What happens to an organization when every voice is heard?

On Toss’ workplace messenger, the company operates a channel called the “Public Forum.” In this channel, anyone, regardless of their role or position, can freely propose initiatives or raise a company-wide issue that needs to be fixed, then discuss and explore solutions together. The forum was inspired by the Forum Romanum of ancient Rome, where citizens gathered face-to-face to debate matters, and the opinions shared were reflected in key decisions for running the city.

Toss’ Public Forum works the same way. The company believes that the only sustainable and healthy way to resolve organizational issues is to bring problems into the open, discuss them frankly, and search for solutions collectively. In the Public Forum, authority does not determine legitimacy, but persuasive reasoning does. Decision-making must be transparent, and anyone may raise an objection.

In fact, conversations in the Public Forum channel often lead to meaningful change. One representative case involved corporate card expense reporting.

In June 2023, D, an Accounting Manager on the Core Accounting Team responsible for standalone (entity-level) accounting, raised the recurring issue of corporate card expense reports not being submitted on time. According to internal policy, corporate card expenses must be reported within 3 days of the transaction, but about 50 employees would miss the deadline every month. The Accounting Manager would have to chase after entries via DMs and phone calls, which delayed the monthly closing and consumed significant team resources. Seeing the limits of relying only on self-discipline, D raised the issue in the forum and asked team members for input.

How about a pop-up in TT^* that blocks the screen if there are unreported expenses? You’d have to complete yesterday’s entries before you start work that day. *Time Tracker, an app for Toss Team employees to log and manage their work hours. - Y (Android Developer)

At my previous company, we had to connect our corporate card with our own personal bank accounts. Every month, employees would submit their corporate card expense entries and the company would reimburse the amount to the employee’s account. If they didn’t submit the entries within the deadline, their reimbursement was reduced by about 10%. I think rules like these could be effective. - A (Systems Engineer)

Improving our tools can better the situation, but won’t completely eliminate the problem. Ultimately, it comes down to accountability. Greater autonomy requires greater accountability, and vice versa. I support D’s proposal to suspend the cards. - S (Product Owner)

Even with solid solutions, the problem might resurface as the team scales. Maybe we could hire an assistant to help with accounting tasks, including corporate card expense reporting towards the end and beginning of the month. - H (Server Developer)

Adding a simple, red notification badge on the TT corporate card tab would help, because the person would immediately recognize that they have expenses to report. And near the deadline, the corporate card tab could automatically become the default screen. - E (Product Owner)

Improving the tool won’t fully solve the problem. We need to raise awareness, and make sure that recurring inefficiencies are met with accountability. - K (HR Business Partner)

Over 20 colleagues shared their thoughts. Four days later, D summarized the discussion and proposed two solutions, starting with a TT app update. Push notifications would be regularly sent for incomplete corporate card entries to raise awareness. The second was the ‘Hardstop’ rule. If the team member fails to submit all their expense entries within the deadline, their corporate card would be suspended for 3 months. During suspension, expenses would have to be paid with a personal card and reimbursed later. Exceptions could be made under the ‘White Card’ rule, which allows warnings to be voided in unavoidable cases.

Both measures were implemented immediately, and the results were clear. The average number of late reporters dropped from around 50 per month to fewer than 2, which has been sustained ever since. This case showed how a single voice in the forum could spark changes that elevate the way the organization works.

Writer Donghae Yoon