Loka Portugal - Anonymous employee Loka Employee Review

1.0
8 Sept 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A lot of favoritism plus despotic behavior. Only meet up in Thursdays for drinking beer. This company has no office nor any values that could attract you as a person.

Cons

Totally focused on backend development.Portugal leadership seem to behave like puppets and most of the time they don't know what they are doing.They seem easy going but in reality the leader of the office is with zero professionalism and acting casual most of the time. Worst culture I've been part of. If you want to be part of a bunch of people who don't know what they are doing, and have god complex management this is the place for you. If not, please check any other competitor that is indeed doing a great job and offering a real career path. In every a couple of months or so we receive notifications from management "re-structuring" this company, meaning few people have been fired and few other people changed their positions, just to massage their egos. Managers go above and beyond to save their jobs, meaning they will throw you in front of the bus if that means saving their lifestyle, because they know they wouldn't make it elsewhere. Global leadership is a joke, I'm pretty sure they are in just for the luxury traveling. Don't trust the newly positive reviews, they are usually faked by the HR or management.

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Loka Response
3y
Thanks for your comments. While we value honest feedback, in this case we’re scratching our heads about some of the points you raised, as they simply aren't factual. We know from market research and employee feedback that Loka's compensation, benefits and business structure are among the best in tech. In 2022 we registered a 96% employee retention rate, and Lokals enjoyed best-in-the-biz benefits like 5/4 Fridays—that’s an extra 26 days off a year—and Explore and Relocation opportunities. Almost half of our employees took a course or earned a new certification in 2022, courtesy of Loka, adding to already extensive bona fides like Masters degrees, PhDs and AWS certifications. From most feedback we hear, our people are grateful to be part of a team with an embarrassment of world-class talent. Our teams work on a variety of impactful projects, and sometimes teammates are asked to step into a role or responsibility to fill a temporary gap. This is the exception and not the norm. We understand that working outside of your technical expertise may have been uncomfortable. As for restructuring, we've made one move from regional to functional in the last four years, which resulted in zero re-org layoffs. And in terms of growth strategy, in the last two years we’ve outpaced our projected growth, even while the market dipped. Our investments in genomics and design are paying dividends. In fact, at the time of this writing Loka is hiring for a dozen roles. All of that said, Loka is intent on continually improving. If you’re open to emailing me directly at amelia@loka.com, I’ll address any valid issues you bring up. Ongoing feedback, both digital and in-person, is core to our business, and we’re proud of the company culture we’ve built at Loka.

Explore other reviews about Loka

5.0
30 Jan 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Flexible time - Good perks - 5/4 Friday offs - Explore program

Cons

- Some projects can be a little bit mess, but cause of the clients

4.0
20 May 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- 5/4 Fridays were awesome - friendly people - LokaLabs -> fun to work on side projects - remote made timing flexible

Cons

- hard to get promoted - low pay for industry standards - not much opportunity for mentorship

4
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Loka Response
1y
Hi there, thanks for taking the time to leave a review of your experience at Loka. We take feedback seriously as that's how we get better. If I may address some of your points: For the sake of clarity in promotions, we introduced the Loka Career Progression Framework, which provides detailed information on competencies, expectations, levels and channels for navigating the promotion process. We do hold high standards when it comes to promotions, but the CPF gives our teammates a clear path, and it's up to them to put in the effort to advance their career. We make sure to keep our compensation aligned with industry standards to ensure that we are paying competitively and fairly across roles and locations. Additionally we offer unique benefits like every other Friday off, upskilling allowances and mental and physical health memberships. Our robust compensation packages are one reason why Loka averaged a 98% retention rate over the last year. And we invest heavily in training and mentoring our teams. Employees receive a yearly allowance to spend on classes, certifications and industry conferences. We host regular internal knowledge-sharing sessions; LokaSpeaks, a free weekly program for improving presentation and public speaking skills; and Global Demo Beer corners, where Lokals share technical solutions to project problems. All are great opportunities to learn from others. Anecdotally, we hear often from newer employees that if they encounter problems there's always a colleague or manager they can reach out to for help. That said, we're always looking to improve. Can you describe the kind of mentorship you were looking for that you feel like you didn't receive?
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