After 25 years in the industry I can honestly say this is the worst company I have ever worked for in every facet of their business. This company drove me to the point of being suicidal. It’s a pain palace. Nothing works as it should. Everything is overly and unnecessarily complex. Projects start with rally cries such as “It doesn’t have to be great”, “Just good enough”, “Just has to work” and “Do the least amount of work to keep the client happy”. They talk of being a family, but it’s nothing of the sort. I’d liken it to ancient Rome. Et Tu, Brute.
As with all employers, they do expect you to work hard, but they expect more than that. They expect 200% commitment to the company first and foremost. Your family, your health, personal time, and everything else a distant second. If you let them they will run you into the ground and then discard you like last weeks trash and won’t blink an eye. They expect loyalty from employees but exhibit very little-to none in return.
The employee shared thing whilst true actually comes with heavy conditions. The bonus program is incredibly convoluted. Senior staff can be personally financially on the hook for the profitability of projects. Everything is weighted towards the company winning - even at the sake of it’s own employees. The ‘sharing’ part i found to be pretty disingenuous even if they actually mean well. Internally I heard it referred to as “The Golden Handcuffs”. Remember - The House always wins.
Balance of overhead to revenue generating staff is overly disproportionate for a company of this size. The direction of the company changes with the wind. It’s a sink or swim environment hidden under the banner of being ’entrepreneurial’. There is little or no leadership internally. No mentorship programs for new hires and good people have been let go because they didn’t adapt to the environment immediately. If projected revenue dips but is still profitable, lay offs occur (see: no loyalty) and staff have been asked to take pay cuts across the board in order to maintain the projected profit margin (See: the company always wins).
The company structure is based upon the matrix system which is great when you are on an assembly line, but a mix of skill sets and experience mean folk are either out of their depth or underutilized. This can have an adverse affect on project budgets. It’s more important you fit the culture than be able to perform, when it actually needs to be both.
They have their own language that has absolutely no relevance in the real world. There are no parallels to positions that actually exist outside of Market Street. Not sure what the benefits of this actually are. It only serves to confuse, both internally and externally. Clients wan’t to know they are talking with someone who can advise and can make decisions.
The work is tactical at best. Reliance on old technology, development, and platforms means there is very little chance to do something that will change the world or define new products. To be relevant in a digital savvy world you have to move, adapt and reinvent. I think you get the picture here.
Watch… a couple of 5 star reviews will pop immediately after this one.
