The main downside and overall reason why I decided to leave Newsletter Pro is due to the CEO, Shaun Buck. For a few years, Shaun was very distant and hands-off with the company. However, about 5 months ago, Shaun returned and flipped the entire company upside down. He's a micromanager and feels as though his way/line of thinking is the only one that matters. As soon as he came back, he began firing hard-working employees for no good reason. If you questioned his changes, raised concerns, or provided constructive criticism/feedback, you were on the chopping block. Because of this, it silenced many employees because they feared that if they said "no" or disagreed with Shaun, they would be fired. Which is valid since Shaun has fired multiple people in a span of a few months. When Shaun returned to the company back in May 2023, 5 people were fired by him (this doesn't include the 6+ people who quit mainly because of Shaun's management style). He is currently overworking the PMs by requiring them to work over their capacities. The writers are also being overworked and under lots of pressure with no extra pay. While it was never said, I had the impression that Shaun believed that clients were canceling their newsletters NOT because of the cost of living, inflation, or failure to keep employees (there has been many turnovers, and clients have noticed and commented on this on more than one occasion), but because of the quality of writing. Currently, he's requiring all writers to write articles about trends on TikTok, and many clients have commented their dislike to these articles. When questioned about if he has surveyed his clients and asked if this is something they want, he stated that he hasn't conducted any studies. On top of that, he has changed processes without asking those who use these processes on a daily basis if these changes would help make their work more streamlined. Instead, he implements any changes he desires. Due to his behavior, it's made management's role insanely difficult. They all look burnt out (all employees are burnt out), and are unable to support or protect their people. They can't control Shaun or sway his ideas. Whatever he says goes, and if you don't agree, you're out of a job. Before Shaun’s return, the company was thriving! Sales were up, new clients were coming in, and everyone was happy with their jobs. But as soon as Shaun took a more assertive role, things changed for the worst. Sales pummeled, clients begin to cancel, and the overal company morale took a turn for the worst. I’m not saying that change isn’t important. It’s one of the only ways you’re able to grow and improve your skills. When these changes first appeared, my colleagues and I would respectfully ask questions, make comments, and vocalize concerns regarding these systems with Newsletter Pro’s best interest at heart. We only wanted what was best for our clients. We were open to changes. However, the adjustments Shaun was/is making were not going to make his company successful. In turn, they actually hurt the company, both internally and externally. To add to that, when the company began hurting, instead of discussing the issues employees previously brought up, fingers were pointed at us. Shaun blamed us when there was a clear trajectory from start to finish from how these problems arose and how they were ongoing. Management is doing what they can to help employees, but unfortunately, their hands are tied. Additionally, in the two years I've been at the company, no raises have been given. The amount of work you do for the company is not worth the amount on your paycheck. You will stay at work in the late hours of the night, work over the weekend, and receive a paycheck that is strikingly low compared to all the roles and responsibilities you're taking on. Shaun will also silence the voices of his employees. We were on three teams when I was at the company, and because of the chatter and concerns employees shared in the company’s communicating software (where he would monitor and record all private and group conversations), he decided to merge two teams together. While this sounds like an opportunity to get to know other colleagues on a deeper level, it was to silence the voices of those who would raise concerns. He doesn't take feedback well at all and is hyper-sensitive to anyone who says anything negative about him or how he runs things. Not only was the environment not conducive to growth, it was a very misogynistic environment. For example, when Shaun began making changes to the content, he told the team of writers, who are majority female, that newsletters with a primarily female demographic do not want to read anything about history or sports. Rather, they want to hear about true crime and makeup. He used stereotypes and misconceptions to explain and defend his reasonings. Forcing a square peg into a round hole and saying it fits is a problem in itself. But what’s worse is when you’re starting to get angry and wondering why it didn’t fit. This is the overall theme of Newsletter Pro currently with Shaun taking a more hands-on approach.
