Pros
Review Title (continued): Best employer I had worked for to date, great coworkers, relaxed environment. But there were a couple of very serious employment/compensation/benefits related mistakes Perks made (at my expense) that should have been resolved by the company ASAP but instead I was told "sorry man, don't know what to tell you". I had to pay (in personal income lost) a few times as a consequence for mistakes Perks made. That sort of dumping responsibility for company mistakes onto your employees must not only be stopped but turned around 180degress if Perks is to truly deserve their employee-centric image. The image is an illusion if, when push comes to shove, a company will screw over its employees by failing to honor commitments simply because it can get away with it. So...A few big changes in the way Perks treats and interacts with their employees, and some changes in how they resolve certain problems or handle employee course correction and especially mistakes in employee compensation/benefit information (big problems for sure, but only in a few particular/narrow types of situations- for the most part Perks employees have it very good). A few major corrections and Perks would really be on it's way to the next level, or at least be an excellent example to other businesses. More on addressing the problem areas to follow. Pros: Relaxed environment, very casual dress, lots of collaboration, very talented and committed team, multiple fun team building days per year (field day, horse races, bowling, etc.) Company very respectful of after hours/personal/family time (expects 35-40hrs per week the majority of the time with the rare all nighter, maybe once a year, when absolutely necessary). Very friendly work environment with great coworkers willing to work together to get things done. Most people would happily pitch in to help others outside of their jobs responsibilities as needed. Probably the best group of people I've ever worked with.
Cons
Small company by count of employees, bosses and owner were devs during Perks infancy and early years and naturally some early devs moved into "leadership" roles that only seemed to fit them regarding their technical expertise, skill, company knowledge, and years of experience with Perks' systems and solutions (but perhaps weren't the best fit in terms of being a supervisor). Being a small company there were virtually no clear expectations. Some expectations changed without notice. Supervisors have a hard time clearly communicating with employees when there were concerns. No formal procedures, no official documentation, no clear expectations on how to resolve issues, etc. Very much a "from the hip", play it by feel management style. Processes made up on the fly for each situation and never reused the same twice. It's very frustrating not knowing what is expected of you, or when there is an issue, or what resolving that looks like according to your supervisor. Breeds a lot of frustration and needless turmoil/turnover where clarity and communication through procedures clearly established up front could have resolved matters quickly and effectively.