DOOR3 Reviews

As I mentioned elsewhere, we have rolled out core values last year that, together with discipline-specific standards of performance, are now the driving factors in our hiring and retention policy. Yes, there have been some market pressures, but turnover has largely been around weak links in the company, with the intent to build out a cadre of very strong consultants who are happy to work together. While this results in some one-star reviews like this which will temporarily drag down our rating, in the long run, we are building toward a stellar group of colleagues who thrive in situations where structure exists, but are able to fearlessly forge creative solutions when existing structure is insufficient for a new challenge.

Thanks to the writer for contributing. I would strongly encourage the writer to have an open discussion with me, for several reasons: - This review is dramatically out of line with the views of the majority of our staff. To the degree that this is so, the reviewer is exerting a negative, and non-constructive influence on the culture. A discussion would help address his / her concerns and bring the reviewer deeper into what is a supportive internal culture that he/she is clearly missing out on at the moment. That includes support and time from senior staff who are more than happy to explain DOOR3 operations and take constructive feedback if offered by the reviewer. - Some of the reviewer's interpretations show a poor understanding of how a consulting firm functions. To the degree that we can correct that deficit, the reviewer will become a stronger, more mature professional. - Some of the observations are coming from a point of view that is perhaps limited by the reviewer's role in the company, and those frustrations also can be alleviated by gaining more insight. Talk with your manager; talk directly with me; I'm very available to staff for discussions and as a result of this review, I will be scheduling weekly "open office hours" that I will block out specifically to address concerns like this. Some examples of misunderstanding in this review include: - "HR got fired recently which is a sign of how they think about their people" First of all, HR did not get "fired." With great regret, the role was eliminated. There is a bit of basic economics at work here: Administrative functions can only be allocated full time roles if the company is large enough to support those roles. We developed an HR department too early in DOOR3's growth and had to correct that error to ensure that basic DOOR3 economics are sound. While the role has been eliminated (until we grow to a size where that role can be re-created), the functions still exist. Operations handles all administrative functions of the HR role and I am always available to address concerns and questions. All of this was communicated clearly in a company meeting, but if you have such strong feelings about something, please come to me to discuss. - "People were frequently being blamed about mistakes, thoughts or ideas that may make things better": This is a complete mystery to me. We have always taken input and no one has ever been blamed for this. This kind of open culture comes directly from me and from the founding of the company 11 years ago; it's in our DNA. There was an incident earlier this year when someone brought input to a senior manager in an aggressive and completely non-constructive way, but they were not blamed; they were later dismissed for poor performance and perhaps the two events got mixed together, but a "culture of blame" does not exist at DOOR3; if you detect that, please escalate to me directly. - "Work ethic not client focused": This is a severe misinterpretation and requires a response. DOOR3 is the most client-focused consulting firm you're likely to work at. We operate ethically and work hard even before a sale happens to make sure the client's vision is aligned with their best interests, and then work hard to deliver on the vision. However, consulting is complex in large part because the client usually has a budget that is smaller than desired scope, and in the end there's a bottom line reality that we can only do so much for a given budget. The most successful consulting relationships are ones where DOOR3 and the client share a realistic perspective on what is fair to DOOR3 and to the client; any overly idealistic perspective on this that imagines that we can do magic in the face of severe client constraints is out of touch with reality. - "Contractors getting paid late" - This occurred during an unusual period in DOOR3's growth cycle where expansion of overhead costs and other growth investments coincided with a slowdown in sales; this required tighter financial management for about two months. Do people get nervous? Sure...but you have to have faith in your management team. You need to be aware of two facts: 1) contractors take the risk of longer payment terms in exchange for getting paid more money than employees, and 2) DOOR3 has grown continuously for 11 years, and two major recessions; have faith, and be positive! The one valid observation in this review is that senior staff at DOOR3 don't always agree. This is natural and healthy, and we manage that through debate. That said, we have experienced a lot of growth from 2010 to 2012 and therefore, there have been a lot of new faces and management changes. This is not always a smooth process since senior people come with strong opinions which must be integrated into a pre-existing culture. Please be patient with this, and, as always, if something seems out of sorts, feel free to escalate to your manager or to me.