Pros
This company started as a hole in the wall in Burlingame, CA in an industry that is, primarily, viewed as "evil" yet the vision for this company is nothing but a break from the standard corporate culture and fear based work environment surrounding credit card processing. The culture is relaxed compared to others of the same size and industry and does put employee's lives on par with that of their customers. The staff is as diverse as the local area is (that is to say that Idaho and the surrounding cities of Boise aren't that diverse to begin with but ChargeItPro does promote a diverse culture). There's great amount of social diversity as well with individuals from many backgrounds and experience. Some, like myself, were given an opportunity learn something new despite not having direct experience in the assigned role to begin with. Others, with experience, were given paths to expand their knowledge and to enhance their careers and were given opportunities to lead others as well. It is enjoyable to come to work and not immediately dislike your peers or to feel isolated from them. Many folks here utilize the resources and knowledge from their peers to make challenges less of a burden on one single individual. We hold functions ("Vegas Night", Holiday Dinners, A day at the park [dunking of the CEO and other management included], Town Halls and more). In addition, PTO, 401k, achievement awards, cooking contests, costume contests and about 10 paid holidays (for full time employees) since we mimic banking holidays and every year I've been here (over 5yrs) there has always been a Christmas bonus (a lost perk over the last few decades in other companies) We celebrate the folks we work with whether it be moving on to another position, to another company, buying a first home, getting married - we enjoy the community we have created. We appreciate and are reasonable with regards to a work/life balance in addition to providing pretty robust benefits (medical (standard and HSA), dental, vision in addition to discounts on a local gym). We acknowledge that people are people and they always have potential to change. We want to provide stability at work so that time at home is spent with less baggage from the office. Our CEO has an "open door" to any and all. Managers step in when they have staff sick or out and help is usually only a few feet from you should you require it. Feedback is actually utilized and applied to corporate changes (once the inherent fear of doing so from previous employers has been purged from new hires) Employees who are committed to bettering themselves when given the opportunity to do so in a work environment tend to to extraordinarily well. Dedication and initiative are cultivated and embraced here with no "Kool-Aide" required. I've watched this company grow from it's infancy and have worked (and created) many positions during my years here. ChargeItPro took a chance on me and I showed them that the "standard" employee can have some wiggle room as long as that employee is dedicated to utilizing the opportunity provided to achieve more than a standard 8-5 for a check at the end of the month. As we've grown, we've eroded the "standard" employee notion and replaced it with something more fluid, more opportunistic, and frankly, more realistic. In all, this produces one of the most enjoyable work environments I have been in. The key is to be ready to better yourself. All in all, yes, its a "corporate" office and it has departments like a "call center", sales, operations, support, reception - but it is more than a tolerable environment, it is desirable. It's like this because we acknowledge the human aspect of what we do. We are a little bit of "old school" white glove customer service with a bit of neighborly fun. You wouldn't know it unless you were given *that one chance* to see for yourself.
Cons
Quick to hire and slow to fire Sometimes too lenient with habitual problem employees Difficult industry to understand (emphasis on difficult) Still mitigating growing pains (from 6 employees to over 50) Some staff is remote (other time zones) and can (at times) be very difficult to communicate with Parking if you have a later shift can be an annoyance Some departments require mandatory overtime in some rarer instances A handful of positions don't necessarily have paths to grow (mostly implied by the positions) Given the number of moving parts most positions can be pretty demanding Some folks, who's positions don't necessarily require it, don't have the same technological understanding of software and systems that the majority do (expect to help and teach)