I am a past employee, who would love to see this company do better, especially in the way of HR Management. With any company, there are pros, and there are cons. I am urging management to listen to some of my constructive criticism, for the betterment of your employees, and the company as a whole.

The PROS:

- Beautiful, "green" office building with state of the art … everything.
- Paid work out breaks, paid personal trainer, and paid birthdays off (wow!)
- Bonuses
- Training opportunities
- Fresh organic fruit, coffee, espresso, tea, etc.
- Fun company events, celebrations, and trips
- For some, the job itself


The CONS:

- Micromanagement. No elaboration needed. One of the biggest issues I encountered.
- Fear. There is a strange overall feeling of fear in this office. Employees are afraid to speak up, and with good reason. Management has (perhaps inadvertently) instilled this fear. This is something they need to work on.
- Family members get special treatment to a ridiculous degree. While this is somewhat expected for a family run company, it makes for an unfair work environment.
- Chores. Office wide cleaning once a week, and daily chores for some staff (and you better do it right the first time). If they can hire a personal trainer for their staff, they should be able to hire a professional cleaning company. They have done so in the past, but it was never "good enough". Having their staff clean the toilets gets better results since staff don't want to be reprimanded for a poor job.
- Lunchroom conversation focuses on veganism, vegetarianism, dieting, and exercise. A very uncomfortable atmosphere. Also, pushing negative judgement onto people in the community (be it ex-employees, acquaintances, or business people who have done a training in our office).
- To further my comment about negative discussions about past employees. It's wrong. Period. You need to stop this.
- To further my comment about vegetarianism/veganism; if an employee chooses to eat meat, they are judged. Period. You can't microwave your meat in the same microwave, or throw out any left overs in the garbage. You have to take it directly outside to the bin or take it home with you. Office pot-lucks and company dinners at restaurants for Christmas, etc. are forcibly 100% vegan. This is not open-minded behaviour.
- Over using email communication instead of face to face interaction. Especially when a problem arises, an email is sent to reprimand the employee instead of a face to face discussion on how things can be improved. More often than not, emails are worded to make the employee feel stupid. For a small company of 15 people or so, this is a very corporate structure. Very impersonal.
- Lack of team playing. If an employee cannot meet a deadline, other employees are rarely able to lend a hand without the other employee being made to feel bad by management for not meeting the deadline.
- It's really hard to be yourself in this office. I don't think I am stepping far off by saying there is a lot of "fakeness" going on in this office.
- It's library quiet in here. Uncomfortably so. While the quietness of the office is somewhat necessary for the work they do, it is completely embarrassing and grade-school like to get "shh"ed when your voice goes beyond a whisper.
- Cameras. Video surveillance inside and outside of the building. I was told on my first day that the boss could "zoom in on your screen and see everything you're doing". Why!? This made the office even more uncomfortable for me. Big Brother is watching you.
- Expectations for 100% staff participation in company supported charity events, and social functions on weekends. Not all staff desire to be a part of such events. Being made to feel bad for not participating is unfair, and going back to how the "fear" is instilled.

While the amazing benefits make this company stand out, I would not recommend my friends to work here.

Posted on 17 October 2012 by Rater #28 | Flag as inappropriate

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