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      Pragmatics

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      Pragmatics Reviews

      3.3

      56% would recommend to a friend

      (141 total reviews)

      Long V. Nguyen

      76% approve of CEO

      34% positive business outlook

      Pragmatics has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 141 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Pragmatics employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      141 reviews
      1.0
      24 Sept 2017

      Stay Away...Stay FAR Away!

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      There are some incredible persons at the worker level. Literally the only saving grace about that place.

      Cons

      Where to start... 1. LEADERSHIP INCOMPETENCE I have never met such a band of merrymen who continue to play the harp while Rome is burning. All the warning signs are there. All the indicators are there. When the CEO was warned and briefed on the full extent of the problem, the briefer was fired. Shooting the messenger is the culture cultivated. 2. OSTRICH FOR LEADERSHIP They sit in their ivory towers pretending everything is okay and give occasional speeches in some half-hearted attempt at trying to motivate. It is always recognized for what it is. Because of this the chasm between executive leadership (I use that term loosely) and the workers is unbridgeable. 4. INVESTMENT IS NEARLY NON-EXISTENT (certainly not for a company of that size. This is a company who prides itself on being "cutting edge" and a "pioneer" and yet nearly all systems are end of life. They are hardly "cutting edge." For those of us on the inside, we used to laugh at hearing this as we put the proverbial tape on the system to get it going a bit longer. Investment in necessary equipment is done too late in an attempt to fix a problem rather than early so as to prevent problems. 5. CHEAP OWNERS I hated to believe this for the longest time but #4 is all due to the owners. They turn out half of the flourescent lights to save money. That is not a joke. This is a $100 million company but our owners still treat it like its in their garage. I'm all for frugality but it has translated to not investing as mentioned before. Hinders us from doing our jobs and the customers notice it for what it is. 6. CULTURE OF FEAR Yep, you read that correctly. Most of the VPs are actually really nice but not all. A culture of fear has been created and instead of fixing it, it is ignored and propagated. One in particular is terribly incompetent, totally controlling, and utterly rude and hostile. I wouldn't have believed the stories had I not experienced a taste of it myself. I could go on but what is the point? I know the COO will respond to this with some silly notion of how none of this is true but I lived it. I saw it. I worked it. It was not compartmentalized. It is easy to believe it is a great company at first but the veneer wears off quickly. Anyone with a set of eyes to read and ears to hear will pick it up. There is a reason why there are so many job openings at Reston. One is they are only now hiring persons they should have hired years ago to get the job done. Also, people are leaving. Fed up. You have been warned.

      avatar
      Pragmatics Response
      8y
      I am sorry that you did not have a positive experience at Pragmatics and have left with a negative view of the company. There is no doubt that from time to time projects run into difficulties. We need folks at all levels who can work as a team to identify roadblocks, come up with solutions, and make the difficult changes needed to get back on track. As a successful company that has overcome many challenges over the past 30 years, we have proven our ability to get behind a solid get-well plan, make investments, and leverage the company's resources to support the team. I do agree that we have some fantastic and dedicated professionals who give 110% every day. They are the ones that rise successfully to every challenge, exceed our expectations, and create a positive place to work. I wish you well in all your future endeavors.
      1.0
      10 June 2015

      Lost Secret Clearance due to Pragmatics

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Good contracts, good pay and locations.

      Cons

      Communication is a big issue here. I held a secret DoD clearance for 10 years prior to joining Pragmatics and when hired I was placed into a Top Secret investigation. Two years later I no longer work for them and find out while I was waiting for my Top Secret my Secret was "Not in use" for the entire duration of my employment due to the on going TS investigation. I find out while job searching my Secret has gone into "Loss of Jurisdiction" because it was not in use while I worked for Pragmatics and I basically lost the clearance I EARNED while in the military. I am livid at the lack of communication with the folks who handle the clearances and could not get any answers to my questions.

      avatar
      Pragmatics Response
      10y
      Thank you for your honest feedback and positive comments on Pragmatics’ salary, contracts, and locations. I would like to respond to your comment regarding the government clearance process. From your response, it appears you have a misunderstanding of how the clearance process works. The federal government sets guidelines for granting all clearances, which we follow faithfully; our security practices and protocols are audited annually by the government. Security clearances are issued as follows: if you are assigned work that requires you to access classified information, the government will grant a clearance following the completion of a background investigation. If you leave your position before the investigation is completed, the government deems that you no longer have a valid reason for the clearance, and the investigation is terminated due to “Loss of Jurisdiction.” A clearance is only granted by the government when there is a need and is not something that can be earned. I am sorry if you feel we did not properly convey this information to you. We wish you the best of luck in all things and thank you for your military service.
      2.0
      31 Jan 2015

      Good people but watch out for owners looking out only for themselves

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Good people to work with and decent size company. Do have some good contracts to work on.

      Cons

      Senior management only focuses on short term profits not long term growth. Time and time again I saw them lay staff off to hit monthly profit goals only to need that skill a couple months later. Just not a stable place to work.

      avatar
      Pragmatics Response
      11y
      At Pragmatics, we take a long-term view of the company and are not driven so much by profit as by sound business practices. This strategy has allowed us to make smart investments that have enabled the company to grow from $30 million in 2005 to over $160 million in 2015. As we enter our 30th year in business, we strive to live up to commitments to our clients and our staff. For example, during the government shutdown, while some other companies in our industry furloughed their employees, Pragmatics found innovative ways to keep our employees in a paid status (see October 2013 article in Washington Business Journal). This is one of many instances where Pragmatics has invested in the long term to benefit our employees while ensuring we could continue our excellent support to our clients.
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      ReviewsPragmatics reviews

      Glassdoor has 156 Pragmatics reviews submitted anonymously by Pragmatics employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Pragmatics is right for you.