A Welcoming Environment with Compensation Problems - Software Test Engineer WillowTree Employee Review

3.0
12 Jan 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I cannot stress enough how kind the people are who work here. The employees are talented and respectful of each other. Psychological safety is frequently promoted so that everyone feels they have a say (whether their words are heard is another issue). Work life balance is another point of emphasis here. Teams understand that individuals have lives and that things come up so no one is shamed or made to feel bad when they need to step away from their desk on short notice. During the worst of Covid, not a single employee was laid off--though all employees had to take a pay cut so the company could get by. More of that in Cons.

Cons

WillowTree has weak compensation compared to the rest of the industry. There is no room to negotiate salary regardless of tenure or position (these conversations are always cut short with the same scripted message). Compensation is constantly brought up as an issue for employees with seemingly no action taken to address it. Up until the Telus acquisition, employees were offered stock with promotions (except for the few instances where people were told they could not receive more). When confronted about compensation, leadership will point to in office perks and culture, though the only office with significant perks is the Charlottesville office. If you work remotely then you'll be subjected to messaging about frequent parties and social events that you're not invited to. Once we got through the worst of the pandemic, employees were back paid the money they lost to paycuts. Being back paid is nice, but I really struggled when my partner lost their job and I was left supporting both of us. I had hoped to see some more compensation as an appreciation for the sacrifice we made, but oh well. Promotion requirements change every year which is annoying. They're well documented, but the fact that everything at this company is constantly in flux makes it difficult to know what's going on. There are no bonuses.

avatar
WillowTree Response
3y
Thank you for your review and kind comments about the culture. I hear you on compensation -- it's a never ending goal to increase comp and we have continued to do so by meaningful percentages year over year, as well as an options plan that paid out, and now a new appreciation rights plan. We will continue to push on this to ensure we are absolutely competitive in the market... - TD

Explore other reviews about WillowTree

5.0
29 May 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great opportunity, take hirevue seriously

Cons

No cons, love this internship

3.0
29 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of really nice, and smart people who are very collaborative and excited to share their knowledge. This is not a prestigious place to work, so I was a bit surprised by just how smart and competent people are at WillowTree or TELUS Digital, whatever our name is. The offices are great and the office culture is ridiculously good. Huge shoutout to the employees (it's def not upper management) who go out of their way to make the office culture great. Depending on what project you're on, it can be a pretty chill place to work. If you're early in your career and need experience, the variety of projects makes this a genuinely good opportunity.

Cons

The biggest con is the compensation. It's so terrible, and far below the industry standard that I don't really see how anyone could stay here long term. They don't give raises, no one is getting promotions. There's also quite a lot of restructuring going on, and very poor communication about it. Which is par for the course in the tech industry at this point, but worth noting. It feels relatively stable for now, but I really have trouble seeing how their tech services division is going to survive as AI decreases the cost to build software. Plus, tech services as part of TELUS Digital doesn't really make any sense long term. It's a contact center business with a bunch of people that randomly make expensive mobile apps? It seems to be making enough money for now to keep going, but I feel like that could change any moment.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All