The definition of stagnation and C-level incompetence - Product Owner ReQtest Employee Review

The product is established and favored by its customers.

I was optimistic at first when I joined Reqtest. However, it quickly became clear that the company might have one of the most incompetent C-level management teams within the tech/SaaS industry. Commercial leadership is nothing but a glorified "CSM", doesn't know anything about sales, and only have their title for being with the company for nearly a decade. Time is spent micromanaging employees and using overly complex language/words to appear knowledgeable and capable. This person is ironically in charge of "new business" but lacks the ability to conduct outbound sales, even book meetings which I personally found ridiculous. Instead, these responsibilities are outsourced, seemingly to avoid both responsibility and accountability. Marketing leadership is the definition of a “passenger” within the organization and only holds their title by people-pleasing upper management rather than delivering measurable results. Their focus seemed more centered towards gaining "attention" and "validation" instead of executing meaningful marketing initiatives. Lead conversion rates are poor, and marketing's overall ability to support sales efforts are mediocre at best. I found it remarkable that these individuals have remained in their positions for years despite never achieving or delivering results, and consistently failing to meet annual targets and expectations. This says a lot about the organization's poor "governance" and I'm happy I left as early as I did, since these are the last individuals you want to work for. I would not recommend Reqtest to anyone considering the management team's lack of competence, and the fact that the solution doesn't have a future in the era of AI agents.

Efficient and user-friendly product (thanks to extensive R&D), used for project management, life-cycle management and larger system implementations such as ERP. Reqtest is highly regarded by its clients as a simple tool that anyone can use.

There is little to no professional development to be had — advisory roles are basic and you mainly learn about specific value propositions, become a product superuser, and gain knowledge of the niche industry (requirements & test management) which attracts the most complacent people within IT. Don't expect any skills or experience gained to carry over and be applicable elsewhere, since these are closely tied to Reqtest's internal processes and become of no value in other career settings. The company operates in a very unconventional way, far removed from common industry standards and practices valued by healthier organisations, which in turn has a negative impact on several key business areas (mentioned below). My view on the business outlook is not positive for multiple reasons. Reqtest has struggled to achieve increased revenue growth over the past consecutive years and continues to do so under the company's long-tenured management team, which has proven unable to deliver on annual expectations. Last year's result was no different from the year before, and didn't come as a surprise considering the company's commercially ineffective processes e.g. not even having sales, but instead an 'inbound order-taking group'. In my experience, poor strategies, poor execution, futile marketing, and low headcount are all contributing factors limiting success. Reqtest boasts profitability but it's mainly due to cost savings/cost-cutting, and hiring 'unpaid interns' is the next solution to preserve margins instead of addressing core commercial issues. The company culture is described as "unique" and "not for everyone", but it basically translates to toxic and cult-like — "don't challenge our norms" and "you must fit in or else" — which gives off major red flags. Senior leadership's top-down approach, false narratives and disrespectful behaviour are not only accepted, but actively defended by long-term employees with blatant excuses, and certain individuals have even been influenced/groomed to such an extent that they in my opinion require "deprogramming". The irrationality continues with apparent "job title inflation" (especially at commercial C-level), since these titles don't reflect the competencies and skills typically associated with those roles from an industry-recognised standpoint, nor the corresponding pay grade. Promotions therefore lack credibility and cannot be taken seriously. The workplace is so consumed by delusion that it becomes absurd, with results nowhere to justify any of its operational procedures or methods. I would not recommend Reqtest to anyone, except if you find it stimulating walking on eggshells, which some people apparently do.