1 Jan 2019
Anonymous employee
Social Tables Response
7yHi Tabler,
I read every Glassdoor review not only because the opinions of every employee -- current or former -- are very important to me but also because it’s an opportunity for me to improve as a leader. In fact, whenever I get an email from Glassdoor alerting me that there’s a new review up, I open it immediately regardless of where I am (and my heart skips a beat as the page loads).
The reason I get anxious is because I know the review will probably be difficult to read, like this one. While they often contain valid criticism, many contain stinging critiques, personal attacks, and outright misinformation. As your leader, I am accountable for everything that happens here and I deserve any and all criticism but that reality doesn’t make it any easier. I’m human too so it’s hard to take the emotion out sometimes.
As I read the reviews I try to empathize with the reviewer because I recognize that GlassDoor is often a last resort to many colleagues who are frustrated or who feel like they’ve been wronged. To address this “last resort” problem, we have implemented many different avenues for feedback including bi-weekly pulse surveys, anonymous suggestion box, regular 1x1s with managers and/or HR, open calendars, office hours with me, etc. Some of these tools have proven more useful than others. We need to continue to optimize our feedback channels to ensure we are ahead of top-of-mind issues for employees.
Please allow me to address each of the messages in this review.
“[W]e were supposed to get raises and promotions delivered by Nov 1 and they weren't”
Raises and promotions were indeed 3 weeks later than originally planned but they were completed for anyone that was up for them. This was due to the fact that raises/promotions had an HR dependency (figuring out titles in the new org) that had to be resolved first. I regret that it took so long and know there were hiccups along the way but we got this done by Thanksgiving and anyone who got a raise was retroactively paid. This revised timeline was communicated on October 16.
“[L]ayoffs weren't supposed to happen but they did.”
The two layoffs we anticipated were both were communicated when we announced the acquisition on October 16 and were strictly due to redundancy within a department. Two other people were offered positions within other parts of the organization but declined them. Anyone else who has left has done so on their own accord.
“Since we got bought like 10% of employees have left the company and from talking to people another 20% will be gone by end of February, myself included.”
In Q4 (this review was written Jan 1), only 7 people have resigned that we did not anticipate, which is 6% of the workforce. That being said we made serious strides in reducing attrition year-over-year. I am indeed concerned of more attrition in 2019 and am aware of folks that are leaving or thinking about leaving. We are working really hard on finding ways to help them change their mind.
If you are thinking about leaving, please speak up. It’s not healthy for anyone to be at a place they don’t want to be. We can work with you on making sure you either find the joy you’re after at work or we can ensure your transition is seamless and not negative to you, your team, or the company.
“Oh and our ‘growth’ products are being sunsetted as well so if you want to build something new and interesting, good luck.”
This is incorrect. No decision has been made about sunsetting any product. We have simply communicated that one product may be merged with another from the acquirer -- but that decision is not set in stone.
Additionally, our sales & catering product, which is a much bigger growth product in terms of TAM is being invested in handily. In fact, we are adding 16 net new tech heads in Technology. We are actually investing in R&D more than ever thanks to Cvent.