The overarching problem with HR policy at this company is an unwillingness to engage with staff to arrive at collaborative solutions. We are a diverse group of employees and the only way to meet our needs (as I'm sure management would claim to want to do) is through collaboration, not handing down policy that you think will meet their needs. I've lost all confidence that management wants to negotiate in good faith with staff. I've heard that some managers have tried to get staff to name names of who has written these reviews. Our CEO's view seems to be that the most important metric is how long folks are in their seats, which is absurd at a tech company.
The HR response to the review titled ""NGP Van Pays Women of Color lower than other employees" dismisses the writer's experience and mentions that a salary review has been completed. I strongly suspect that it has not, because if there was proof that we were free from race/gender-based pay disparity, I believe it would have been shown to us by now and it has not.
Even the progressive mission is unclear. You'll come here to work for "the cause" but may find yourself doing work for a corporate PAC that lobbies against environmental protection or an organization that doesn't support reproductive choice or LGBTQ rights. Requests for information on how the company vets clients have been ignored or answered with vague condescension.
The company made a perfunctory show of holding a vote on two "options" for a new leave policy: "Unlimited Leave" and "More Generous PTO." Those were the actual names on the voting form and I can't imagine they didn't affect the outcome. "More Generous" was defined as 5 weeks for everyone. The description of the "Unlimited" option stated outright that "2 days a month" was "about right" and gave no details about what would happen if folks took more than that. So, many folks voted for the defined 5 weeks ("More Generous PTO") simply to avoid any surprises, like being told they were taking "too much." The company made the The vote was a sham. But it is good that new folks will not go in the red as much on their PTO balance.
So, there will continue not to be enough time off and folks will continue to come in or work from home while they are sick and work despite family emergencies. You'll be sick for longer because you can't rest and recover. DO NOT take a job here if you have any type of chronic condition or family responsibilities unless you're willing to give up all vacation.
Low pay remains a fact despite some pay bumps that were granted to the lowest-paid employees. Many cannot live on what they earn so they take second jobs/get help from family if they're lucky. The company announced an "Innovation Fund" to finance outside parties and brags about large profits but doesn't pay everyone at the company a living wage.
You will be overworked and expected to work faster than you can.
The new Chief Revenue Officer gave a long and deeply insulting speech in our recent all-staff meeting about how to be productive at work, as if we were all failing on this score. The CEO takes every opportunity to point out, "look, she's not white!" which only underlines the unbearable whiteness of our senior management. That didn't fix it, Stu.
CEO micromanages but pretends the company has a "relaxed" culture because you can wear shorts and there's beer. But he maintains direct control of all budgets and monitors individual employee time himself. If you need to leave 15 minutes early or have a medical appointment, it's a Thing. So you feel like a body rather than a professional. This is unusual at a tech company.
There's a lack of respect from management. The CEO asks for feedback but responds to it with hostility. Some of the HR staff will be hostile and intimidating if you ask questions or provide feedback so folks do not feel comfortable doing so.
