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Hi there - thank you for sharing your real experience here. I’m truly sorry we could not make your time at TCE more successful. Your experience was the opposite of what we’re striving for: an unbeatable work life for anyone who is passionate about inventing the future of food & beverage. We have more work to do! I felt it would be useful to share here what we have done, and are doing:
To your point about HR support: Since Jan 2021, we have invested in Senior HR leadership well ahead of industry benchmarks for a company of our size / growth stage. This has enabled us to improve our PTO, benefits and onboarding, as well as initiate critical DE&I policies and programs, for our own people and beyond. And not least, to hold the most senior leaders to the same peer-review accountability as the rest of the team.
To your point about frustrations: To ensure all our voices are heard, for the last 18 months we have enabled an autonomous staff-led Cultural Affinity Group to run two company town halls each year, where all our teammates can share concerns safely. This is more than window dressing. Learnings from Town Halls are applied to our ongoing company strategies.
To your point about burnout: it’s real, it's everywhere, and we combat this by backing staff-led initiatives to block out personal and “deep work” time for our selves, initiating a mental health&wellness program, as well as a range of initiatives to streamline and “lighten” our working method.
To your point about long hours and weekends: We do not want folks working out of hours, and we work less hours than 90% of creative agencies. If we need to work or travel on a Holiday or weekend, we reimburse folks for that time with PTO. I have a family, I want to be with them, I do not work weekends, and you will 99% not hear from me on a weekend (unless you reach out to me).
To your point about projects and timelines: We are ambitious, both for our company, and for the individuals on our team. Like any growing creative consultancy, we’re busy. This is the economics of our industry. We give control to our team to define the pace of work and cadence. We create timelines and budgets, and logistical plans together. From time to time, we all have periods where we're running a little too hot. For sure, there are industries and sectors that move more slowly.
Thanks again for sharing - this feedback will remain top of our minds to help us better pursue our mission.
Cheers. Graham.
