1. Yes the company is growing rapidly. They use the rocket emoji all the time. But without an actual culture and values that are being lived by you end up feeling alone and just another person in a big organization.
2. The onboarding experience was terrible. I got my device a week before. I was able to set it up pretty easily (thank you IT). On my first day, I got to meet someone from HR and a few other people that started with me. HR points me at some important Confluence pages and Slack channels. After that, I was left pretty much to my own devices and had to proactively figure things out. No structure and the disorganised HR/Talent team caused me to feel all over the place in my first few months and it was hard to get my head around the company.
3. I had almost NO fun during my working hours. Slack channels are very quiet with minimal engagement.
4. The exec team seems under pressure and tired. CEO doesn't seem to care at ALL about the culture and is not effective in communicating the desire to change or work on those problems.
5. Internal communication is very limited. Transparency is very low. I worked in a global team and barely collaborated with them. Again, there wasn't a culture to embrace global collaboration and any systems in place to foster this.
6. I felt mostly alone in endeavors to improve things. I would get a lot of pushback and NO's to challenge the status quo.
7. Lots of internal politics that felt toxic. They talk bad behind each other's backs and it doesn't feel like we're working towards a common goal.
8. High turnover within the Talent and People team. The Global Head of Talent left after 6 months. The new Global Head of HR left after 2 months. Lots of red flags here. Their action just confirmed my beliefs around the companies inability to change and the lack of desire to work on problems.
9. There is almost no recognition for your hard work. It felt like you're just a service provider and not a partner.
10. Strangely and surprisingly after speaking to more people within the organisation I realized that many more felt the same about the company. Another red flag.
11. There are bubbles within Airwallex where the culture seems to be doing well and things just work - but not in the HR & Talent team.
12. There is no engagement from hiring managers or exec teams on improving the employer brand. You feel like you're alone in the battle. Not the type of teamwork I was hoping for.
13. It feels like Melbourne HQ is a facade. In reality, everything is run out of Hong Kong.
14. Elitist in the hiring philosophy and sometimes unrealistic expectations when it comes to talent. It was always a battle to get someone across the line.
I'm sad to leave such a terrible review but I felt it was important for the future me to read this and ask myself " why are so many people saying all these terrible things about this company?". The answer is because it's true. I suggest you think long and hard about your decision to join Airwallex and if possible to speak to people within the organisation.
I made the choice to join because I met great people in my interview process, their product is cool and they had just announced that the new Head of Talent and HR will be joining. These were all great signs to me and I took the risk. In retrospect, I can see why so many before me have left such bad reviews and why my colleagues, managers, and myself left after just 6 months.
Like with everything else in life. This company will be great for some but not for me.
