I worked at Vendasta for a few years in the Marketing Services department (formerly Digital Agency). While I can’t speak to the quality of life within other departments at Vendasta, there are a few things I can speak to about what it was like to work in this one. I used to really believe in Vendasta as a company, but over the last couple of years they have lost my faith in them entirely.
(Also worth noting, Marketing Services is generally NOT really marketing work, it is more like customer service [lots of repetitive tasks, phone calls, etc.], so if you’re applying to get into a career in marketing, this department likely isn’t a good fit.)
So here are a few things you should know if you’re considering applying, or even if you currently work at Vendasta and are unaware:
(1) On your first Friday you will have to sing in front of the entire company. They claim this is because “everyone has done it” and it’s for “personal development” purposes, but it has been publicly referred to as hazing, and that’s what it feels like. If you’re introverted, have anxiety, struggle with public speaking, or anything else, they don’t care.
(2) During my time at Vendasta they restructured the Digital Agency department into the Marketing Services department. Instead of listening to our concerns about the shift, they went forward with it, disbanded the team I was on, put all of us into roles we weren’t suited for, and caused an immense amount of stress for almost everyone. Many people ended up scrambling and overworked and many of the people who had been on my team quit after this change. Then, during a Friday presentation, the CRO had the gall to say it was “fun”.
(3) There is no consistent pay structure. Especially within Marketing Services, you will likely have a hard time getting a livable wage. When I went to HR with evidence of how my responsibilities had increased and changed, I was told they don’t want people to “chase the money.” In another meeting, I was told I shouldn’t be equating wage with the value of an employee, because “sometimes companies can only afford to pay so much, and that’s what the wage is.” Also, there’s no consistency within departments for pay. Some employees make far less than others in the same role with the same experience, or in some cases make more than their direct supervisors, which shouldn’t be the case. Talk about your pay. It’s the only way to know if you’re being ripped off.
(4) There are very few career growth opportunities within the company. If you DO move into a new position within Vendasta, you’ll have to go through another 3 month probation period during which you will still be at your former pay and may get let go if you don’t meet their expectations. After your 3 months in the new position are up, your salary may be up for review, but it’s unlikely you’ll see a significant salary increase.
(5) Their “culture” is one of their main selling points, but it’s a culture of toxicity and hypocrisy. They talk regularly about “radical candor” being one of their most important values within the company, but if you bring up problems they don’t want to hear, they’ll argue, try to rationalize, and eventually label you as “resistant to change” or “negative” or any other such label that moves the blame from them onto you. Also, if you’re a woman, be prepared to hear sexist remarks from the executive suite, like “I sit at the back of the yoga room so I can see all the women in their yoga pants.” - the CRO.
(6) They value hiring new employees over properly paying and maintaining their current workforce, which is terrible for morale.
(7) Vendasta operates under a “do more with less” mentality, and that often results in overworked employees working with limited resources and training. They value quantity over quality, and instead of hiring and paying people for roles that require specific skills, they’ll add the workload onto someone’s plate and get them to teach themselves how to do the work. This results in a poor product and has resulted in partner turnover. This leads to my next point -
(8) Vendasta has unrealistic expectations of their employees (like providing graphic design services at 6 minutes per image). They also make unrealistic promises to partners, like promising they could provide services in French before seeing if any of their employees spoke the language or were interested in providing that service.
(9) High turnover (around a third of employees in the last year). They can’t keep employees, whether it’s because they quit or because they “transition them back into the community” - CEO.
(10) There is little respect for employee needs, skills, or morals. It’s tough being an introvert in a company that values extroversion and acts like a frat house. If you don’t go to company events, you’re “not trying to be a part of the company”. The expectation is if you want to move up within Vendasta, you have to make Vendasta your life. During my time there we took on some questionable clients (like ICE) and I had to cater to racist partners and business owners.
(11) Management doesn’t listen. If they did, most of the issues listed above wouldn’t be issues. During a meeting about team morale, we presented our cases about why we were unhappy, and instead of listening and being respectful, the manager we met with spent the majority of the meeting arguing with us and trying to tell us how great the company is.
Appearance is the most important thing to Vendasta. They care more about what they look like than how they are treating their own employees. And before HR can reply to this review, I should note that these are all issues that I brought up with management and HR, and eventually was simply told that they “can’t” do anything about them.
