A hard lesson in workplace culture - Anonymous employee Virtual Facility Employee Review

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback on your time at Virtual Facility. It’s important for us to hear what we are doing well and what we can improve upon. I’m very happy to read that you found your time working on the product interesting, challenging, compelling, and that you learned a lot while you were with us! We strive to work on hard problems with big impact, which inevitably can result in some of the cons you shared. I’ll address each head on: You shared that you felt the product development team was poorly managed. I do imagine that much of this lack of direction you felt may have been a result of our fast-moving startup reality, and that’s not for everyone. While we strive to provide a good work-life balance (and other reviews have commented on this), the rare weekend fire needs to be handled promptly. If you felt this way while you were with the company, it would have been super helpful to bring this up in a conversation so that we could address what you thought needed reworking during your tenure. You also write that you didn’t feel that you were supported with our PTO policy. Our PTO plan was revamped in 2021 (perhaps after your departure) to institute mandatory PTO minimums, meaning everyone on the team must take time off (currently a minimum of two weeks per year), and in addition we all take off for about a dozen all-company holidays per year. Note that this is a minimum, not a cap; we want our team to take the time they need to recharge and fresh their minds, bodies, and spirits. Of course, if you need additional time beyond those allotted periods, we’re always supportive of you taking it as long as you’re hitting your goals. We strive to be a very transparent organization, and believe transparency is a two-way street. We share details about the company with the entire team that many other companies do not, which we believe provides a level of trust, ownership, and mutual respect above and beyond the norm. If at any time you felt otherwise during your tenure, it’s best to bring that up with your supervisor so we could make any necessary adjustments. Building a company is hard work, and it takes a dedicated team to do it well. Thanks again for your feedback; it’s very much appreciated.