Canva's 'head of vibe' Chris Low boasts of company's magic moments after revelation it ranks workers

An employee of a large tech company with the bizarre title of ‘head of vibe’ has appeared in a gloating interview about the invigorating workplace, even as reports  surface of a judgmental ranking system of employees.

Canva topped Fast Company’s 2023 Best Workplaces for Innovators list and Chris Low – officially the ‘head of vibe’ at the Australian headquarters – spoke glowingly of the workplace which includes a dedicated chocolate chip cookie chef, gym classes, cooked meals, rooftop beehives and an annual ‘vibe allowance’.

While Mr Low conceded his title was ‘unusual’, he said Canva employees such as himself ‘literally… bring the vibe to the workplace everyday’.

Mr Low said the Canva Australia team created ‘magical moments’ in the workplace on a daily basis. 

However Canva may not be the working paradise he claims, as reports have emerged that the graphic design software platform company -which attracts 300,000 job applications a year – has introduced an employee benchmarking system that grades employees out of five.

One Canva worker detailed how he had been told he had fallen into the lowest-ranked group of employees at the company.

‘It just came out of nowhere,’ David – whose name has been changed to protect his identity – told the Australian Financial Review.

David said managers at the graphic design platform told him he was ‘missing’ objectives, meaning he had slipped into the bottom group of workers.

‘Everyone is now looking over their shoulder,’ David said.

‘It’s all a bit surreal.’

Reports have surfaced that Canva has introduced employee benchmarking systems that grade employees out of five

Mr Low said it had been a ‘momentous’ year for the graphic design platform 

David said his Canva manager spoke to him about his performance from a pre-written script, however the company disputes this.

‘We don’t use pre-written scripts for performance conversations,’ a Canva spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. 

The spokesperson said the company has had the same performance system for more than two years and ‘haven’t made any changes in that time period’.

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They also said the company had seen an increase in people ‘who are in our top performing category, rather than the bottom’. 

Prominent media commentator Joe Hildebrand called out the company and Mr Low’s Sunrise performance. 

‘The last time I saw anything run on just good vibes was at a bush rave in 1995 and even then I’m pretty sure there was more than just vibes involved,’ he said.

Media commentator Joe Hildebrand called out Canva’s business practices 

Mr Hildebrand said a company could ‘have all the cookies and beanbags in the world but if employees aren’t being productive I’m pretty sure those good vibes disappear pretty quickly’.

Mr Hildebrand, who previously worked as a reporter on workplaces, said he was aware of reports the company had developed a five tier employee ranking system. 

‘And that’s the thing with all these hippy trippy tech companies that offer stuff like free yoga: One minute you’re doing a sun salutation and the next you’re doing the downward dog,’ he said. 

On winning the Fast Company’s award, Mr Low said in a statement it had been a ‘momentous’ year for the tech platform. 

‘Fostering innovation has been at the core of our culture from the start and is a huge part of who we are today,’ he said.

‘We’re nearly a decade into our journey now, but it still feels like we’re just getting started.’