Pros
Free Coffee and Snacks/Leftovers from onsite client engagements.
Cons
The IT department operates under a noticeably different set of expectations than the rest of the organization. Engineering staff are required to be onsite full time, while leadership appears to follow a hybrid schedule similar to other departments. There were situations where hourly contractors felt pressure to work beyond their scheduled hours without clearly defined compensation. This created legitimate concerns among contractors regarding compliance with Michigan labor regulations. Management sometimes evaluates engagement in vendor meetings using superficial participation metrics, such as whether engineers ask questions during the call. This can lead to situations where team members feel compelled to ask unnecessary or low-value questions simply to demonstrate visibility rather than focusing on the technical substance of the discussion. Routine technical work is also slowed by excessive administrative overhead. Even relatively simple application installations require extensive pre-approval documentation, including multi-page procedures with screenshots before the work can begin. After the installation is completed, the documentation must then be revisited and rewritten to replace screenshots with those taken during the actual install. While documentation is important, this level of process overhead turns straightforward engineering tasks into unnecessarily time-consuming exercises. Perhaps most concerning was the handling of new infrastructure. Newly purchased server hardware intended for a relatively small four-host production environment sat uninstalled in the datacenter for an extended period of time after delivery, delaying the deployment of the new environment while warranty coverage was already active. In most enterprise environments, infrastructure deployments of this scale are prioritized and completed quickly so systems can begin delivering value. Contractors are sometimes given the impression that full-time opportunities may become available, but in practice those conversions appear to be rare. Overall, the department’s management approach feels heavily focused on process visibility and oversight rather than effective technical execution. Engineers who are used to environments where infrastructure projects move quickly and decisions are driven by technical leadership may find the pace and management style frustrating.