
the training, you'll have to take the certification to assess your level. (We Odoo strives to be one of the top Open Source contributors worldwide.
want to make sure you're cooked medium before throwing you in the Odoo We think that knowledge should be free, making code available
den!) to developing countries is awesome, and working with communities is
rewarding and instructive.
After the training, you'll join your team and a coach will train you on your
future responsibilities and define your objectives for the weeks to come. Open Source is a great development model! But it's not a business model 8 .
To build a sustainable solution, we use an open-core business model,
Your first challenge will be to learn quickly; learn the product, get to know based on two products:
your colleagues, how the company is run, etc. The key to succeed in this
mission is to ask! Ask for help, don't be afraid, the more you ask, the faster 1. Odoo Community, our open-source product that covers most
you will evolve (and soon the student will surpass the master). management needs: CRM, Sales, Invoicing, MRP, Website, etc.
2. Odoo Enterprise, a subscription to get extra features (Accounting,
Be curious. Try new things. Studio, Timesheet, etc) and services (upgrades, support, Odoo.sh).
For help you'll ask, and the Force will be with you.
Always. We designed Odoo Enterprise to be a set of extra modules on top of Odoo
Community. That way, the only way to improve the Enterprise edition is
to improve the Community one.

As a result, Odoo Community benefits from the massive investments

we make to improve Odoo Enterprise, and Odoo Enterprise can leverage
the visibility created by millions of free users… a virtuous circle!

When we have to do a trade-off between business decisions and open

source contributions, we always try to be fair and keep a good balance
between both.

2. In the summer only, or the whole year in SF. But in India, never, even though it's very hot.
3. www.odoo.com/learn 6. www.odoo.com/odoo-culture
4. www.odoo.com/trial 7. www.odoo.com/team-leader
5. www.odoo.com/scaleup 8. www.odoo.com/community-enterprise

6 7
Why do we do Odoo?9 What principles should drive your decisions?

Companies are inefficient. Employees struggle with repetitive tasks,

overloaded mailboxes, and administrative jobs that could have been 1. Build for the long term
automated. Accessing information and adding data through painful Invest time into things we can capitalize on and avoid spending time
processes can be a real waste of time. on one-shot actions. It's ok to sacrifice short-term needs for long-
term benefits, and think of the big picture.
Can you imagine a carpenter without his tools? That would make him
the worst carpenter in the world. And he would quickly get frustrated
by his inefficiency, to the point that he might not like his job anymore.
2. Focus on users
Yet, most SMEs don't have the right tools for their employees. We focus on continuously improving the user experience. The user
Because they can't afford it, or because they don't know it's feasible. drives most of our decisions (not the buyers, the shareholders,
So people just learn to live with their issues. Or even worse, they don't the willingness to get leads or anything else).
even see the issues anymore.

But this system has a cost; depression at work is reaching a sky-high level.
People want to be useful and contribute, but they are stuck in complex 3. Execute faster
corporate processes. As a result, they get bored or overloaded by stupid By doing less, we focus on what matters. We are able to say 'no'
details. to things most companies couldn't say no to.

This is the problem we want to fix. And it's not easy.

SAP and Microsoft invested billions into the SME market and they failed. 4. It's okay to fail
Only 15% of SMEs are equipped with integrated management software The best way to learn is to try. We want to be disruptive and
and most of them are not happy with their solution. disruption means embracing failure. Managers try not to assign
blame for failure, but instead help recover from mistakes.
The challenge is so big that we need everyone to contribute and move
forward in the same direction: to build this software and a service that
nobody has yet succeeded in creating. We don't have the luxury to get
distracted. 5. Keep things simple
As we grow, there is a dark force that pulls us towards more
complexity, more processes, and less autonomy... Fight it!

6. Invest in our people

Quality people = Quality working environment. Invest in your people,
nurture your teams, build a connected community, and employees
will invest back in your success.
9. The title should be 'What is the purpose of Odoo?' but we like the sound of this one!

8 9
Odoo's real strength is our people! Odoo is full of smart people with whom
you will learn quickly thanks to a friendly and open environment.

Are you ready to decide?

In terms of working environment, we value:

Autonomy: We expect you to be autonomous and to take initiative,

we give more flexibility to think and we accept when people don't agree
with management initiatives; To help you apply our culture in day-to-day
decisions, here is a small quiz to assess if you are
Evolution: Learn fast and improve your skills; ready to make the right decisions.

Responsibilities: We expect everyone to take complete responsibility,

even for issues that are not related to them directly.

As a result of this extreme autonomy, you might see weird scenes between Question 1
people at Odoo; people shouting at each other because they disagree on
a solution, people challenging what managers ask for, etc. This is the result It takes around 3 months to be comfortable with the Odoo product,
of having people who care about what they do and what their company and a year to be an expert. When should newly hired salespeople
stands for. do their first solo demo?
Within the first month
We think it’s great. People here have the freedom to be themselves.
After 3 months
After 6 months

Question 2
Should we do a monthly newsletter explaining the new features?
Yes
No

Question 3
Which one of these deals is better?
A 300€ / month subscription, plus 10,000€ of custom developments
A 700€ / month subscription, but no fixed fee

10 11
 Answers
Question 4
Let's say you are in charge of launching our new website.
What should you do? Question 1
Develop all features with top-notch quality, and release in 6 months
1 – Within the first month.
Do fewer features (e.g. sacrifice multiple languages & job pages)
There is no better way to learn than practicing. We are ok with taking
to release in 3 months
the risk of a wrong sales pitch (Art 4: It's ok to fail), in order
Do less quality (e.g. not designed by a pro), but release
to expedite employee's learning. (Art 6: People's evolution).
in 3 months with all features.

Question 5 Question 2
2– No.
Our marketing team has come up with some good ideas to launch:
Newsletters are a "one-shot" action; it's useful when it's sent but
radio ads, eLearning platform, design brochures for exhibitions,
the news will probably be deprecated in 3 months. So, we prefer
training materials for universities, Google Adwords, etc.
to invest in writing content that stays relevant in the long term like
What should be our priorities?
product documentation, and the elearning platform. (Art 1: Long term).

Question 6 Question 3
We have a direct service where we serve clients ourselves
2 – A 700€ / month subscription, but no fixed fee.
and a channel of partners who offer local services to customers.
Our salespeople have a higher commission rate on monthly recurring
How should we segment customers according to the channel?
revenue (MRR) than non-recurring revenue (NRR). Even though the
Large projects for Odoo, the small ones for partners immediate revenue is lower, it will pay off multiple times in the long
Large projects for partners, the small ones for Odoo term. (Art 1: Long term).

12 13
 Who is your manager?
We like relatively flat hierarchies. The best way to allow everyone to make
Question 4 an impact is to shorten the path to the decision makers and to remove
managerial constraints. Traditional management practices recommend
a maximum of 7 direct reports for each manager. We do the opposite.
2 – Do fewer features to release in 3 months.
If you try to do all the features, with high quality, in good time, you
To limit layers of management, we distribute responsibilities, instead
will get average results in everything. To execute faster, we do less.
of centralizing them on middle managers. As an example, we have
Over our first 7 years, we did not have a French version of our
the following roles in R&D:
website, despite the fact that 60% of our revenues were from
4 developers are in charge of all recruitment interviews
Belgium & France. Why? We focus on what matters most. At the
2 developers train all new employees
time, our priority was to improve the product. (Art 3. Execute faster).
9 team leaders focus on code review and team coaching
11 product owners decide what should be developed
1 release manager organizes releases…

Question 5 In a traditional company, developers go from 100% development to 0%

development / 100% management" when they get promoted. At first,
eLearning platform, training materials for universities. people like it; but they get bored after a few years as they stop doing what
Most companies try to do everything in marketing and their results they like and instead do more administrative / management tasks.
are average in everything. We do fewer activities, but we scale them
more. (Art 3. Execute faster) Think about the activities having the We prefer people to continue evolving in what they like, becoming experts.
highest impact over the long term (Art 1: long term), and the ones So, 80% of the time, they continue to develop, but we add 20% of
that most effectively benefit the users. managerial responsibilities to help them learn new skills. We try to apply
Another way to answer the same question is to take a look at what this logic to all departments.
customers would prefer. Do they want more radio ads, or more
content to learn? (Art 2. Prioritize customer experience) For team leaders, we promote leaders, before 'experienced directors' for
management positions. What we expect from a manager is not to "manage"
people, but to coach them and make them evolve. Our team leaders
are very open. If you don't agree with what they do, do not be afraid to
challenge them, to suggest improvements, or to provide constructive
Question 6 criticism10 .
2 – Large projects for partners, the small ones for Odoo.
Managers don't judge people because of their ideas. We can't always
Small clients adapt themselves to the software, but large clients
agree on everything, so we've developed an "agree to disagree" mindset
have relatively more customization needs. More NRR is much better
(at least, everybody agrees on this).
for smaller companies. But, in our case, to sustain massive R&D
investments to improve the product (Art 1: build for the long term),
we need more MRR. Service margins don't allow us to invest in R&D.
10. Or even non-constructive criticism. If something frustrates you, it's better to talk about it
rather than internalize it. Relax, you won't get fired for having different ideas!

14 15
What do we expect from you?
Learn & Evolve Be responsible
We want you to learn and evolve. Fast! At Odoo, we are all in the same boat. We are all responsible for making
the company move forward and fixing things when shit happens.
We will never fire someone for making a mistake, but we might let
someone go if they don't evolve, or if they don't help the company evolve. We expect everyone to take responsibility to improve our product, services
To learn quickly, feel free to try and test new things, to express your or company and to avoid the "this is not my job" attitude.
opinion and to ask for help from your colleagues.

It's ok to fail. It's ok to ask stupid questions. Please, do it.

We will not hold it against you.
Example: If you find a bug in the software, detect a process that is
not efficient, or get a complaint from a customer, you have to "own"
it. Take the responsibility of solving the issue 11, even if it's not your
job. Whoever finds an issue should own it and ensure it gets treated
Example: New salespeople need months to be comfortable with
and solved correctly (e.g. by reporting it and doing the follow-up).
the product. Despite this, we ask them to call customers after a few
days, even if they are not ready.

As a result, they might lose a deal with the customer, but they
will gain valuable experience by talking to prospects and getting Be Open
feedback from the market. Their coach / managers are there to help
them fix mistakes they might make, not to blame them. Odoo is a dynamic company. Be open to change, open to trying new things,
and always be transparent when you communicate with colleagues or
customers.

Be Positive

The quality of our working environment depends on everyone's behaviour.

Always approach things in a positive and optimistic way and avoid
criticizing other team members or customers.

11. If you cannot solve it by yourself, report the issue and do the follow-up until it gets resolved.

16 17
Our Company

I just have a quick question for you.

How would you pronounce your name?
Odo or Odou?

— Website visitor on the Live Chat

19
Organization
Sales

In Sales, you're either a hunter or a farmer:

the former negotiates and signs new customers
(Business Development Representative,
Partnership Recruitment), the latter builds
and nurtures long-term business relationships
with partners (Partner Manager) or clients
(Customer Success Team - "CST").
Research & Development
For the ambitious ones who want to work
The R&D department works at the core of the product development. Each
with the big guys, our Mid-market & Corporate
team has different responsibilities; a set of apps, front-end framework (JS),
team will suit you just fine. Sales are
back-end (Python), IA, mobile apps, etc. There is no planning, no budget,
superheroes; they do demos, understand the
no boring managers: just smart engineers and great technology.
business, find tailored solutions to pain points,
negotiate contracts, etc. The direct sales are
business advisors, more than salesmen
(no outbound sales). Marketing Department

At Odoo, our Marketing Department is structured into specialized teams

to ensure a cohesive and dynamic approach. We have a team dedicated to
Services
influencer relations and another that handles all aspects of communication
and content creation, including podcasts and social media. Our events
Business Analysts are responsible for all steps
and lead management are expertly managed by their respective teams.
of the implementation project; analysis, design
Additionally, our Education team actively engages with schools through
business processes, configuration, change
LabOdoo, educating young people about the inner workings of a business.
management, train users, etc12 .

Customer Support Analysts provide functional

support to our customers in order to keep them The icing on the cake
happy and solve their issues. More complex
issues that require technical knowledge And to keep the machine running:
will be dealt with by the PS Tech and the Our HR department hires smart people like you and takes good care
Customisation team, which are developers who of all our employees;
fancy being in contact with the client.
Our Finance department manages bills and incomes so that we don't
go bankrupt;
12. Pssst, have you read our implementation methodology?
www.odoo.com/implementation-methodology and our Office Managers run the place.

20 21
See how the departments interact with each other:

Services
Admin
Implementation Technical Support
HR Finance Admin
Business Analysts PS Tech Customer support
The admin department oversees and harmonizes the entire company. (Upgrade + Custo clients)

Community
Sales
Free users Contributor Partner Student Customer
Word of mouth Pull request Bug! Feedback Feedback Direct Sales Indirect Sales

Key Account Business Account Partner Partnership

Manager Development Managers Managers Development

New customers New partners

R&D
Product Owner Team
Specification • Usability • Tests
Marketing
Bugfix Team Teams
Framework, Accounting,
Logistics,Dev/null, Website, Internal,
Event Lead Generation Content
eLearning and more ... Odoo Experience Lead Nurturing Documentation
Business Show Marketing Campaigns Product Pages
Webinars Live Chat Videos & Blogs

V15 V16 V17 Master

22 23
The story
The story of Odoo began in 2002, when the company was known as
TinyERP and operated as a fully open-source entity. Its ambitious mission
was to offer small and medium enterprises (SMEs) a software solution that
would serve as a comprehensive toolkit for businesses by centralizing
various aspects of an organization within a unified system. Throughout its
history and up until today, the driving force behind Odoo's success has
been its active and engaged community of contributors.

Over the years, TinyERP underwent a rebranding, transitioning through

the name OpenERP and eventually becoming Odoo. These shifts
in identity mirrored the evolution in terms of Odoo's offerings and
business model. Originally established to provide an open-source ERP
solution, Odoo transformed into an open-core suite of applications.
This expansion extended beyond the typical ERP, introducing both a
Community and Enterprise version to cater to businesses of varying sizes
and industries.

One intriguing facet of Odoo's growth is the company's remarkable

expansion accomplished through only two rounds of fundraising. This
attests to its strategic approach and focus on a specialized market niche.

Fun facts
In the early days, the first employees worked alongside Fabien
in his student room.
It took a solid 10 years for the company to become profitable.
The business model switch allowed Odoo to unleash its true potential.
Fabien met Antony (CTO) at a student party, when Antony prevented
Fabien from smashing a collectible keyboard against a wall.
Years later, Antony still possesses that famous keyboard.
Long-serving employees at Odoo are affectionately referred
to as "Odoonausors."

24
 3283

Facts
Employees 2603

1850
This is our moment of glory (yeah! Let us be pretentious for 1 page).
1130
We are proud to have generated more than 100,000 jobs. The estimated
breakdown: 4000+ Odoo employees, 32,000 employees at 5,100 partners, 580
~28,000 full-time equivalent people working on Odoo Community. 199 261 278 320
57 135 162 168
4
Thousands of companies grow their business with Odoo, with up to
2004 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017 2018 2020 2021 2022 2023
12,000,000 users. Let it be said, we saved them from a boring life of using
traditional ERPs.
HQ Gujarat SF Brussels LUX HK NYC Dubaï MX Nairobi GC

We deploy massively in developing countries, mostly with 'Odoo

Buffalo VLC Milan
Community'. Amongst the top players, we are the only one that is so
cost‑efficient that it can afford to sell our product & services at a price
point that aligns with these markets. Berlin ID

Brazil

Farm 3

Revenue
390.000K €* So far, €50m has been invested to develop Odoo Community and make
Last 10 year's average growth: 65% it the most advanced open‑source management software in nearly
298.649K €

all business areas such as Accounting, Inventory, MRP, POS, Project

management, CRM, etc. Odoo is the most active open‑source Python
project on GitHub, worldwide. The Odoo community built 41,000+ apps,
156.269K €

the largest enterprise apps store ever made 13 .

76.887K €

Odoo is taught in nearly 500 universities because it's free and intuitive to
52.000K €

use. About 50,000 students create free Odoo Online databases (DBs) every
year. With traditional ERP systems, an implementation costs on average
38.000K €

€40k for a SME. With Odoo, it's now around €4k (services included). Yet,
24.000K €
15.700K €

we currently work with only 0.1% of the market. We've proved that we can
6.940K €
9.817K €
8.436K €
6.940K €
4.865K €

transform a market, even if it is on a small scale for now.

1.856K €
74K €

And this is just the beginning...

2004 2010 2011 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
13. The second one is force.com from Salesforce, with 6,000 apps.

26 27
 Career
Path

Let me remind you that you're

talking to a human being!

— CDM talking to a client

29
Choose your own path The tools to help you evolve
A typical career path in a well-known consulting firm looks like that: Instead of a pre-defined career path, we offer a set of tools to help you evolve
the way you want. It's up to you to use these tools to build your career path.
1. Associate
2. Consultant What you will learn and how you will evolve at Odoo will largely depend on
3. Senior Consultant what you make of your opportunity here 14 . Our work environment
4. Project Leader encourages you to take ownership and act as an intrapreneur towards
5. Principal / Director your responsibilities.
6. Partner

Each of these positions takes between 3 and 7 years. Coaches / Gooroos

People evolve from service roles (consultants), to management Large departments (R&D, PS, Sales) have a coaching program where
roles (project leaders), to sales roles (principals), to internal politics experienced team members get the responsibility to coach new
champions (partners). employees, organize training sessions, do code reviews, brainstorm
on strategic issues, etc. Coaching people is a good way to evolve into
At Odoo, we avoid predefined career paths, and offer everyone management positions.
their own evolutionary path.
Coaches should be used by managers when the team grows to delegate
Some people aspire to become managers, others to become experts responsibilities to their key team members, without creating an extra layer
without managing people. Some want to evolve horizontally across of management.
departments, others want to discover new cultures by working in different
countries. We think everyone should have their own way to evolve. Conducting appraisals, recruiting and terminating someone, are the
responsibilities of the manager and not the coach.
The salary and responsibilities you will get at Odoo do not depend
on your position in the hierarchy, but more on your experience,
skills and the impact you have on the company.
Training Sessions

We invest a lot in internal and external training. We think everyone at Odoo

should have at least 10 days of training per year15 . And to ensure the
quality and diversity of these trainings, we have our own internal Learning
and Development Team who will go further and beyond to help our
Example: a developer or a consultant can have a higher salary
Odooers grow and nurture their skills.
than a manager, and vice-versa.

14. As we grow fast, there are more opportunities here than in traditional companies. Think
about it this way: we are 1,266 people today, at 40% growth, it means 4,860 people in 4 years!
We will need a lot of smart people to handle this transition and you're part of it!
15. Could be permanent training, full days of training, etc

30 31
Appraisals Books

This is where we define the action plan to help you become a team leader, Reading good books16 is a great way to learn and evolve faster. So, we
a better expert or anything you want for your career. Appraisals are encourage everyone to do it. Our policy: you can buy any book17 and Odoo
organized once a year on average, but can be after 6 or 18 months. Feel pays the bill.
free to request a one-to-one discussion with your manager at any time.
Send an email to the office manager to get a book, or buy it yourself and fill
Yearly salary increases are automatic, and not related to the appraisal out an expense report to be reimbursed. Once you have finished reading it,
meeting. That way, appraisal meetings are focused on what matters; your bring it back to the Odoo library for the others to read. It's ok to write notes
well-being, your evolution, your responsibilities, … not about "negotiating" or underline sentences in books. We like used books too!
a raise.

Internal Promotion First Job Titles

The only way to become a team leader at Odoo is to become the best We value people based on what they contribute to the company, not their
of the team; we never recruit external managers. That allows us to preserve job position18. To reduce the impact of status symbols, and avoid defining a
our strong culture, and keep the best positions for our employees first. scale in people's jobs (junior, senior, head of), our policy is to let everyone
choose their own job title.

Just get the job title that serves your own purpose, the one you want to
International Opportunities
have on your business card. We are sure you will do a better job than us
when choosing your title.
In traditional companies, managers usually try to retain the best people
in their team. At Odoo, we do the opposite: when someone is good,
we ask managers not to retain them, in favor of the employee's own personal
development. The exchange program allows employees to apply to a similar Extra Projects
position in a subsidiary of Odoo, in another country. We think that learning
overseas is a great way to acquire new experiences. Check Annex B for In addition to these, we have some transversal projects that you can join to
more information. learn more about other disciplines such as conferences, event organizations,
customer relation, marketing, video content, entertainment with gigs,
It's important to note that each opportunity is evaluated based on the barbecue, etc. The main one is the annual Odoo Experience in Belgium.
current needs and capabilities of the office ensuring a mutual agreement This event involves conferences, event organization, customer relations,
and benefit for both the employee and the team. marketing, video content, entertainment with gigs, barbecue, etc.

Every department has its own projects (webinars, content writing, …).
Inter-Departmental Moves Contact a department manager if you are interested in participating.

Similar to the exchange program, we also promote moves from one

department to another. Personal development is more important than
16. See "Annex A" for our recommendation of good books.
retention in a team. If someone wants to go to another department,
17. Related to your job position, a future job position you'd like to reach or for personal
the manager of the new department will do a regular interview to be sure development. But not novels. And of course, it's to read outside the working hours.
he/she is a good fit for the job. 18. Managers are not better than employees, they are just at their service.

32 33
How is your salary
computed?
The salary and responsibilities you will get at Odoo do not depend on your
position in the hierarchy, but on your experience, skills and the impact
you have on the company. Expert developers or consultants evolve as fast
as management roles19 .

Every year, we define a salary grid for every department that defines the
average salary for a given position and years of experience. We benchmark
this grid with the current salaries of the market 20 .

The rating provided by your manager when conducting the appraisal

will define whether you are above or below the reference in the grid.
Based on that, the HR department will compute your salary package,
as a company cost.

In the countries where we can do it, we have implemented a flexible salary

policy based on a company cost. We let each employee choose how
they want to structure their salary and which benefits they want to take
advantage of, i.e. gross salary, number of holidays per year, company car,
fuel card, etc.

19. An exception is when moving to a different country; we sometimes adapt the salary
to the new country, sometimes not, depending on the country and the duration.
20. The salary grid and the market benchmark are currently implemented in Odoo Inc (U.S.)
and Odoo Belgium only.

34
Work Hard
Play Hard

For the vegetarian people we are going

to order some chicken brochettes

— In a BBQ invitation sent to the whole company. #Fail

37
 Activities21
Afterwork Parties Anyone can organize an event or activity at the office to nurture the bond

& Activities
and team spirit between employees, there is no validation process, just
register your expenses. We simply ask you to spend with care and common
sense.

And from this, were born great initiatives: a Run and bike between two
Working at Odoo is probably harder than working in another company. offices in Belgium, a Blood donation day, a game room in San Fransisco,
People quickly have strong responsibilities, there are a lot of things and so on.
to learn, and the environment continuously changes.

We can work hard, but we need to have fun too. Here are some
of the advantages we offer to all employees. Afterwork sports

If you organize sports activities with Odoo colleagues, Odoo will pay
Team-buildings & events a maximum of 12.5€/$15 per employee if:
you have at least 6 Odooers participating;
We have a series of team building and events every year:
your event is open to anyone in the company, and you announce
sales & service kick-off, etc.
it in our internal mailing lists / facebook group;
Odoo anniversaries, all company meetings, family day, and so on...
it's not during office hours.

21. In some companies (Belgium, India), people organize drinks or game nights. In others
(San Francisco), a member of the team prepares a funny presentation on one of their passions.

38 39
 19 offiecweosrld!
across th

Offices
What? Are we really buying a new farm?
C'mon, it's like if Steve Jobs would have bought
all the garages on a street because he started
in his garage.

— MVE

41
 BELGIUM

Grand-Rosière (GR)

THE farmZ! Our headquarters are lost in the Belgian countryside. You
can't help but notice the Odoo branded cars zipping around everywhere
because we have three farms in "GR".

In "Farm 1", where everything started, you'll find the Support and HR
department. The Marketing and R&D departments are located in the newly
renovated "Farm 2". This place is swarming with developers so you may
hear technical jargon and jokes that you may not understand.

"Farm 3" had opened in Summer 2023. Just in time for our Odooers
to enjoy a quick break by the swimming pool.

DIRECTOR
Fabien Pinckaers (FP)

BELGIUM

Louvain-la-Neuve (LLN)

After months of renovation, the LLN office is ready with 5000 m² of open
space, and lots of call boxes to offer peace and quiet to our employees
during their calls. A second wing has opened in 2022 and more will come
to be able to welcome all our employees at the office and serve them
delicious food at the restaurant.

To compensate for the food from lunch, we have our very own gym
and to keep the party going afterwork, there is a nice and sunny rooftop
(thanks to climate change, the Belgian weather is getting sunnier than ever!)
The Odoo sales floor lives at the pace of the bell and the ping pong ball.

Don't be surprised if you hear a bell ringing and people clapping. This
is good news, it means we're making money! The floor is also busy with
Farm 1 Farm 2 Farm 3 Business Analysts. A real mix to bring the best to our clients!

42 43
 BELGIUM LUXEMBOURG

Antwerp Koerich
We recently moved to a beautiful office in Berchem, located at the very Yes, one of the smallest countries in Europe has its own office too! Located
top on the 4th floor, which offers a stunning view. We are just a five‑minute in Koerich, our office has two floors within the eco-friendly and innovative
walk from the station. The office has many great features that make Solarwind building, known for its sustainability and innovative design. This
working here even more enjoyable. building offers large range of services such as: wellness center-fitness,
restaurant, day care, etc.
We have a cozy lunchroom where you can not only enjoy your meal but also
occasionally play a game of ping pong. There is also a fully equipped dining Our office has flexible desks, cozy meeting rooms, and access to a rooftop
hall with a new, delicious menu every week! For quick lunch breaks, there is shared among all companies in the building. The atmosphere here is calm
a self-service buffet where you can make your own sandwiches. and friendly, perfect for working together and personal growth. Outside
working hours, you'll find colleagues chatting, interacting, and enjoying the
For our fitness enthusiasts, there is a free gym available where you can billiards table with some Belgian beers in hand. We also love to unwind with
work on both your cardio and strength training. These facilities are made afterwork events and end-of-week gatherings, often hosting pizza parties
to help you have a productive, healthy, and fun workday. During work and BBQs on the rooftop. This creates a vibrant and welcoming community
hours, you can even use our treadmill desk to take a walk while in a meeting. where everyone feels at home.
How great is that?
DIRECTOR
Guillaume Castaigne
(GCA)

INDIA

Gandhinagar
Odoo India office, officially called TinyERP (Fabien's first love for a
company name) is located in one of Gujarat's IT hub called InfoCity.

Believe it or not, Odoo India is the only office on the campus where there's
no dress code, a 5-day work week! The office is an open space with more
than 120 Odooers. This is the only place in the world surrounded by +1,000
Odoo developers within a 500 km radius. (A lot of unofficial developers are
in Gujarat, because Odoo India started a trend there).

DIRECTOR
Mantavya Gajjar (MGA)

44 45
 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNITED STATES

Dubai San Francisco & Buffalo

Open since January 2019, the Dubai office is similar to the multicultural The San Francisco office is Odoo's primary operations for the North
environment of this city, our office hosts people of all nationalities! The and South American markets. We celebrate the diversity of our staff
Odoo Dubai office reflects the multicultural nature of the city and serves with cultural presentations, team-building events, and monthly gatherings
as a real melting pot. With 6,700 square meters of space, it is the perfect to promote friendship and bonds across every team.
place to be productive while also having fun. The office is designed to
enhance the well-being of our team, featuring a gym, a yoga room, a Our goal was never to be a traditional Silicon Valley company. We constantly
gaming room, a music room, and an outdoor terrace. What better place to challenge the norm with an atmosphere of open communication, autonomy,
work from? and innovation that will power our growth and lead Odoo to new heights.
When our teams are not busy changing the world you can catch them
We value fostering a friendly work environment where employees feel playing pool and enjoying beers on tap in the game room, discussing
comfortable and happy to be at the office. To encourage this, philosophy over lunch, or collaborating on new ideas to continue to push
our employees engage in different team-building activities together. Odoo to the forefront of the business software market.
Our Odooers also take time to explore the unique activities the city has
to offer, such as Ski Dubai or desert trips. The Odoo Buffalo office, founded in June 2020 has been established
to better serve clients and partners in the Eastern half of the US.

DIRECTOR
The office is located in Buffalo's
Pavitra Singh (PAS)
downtown district, specifically on the
26th floor in the Seneca One tower
(which provides fantastic views of
both the city, as well as of Lake Erie,
HONG KONG
the 11th largest lake in the world).

Hong Kong Today the office is composed

of enthusiastic Odooers deeply
Our APAC office is located in the neighborhood of Sai Ying Pun, sitting
dedicated to the Odoo mission:
on the top floors of a building facing a harbourfront view. It's a cultural hub
transforming the ERP space,
of more than 15 countries! When not busy closing deals, you can find
one project at a time.
our team catching a coffee or tea break or indulging in fresh seasonal
fruits. And for the all-time favorite Happy Hour Fridays, Stella Artois is the
way to go!

The Odooers here love to unwind through yoga, meditation, skate dance,
table tennis, anything that keeps their bodies active! With energetic DIRECTOR US
and positive vibes all around, the office is never a boring place to be! Fabrice Henrion (FHE)

DIRECTOR DIRECTOR US EAST

Matts Fievez (MFI) Nicholas Kosinski (NKO)

46 47
 MEXICO KENYA AUSTRALIA GERMANY

Mexico City Nairobi Gold Coast Berlin

With a population of more than Nairobi - popularly known as Odoo Australia opened in January We were already serving the
20 million, Mexico City (CDMX) is the city under the sun - serves 2023 and is based in Varsity Lakes, German-speaking market for years
one of the largest metropolises in as the headquarters for Odoo in Gold Coast. We're thrilled to be and decided to make it "official"
the world, making it one of Latin Africa. The offices were officially part of this vibrant community and by moving to Germany at the end
America's most important economic opened are committed to building strong of 2022. With our Berlin office,
and cultural cities. in July 2023, and the company relationships with our valued we have now embarked on
keeps growing day by day. The customers and partners. the awesome mission to conquer
Our new office is located right by the office is home to individuals from the DACH-market! These days we
beautiful Polanco neighbourhood, different nationalities. Being located on the Gold Coast are constantly growing our team,
and close to the city's financial offers a perfect blend of beachside working on some challenges and
district. It's a 3-story building, The office has a calm vibe, and living, outdoor adventures, a having fun while we are at it!
1800 m2, where we are the only the staff is friendly and receptive, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and
tenant! It's a great space that will with individuals who work hard abundant business opportunities. Did you know that the Schultheiss
allow us to grow for the years to to learn and evolve. Outside of There is never a dull day around Quartier where our Berlin office is
come. We even have our own private working hours, you will catch our continuously growing team! located used to be a former brewery?
rooftop, where we organize the people chatting and interacting To this day, the beer still exists and
occasional "carne asada". with one another, while the ping of course we always have some
pong enthusiasts will be having a Schultheiss beer in our fridge here.
DIRECTOR
Our team is composed of a diverse good time in the playing area. The
Kelian Buitendijk (KBU)
group of young individuals coming end-of-week sessions are also very
from different backgrounds, which refreshing, as employees unwind DIRECTOR
creates a vibrant atmosphere of while enjoying some beers together. Johannes Kreuzen (JKR)
collaboration and learning. All
of them being enthusiastic about
Odoo, they strive to improve
it every day.

DIRECTOR MEXICO
Miquel Torner (MIQ)

DIRECTOR KENIA
Patrick Lukusa (KLP)

48 49
 SPAIN BRAZIL

Valencia Curibita
Located in the heart of the city Odoo's home in Brazil is located in the heart of Curitiba, the second largest
center, the office is just a five- and most promising innovation and technology ecosystem in Latin America.
minute walk from Valencia's From the office, you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the city (if it
beautiful North Station and the City is not too cloudy or rainy). We go by the work hard play hard motto: when
Hall Square, ideal for a pleasant our team is taking a break from dominating the Brazilian territory with
stroll after work or to explore Odoo, you can find them eating churrasco or feijoada and at happy hours
the sunny and lively city. But more with lots of ping-pong and Brazilian funk. We highly value teamwork and
importantly, only 20 minutes away, ITALY
it's common to see people from different areas helping each other, in and
you can be dipping your toes out of working hours. We are welcoming and warm (just like our stereotype
in the splendid Mediterranean sea. Milan worldwide) and anyone who wants to visit us will be welcomed with lots of
pinhão and caipirinha!
We have built a space dedicated Hey there, welcome to Odoo's
to collaboration with all the awesome office in Milan, Italy! This DIRECTOR
necessary to create a perfect place is buzzing with energy, just Lucas Barros (LUB)
work-leisure balance that allows like the city itself. We've created
us to enjoy together some great a space that's all about innovation,
moments during our spare time. collaboration, and helping young
professionals grow their careers.
People from all over Italy and the
DIRECTOR
world are flocking here to be a part
Sebastian Brandt (BRS)
of the action. We strive to nurture
existing relationships with our INDONESIA
clients and create new ones!
Jakarta
When we're not busy recruiting
top talent or closing those game- Odoo Indonesia is the newest kid on the block! Opened last June, the office
changing deals, you'll find us fully is located in Jakarta and is already composed of 25+ motivated Odooers!
embracing the Italian way of life.
We've got a serious love affair with Ready to conquer the Indonesian market, they also enjoy chill time and
coffee and aperitivi! So expect after-works together (especially for sports!). But the best thing is by far is
to find us on a sunny terrace the diverse cultural backgrounds of Odooers from all over Indonesia! It's
afterwork, enjoying Milan at its best. reflected in the different food themes they have every week for happy hour!
As one Odooer put it, "we have a big Odoo pride but an even bigger appetite
for food!". Hungry to know more? We welcome anyone to join the team!
DIRECTOR
Miriam Bastianello (MIB)
DIRECTOR
Benny Putra Sugito (BPS)

50 51
 HR
Policies

When Antony asked me to come to his office,

I was afraid he wanted to talk about
my butt photo shared via the photo booth
during Odoo Experience.

— TXX

53
Our policies
Buying policies

Our purchase policy is: use common sense, do what's good for the
company. We have no approval process, we just expect everyone to spend
responsibly. If you don't know if an expense is acceptable or not, ask
yourself: would you spend your own money for this item, at this price?

If you need to buy something, send an email to the office manager

(preferred approach) or you can purchase it yourself and submit an
expense note to be reimbursed. Every expense note has to be entered
in the system in the Expense app.

Working hours

Working hours are flexible, but we expect you to do the number of hours
defined in your employment contract.

Legal leaves

Yes, take a break! It's important for your health! When you want to take
some days off, add those days in the Time-Off app.

Employees advantages

Because our Odooers deserve to be spoiled even more, they are entitled
to special prices and offers at several partners. Delivery of fruits and
vegetables from local farmers, discounts to install kitchens, register
their kids at a coding school, or even advantageous prices at bars or
restaurants. Life as an Odooer is definitely the best!

54
 Annexes

In Star Wars, the only thing I know is C2D2.

— AWU

57
Annexe A Annexe B
Recommended books International Opportunities
To help Odooers get into the habit of reading books,
Condition
we offer 3 books to every new employee shipped by post before they join.
Minimum 2 years in the company, and you have to go for a minimum
This is a non-exhaustive list.
of 2 years in the new subsidiary (although we can make exceptions).

For everyone It is important to note that international opportunities are only available
based on the needs of the different offices and the vacant positions.
Style: lessons in Clarity and Grace – Summary: odoo.com/r/style
This is truly a chance that can come up during your journey at Odoo rather
The Non-Designer's Design Book – Do clean emails, powerpoints,...
than something systematic or guaranteed. Each opportunity is carefully
Getting things done – Organize your work efficiently
considered to ensure it aligns with the current requirements and availability
within the company.

Sales
Spin Selling – Sales pitch on the phone Responsibilities
Never split the difference – Negotiation
The manager of the new department is responsible for deciding if you can
join his team or not (with the feedback of your current manager and, often,
Marketing an interview).
Trust me, I'm Lying – For press relationship
Your manager organizes the transition from your current work (mostly
the timing of your departure).
Consulting We commit to give you an answer within a few weeks.
Delivering Happiness • Accounting made simple • The Toyota Way

Financial Conditions
Management
The company finances the hotel (and a car lease) at your arrival, for
The lean startup • The hard things about hard things • Getting Real
1 month.

Your new salary will depend on the new company's salary grid, but you
Developers and Usability preserve your seniority for the salary package. Odoo finances the visa,
The elements of user onboarding ­– PDF: odoo.com/r/UserOnboarding lawyer, vaccines and passport fees. Odoo doesn't finance other relocation
Don't make me think costs. When you come back to your original country, your seniority level
Javascript, the good parts is preserved.

58 59
Jargon. Lingo.
Code Words.

Being "croissanted" - Se faire " croissanter ": if you leave your desk and
forget to lock your computer, your colleagues might pull a funny joke on
you! You'll have to bring breakfast for your team the following day.

Gooroos: name of the team leaders in the R&D department.

Premature Optimization: usually prefixed with a "No", when someone

does something complex to fix a problem we don't have (yet).

Instance: a typical French adaptation that doesn't mean anything in

English but the French-speaking employees use it to say "database".

Master: could refer to the development branch of Odoo, or to Olivier Dony

(odo), the gooroo who not only knows every single line of code in Odoo,
but most importantly "why" that line is there.

OE: Odoo Enterprise, sometimes called "Enterprise Edition" (EE) as

opposed to Community Edition (CE). In general, we try to avoid acronyms,
to keep things simple; but some survive longer.

GR1, 2, 3: the three farms at Grand-Rosière.

LLN: the abbreviation for our Louvain-la-Neuve's office.

CSTD (Customer Success Team - Direct), CSTI (Customer Sucess

Team - Indirect), BA (Business Analyst), DS (Direct Sales), AM (Account
Manager), PD (Project Director),... and basically every position at Odoo has
a code name. And they remain the same internally, even when their title is
updated. Like CSTI who became Account Manager and Account Manager
who became Partner Manager. Yes we know, it's confusing but get used
to it. Things change and evolve fast here at Odoo.

60
Note: This handbook is a corporate guide, a general directive for every Odoo
subsidiary to follow. Some rules might differ from one company to another.