Pros
First of all, I'm a huge believer that "culture" is how you feel on Sunday evening about Monday morning. I've never had a Sunday where I dreaded going to work on Monday... it's quite the opposite. I'm excited to go to work each day and the sky is the limit as to what I can accomplish - there are no caps set in place, so this is a good spot for self-driver high achievers. We have a solid product, and nobody out there is doing what we are. Sure, there are lots of IT consulting agencies and lots of software bootcamps, but we do both of them at a higher level, and have found a successful hybrid of both, meaning a balance of new up-and-comers and senior consultants. This is not only good for helping people's careers, but also to balance the business. We are a lean organization, which means that we successfully navigated through late 2022/early 2023 without needing to lay off anyone - this was a huge win. This year alone, we improved the health plan, added a 401(k) match, and revised several policies to be more employee-centric. We also have added several strategic hires that are top of class. The new talent in our organization is well balanced with those who have a long tenure at Cook - some exceeding 20 years. It's a testament to the fact that this is a great company to work for. Hats off to the leadership team for understanding the need to improve and quickly taking action to get there. Bottom line, I love my job!
Cons
As an organization, we are still behind in our processes. Much of 2024 will be invested in streamlining, documenting, and improving both efficiencies and communication flow. This needs to happen as we invest in setting up the organization for future growth and success. However, these are good problems to have, and are just part of the normal process from moving to mid-sized to a larger organization.