Business Model, Systems, Management - All Need a Big Reset!
Pros
1. Remote work 2. Unlimited Paid Time Off 3. Most people were cool to work with
Cons
1. HUB (system used to capture client activity, time entries, etc) is one of the worst systems I have ever had to touch. It's a homegrown system that takes many, many months for the Engineers in India to make minor improvements. It's clunky, slow, not user friendly and is a complete time suck for most end users! 2. Since the acquisition in 2022, this company has completely lost its identity and the new COO fails to get to know who is working with the clients. He is not approachable and is way over his head. 3. Current CEO seems to have lost sight of the values in light of the acquisition. To him and the exective team, its all about revenue, margins (which are very important but...) and many employees feel like they are just numbers, units of production rather than people. Not good given Escalon is in a customer service space (no, not product or technology as they think they are!). 4. Do not apply at Escalon if you want a raise, bonus, etc., as they won't provide to their employees. Employees have worked there for years without increases, bonuses, etc. Managers have to fight tooth and nail to get their staff increases, etc. 5. Weak Service Leader Heads - If there are employees who are losing clients, going on PTO all the time, delivering sub par service to their clients, in ability to work well with others, etc., they won't discipline those employees and let other strong consultants pick up the work because the Service Heads are literally too afraid to move the dead wood out. They also love to micromanage! Seriously...managers who have many years of experience don't trust the employees around them. It's really unfortunate. 6. In-house HR is a mess. They need to hire more into that dept given most of what the HR Director does is deal with employee relations issues day in, day out. 7. Most transactional work is handled in India and as a result, there is lack of urgency, accuracy, etc whereby clients suffer the most. But, given the salaries are less than here in the US, the global delivery model will continue to prevail and although the client fees are less, they get what they pay for (sloppy, inaccurate services)! And, the overall GDM from a structure and system perspective is an absolute mess. No wonder the client churn is crazy high. 8. Sales Dept is an absolute joke...I'll just leave that right there!