Why I would not recommend Sage to a friend or family member - Product Engineering Director Sage Employee Review

1.0
6 Dec 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Sage has a bold and ambitious strategy. Unfortunately people ('colleagues' in Sage language) need to execute the strategy and my view is that we will not see this fantastic business strategy realized. Certainly not under Stephen Kelly's current leadership practices.

Cons

Stephen Kelly's customer obsession is admirable but who serves the customer? His 'colleagues' do. Its common sense that engaged colleagues are far more likely to be better at serving customers. Unempathetic rounds of retrenchments, dis-empowerment, condescending language, poor C level hires, scape-goating, lack of investment in talent and ability to retain talent, and a culture of fear and imbalance typify Kelly's leadership style. This may be construed as merely the words of a disgruntled employee but, Mr Kelly, to put your mind and those of your shareholders at ease, why don't you conduct a employee Net Promoter Score on your leadership i.e. a simple NPS rated question as to whether your colleagues would recommend you as CEO to another similar global company's employees? If what I feel and what I hear on the ground is anything to go by, you would be horrified at what your colleagues think of your leadership.

Explore other reviews about Sage

5.0
5 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They will work with you and teach you everything you need to know and help you as long as you help yourself and meet kpi but they help you meet it

Cons

No cons to add at this time

2.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

was hired as remote and get to have that honored, but have been openly told no career progression because of remote status. decent pay

Cons

Leadership instability: Seven manager changes during my relatively short tenure. Unrealistic targets: A sales quota set at 1,100% growth (not a typo). Slow product development: Getting anything actioned on the product side takes far too long. Product management turnover: Three product manager changes, resulting in no meaningful deliverables in over three years. Misaligned hiring priorities: Greater emphasis on DEI optics than on hiring people positioned to drive growth. Internal vs. customer focus: More energy spent on internal events than on product enhancements. Lack of accountability (the biggest issue): No one takes ownership. Responsibility gets passed around constantly — for example, client cancellations going unprocessed because they impact someone's numbers. Managers have openly encouraged pushing the work onto someone else rather than handling it.

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