Thoughtworks reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(4,680 total reviews)
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Mike Sutcliff

76% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Thoughtworks has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 4,680 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Thoughtworks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Informationstechnologie industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

5K reviews
2.0
Oct 26, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I always had confidence in our ability to deliver and quickly develop our client's trust. It's a real credit to the recruitment process, a conscious effort not to use 'key selection criteria' or put people into competency boxes. My colleagues and I never stopped learning or growing. There's a training allowance, a book allowance and plenty of opportunity to learn from others. The tech radar and other internal projects end up being educational as well. ThoughtWorks makes a concerted effort to create a sense of belonging amongst consultants, regular events, funded lunches, nice offices, training and many after-hours events provide an opportunity to get involved. Some will say cult-like but I didn't see it that way. There's a lot, but it felt optional and inclusive. An organisation that puts rubber to the road on social and economic justice issues. There are continuous stories of the positive impact that ThoughtWorkers are having in places less fortunate. Some great stories to tell from across the world. Marketing does a creative and professional job of putting it all together, the paid gigs and the social impact programs.

Cons

Having clients accuse the group of being arrogant. "ThoughtWorks asks us to be customer-centric but refuses to empathise with our own situation" was something I heard often. In fairness, they hire highly talented people, but some come with an extra dose of hubris that few appreciate. Despite an abundance of meetings to discuss and ideate the future of ThoughtWorks, the leadership group failed at articulating a common purpose or prioritised goals. The result was conflicting messages and little understanding of what was expected, let alone measures of success or the opportunity to change direction. There is very little bureaucracy which is good, but the vacuum has been filled with office politics. Take care, it wasn't always clear who was really in charge and whose interests their agenda served. Voice of the customer was completely absent. The business tolerates poor, often unprofessional, behaviour between employees and clients alike. It's not rife, but can be unpleasant to endure and disappointing to witness. After twenty years operating what seems to be the same model, I don't believe ThoughtWorks knows what it, or its customers want. Even worse, it may not care.

2.0
Sep 17, 2014

A rather slow moving elephant

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Very smart people. Even the most junior developer really knows their stuff - Great physical workspaces - Constantly improving internal infrastructure and operations. - A rather open culture where you truly can walk upto anyone and speak (though that's where it ends) - The only company that I know of that values and works so much for social justice. In fact, it's hard to believe that this is a for-profit organisation - If you stay at ThoughtWorks for a year, you'll definitely learn quite a lot about work and society even if nothing else changes.

Cons

- 20 years of existence has made the company a fossilised operation. Very rigid to change. Things move very slowly here. For example, it's really tough to take new offerings or products to the market here. - You can blame everything on the "flat hierarchy" or the lack of process. Often times though, it's a lack of true leadership and commitment. - Leadership structures are often diluted and indecisive. There are multiple people playing a single role and that doesn't make things go fast. - There's a Chicago "headquarter approach" to running the company. Only people of a certain nationality and colour seem to dictate "culture" of the company. It's rarely the other way around, though the company employs more than half its people in the developing world. - Growth is limited only to people with a certain personality or ethnic/ racial background. Otherwise you'll likely stagnate. - Work life balance can often be a sacrifice if you wish to grow.

2.0
Feb 1, 2013

Don't believe the hype

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Smart people, true Agile experience, challenging and interesting projects, diversity

Cons

100% travel, no project management standards, gossip drives decisions, anonymous feedback, popularity contest

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