87% of employees favorably rate “At F5, employees are treated equally and fairly regardless of their background.”
80% of employees favorably rate “F5 has a great culture.”
A survey measure that F5 tracks closely as a gauge of our culture decreased from fiscal year 2022. As of June 2023, 76% of employees favorably rate “I feel a sense of belonging at F5,” compared to 84% the year prior. The employee comments in the survey highlighted changes in fiscal year 2023 related to a reduction in force, compensation, and benefits among the key reasons for the decline of our belonging score and underlined the areas F5 needs to consider to maintain our culture.
Growth and development
We provide employees with opportunities to improve their technical and professional knowledge, nurture our innovation ecosystem, strengthen management and leadership, as well as maintain high standards of business integrity through ongoing compliance training.
These development opportunities are available through live employee events during Innovation Months, Idea Fests, Technology Days and Learning Days dedicated to exploring innovative ideas, such as Generative AI. In fiscal year 2023, employees submitted hundreds of ideas to F5’s in-house innovation accelerator, called Greenhouse, with multiple proposals ultimately “graduating” to an open-source project, patent application, research publication or further incubation. F5 also offers employees customized learning paths, leadership coaching, global mentor and sponsorship programs, and multiple third-party resources to enhance internal learning opportunities.
Compensation and Benefits
F5 aims to attract, reward, and retain extraordinary talent from diverse backgrounds by offering a total compensation package that is equitable, flexible, and market competitive. This includes base pay, incentive plans, restricted stock unit grants (“RSUs”), Employee Stock Purchase Plan, retirement plans, healthcare, paid time off and family leave that F5 provides to employees, as well as the programs that support the diverse needs of its employees’ overall health and wellbeing.
In fiscal year 2023, F5 launched free and global access to therapy and coaching sessions to all employees, and renewed its popular Wellness Weekends, which provide one weekend a quarter when all employees have a set Friday through Monday off to reset and refresh.
However, in response to both macroeconomic and post-COVID-19 pandemic conditions, two significant changes were made to F5 employees’ compensation and benefits in fiscal year 2023:
In the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, we altered our incentive plans to reduce our operating budgets. F5 eliminated the annual cash bonus for the CEO, capped annual cash bonuses for executives to 30% of target bonus and reduced the funding pool for employee Management by Objective (“MBO”) plans by 50% for the first three quarters of the year and by 35% for the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, F5 updated its Freedom to Flex Program to reflect the worldwide expiration of COVID-19 pandemic health and safety protocols. In order to balance the Company’s goals for employee collaboration and connection, with employees continued need for flexibility from their employer, F5 began requiring all employees within 30 commutable miles of an F5 office that accommodates 30 or more employees, to work in the office for 30 business days each quarter. The remainder of employees worldwide continue to be offered a choice to work fully remote, hybrid or full-time in an F5 office.
Diversity and Inclusion
F5 believes our differences – when embraced with humility and respect – drive smarter decisions, increased innovation, stronger performance, and a culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.