LinkedIn:
- From a talent and recruiting perspective, the company is overly focused on individuals with brand names on their resume... Many talented professionals are ignored because they didn't attend a certain university or work at an industry leading firm prior. Additionally, there appears to be a very large emphasis on hiring young and avoiding older applicants
- Young, aggressive and somewhat political. You'll never escape corporate politics, however due to the target recruiting demo, political posturing and in-authenticity is fairly prevalent as young professionals are looking to make big moves early in their career. Major power brokers are usually people who are able to navigate the political landscape seamlessly which typically requires a person who is unafraid to self promote while stepping on peers in the process. In addition, self recognition is encouraged and creates a weird, tacky non stop elevator pitch that you see bleed over onto the platform
- Over diversified product. Way too many irons in the fire which dilutes the effectiveness of the product which provides a platform experience that is 'meah' when it should be revolutionary. The focus seems to be oriented towards a jack of all trades master of none approach
- Pay is slightly below mean for the industry
Sales Productivity Operations:
- Poor leadership. Whoever established the Sales Productivity Operations (SPO) org (still very new org) appointed leaders with pedigree and really impressive resumes. Unfortunately EQ and leadership abilities were completely overlooked. Point of fact, one key leader has had countless HR complaints and has weekly coaching sessions on how to better connect with people... At this level, these skills should be table stakes, not something you have to coach and coax. Interactions with some of the key leaders range from 1 on 1s with eye rolls, frequent interruptions, excessive phone usage while others are talking, laughter at suggestions, belittling in front of peers and micromanagement to the Nth degree. Put simply, the key leaders inside of SPO are a complete nightmare to work for. When you tell people who you work for outside of the org, the reaction is typically the same - empathy and offers to help facilitate inner company transfer.
- Toxic environment. As a result of the leadership, Product Managers are not encouraged to think or act independently. Strategy and execution are both dictated to you. Retention reflects the environment as the org has trouble keeping butts in seats longer than 6 months. As an example we had a top tier Senior Manager who decided to leave after 6 months, mainly because they were miserable working for SPO leadership.
- Over reliance on the consulting skill set. Since SPO leaders have top 3 consulting firm experience, there is an over reliance on getting people in from similar a background. As a result, it creates an echo chamber and a superficial problem solving modality - throw it on a slide, use some of that sexy consulting jargon and move on. Thought and strategy that approach the root of an issue or objective are not encouraged. This in effect, impacts the output of a diverse workplace as it does the opposite of what is intended - creates group think.