Practice By Numbers "Senior Management" Reviews

Likes

Near metro station

Dislikes

Joining a US-based startup in India seemed like a no-brainer - dollar salaries, HQ in America, founding engineer - you name it, it all sounded so cool. But let me tell you, it turned out to be more like a glorified call center with average tech. The pay wasn't amazing, and the whole year was super stressful. They were like "Doors are open, you can leave whenever you want" or "We have a zero-day notice period policy" but guess what? Leaving the company was a complete nightmare, there was no process, no HR to streamline things, absolutely nothing! Getting the paperwork I needed to move on was a hassle and the long notice period with a notice-pay felt like getting kicked on the way out. Plus, I heard whispers of some ex-employees getting bad references, just what kind of barbarians are they? Job security? Forget about it. People were getting fired left and right, which made everyone super paranoid. There have been so many instances of people getting demoted to intern for asking questions the CEO didn't like, and then fired! or getting kicked out for wanting to work from home, even though that was part of the deal when they hired him, or getting fired for updating your LinkedIn profile, or getting fired for speaking your mind out, etc<mark style="background-color: #fff5e4;">. The leadership was, well, let's just say they weren't trust-builders</mark>. Expectations were all over the place. The CEO took all the vacations he wanted but flipped out if someone needed a short leave. Getting info from the CTO was like pulling teeth, and the CEO himself wasn't exactly Mr. Sunshine. He'd yell to keep everyone in line, and he even listened in on conversations! (obviously via mics installed in the workplace). Apparently, salary raises weren't a thing he liked to discuss - lots of yelling every time. The official workday ended at 6, but guess what? 10-hour days were the norm, weekends sometimes too, and forget about getting paid back for that extra time. Broken promises were the company motto. They weren't making money from India Dev Center, so the CEO decided salaries were charity and told us to forget about the performance appraisals we were promised during hiring. Even the basic stuff was lacking. The office was packed - like, 30 people in a space meant for 10! with no cafeteria to even eat comfortably. The coffee situation was questionable (powdered milk, anyone?), and the office staff wasn't exactly helpful. Getting hot water felt like a daily quest. And guess what? No dedicated toilets in the office, so we had to resort to nasty public restrooms. Not exactly a recipe for employee well-being. And, don't get me started on the Engineering Head, that guy is useless, he doesn't even know what's CSS (like really?) and he's the leader (the CEO has appointed) we should be looking to if we end up in a problematic situation like merging wrong branches. Does he even know what git is? After all this, they still forced us to write positive reviews on Glassdoor. The tech side of things was a mess too. The code was buggy as heck, and pointing fingers was the go-to move. Nobody shared knowledge, and taking risks was a big no-no. People were more worried about saving their skin than actually innovating. Asking the higher-ups for help just got you ridiculed. Code reviews were a joke, and if something went wrong in production, guess who got blamed? The Devs or QA, of course, sometimes even fired. This past year has been just miserable. PS: They recently started responding to reviews here. While it's good to see them engaging, don't get influenced by this, they're just trying to boost their rating. This is a facade, why? Just go and check the ratio of "likes" on these reviews. Negative reviews are getting significantly more traction than positive ones. You do the math, they have a really bad habit of putting forced positive reviews....Read More

Work Details

Work timings: Strict Timings

Likes

Nothing as such, just it is nearby a metro station is the only benefit

Dislikes

Worst company culture and there is no job security. People management is real bad.

Work Details

Work days: Monday to Friday (Strict Timings)

Work related travel: This job involves Travel Within City.

Likes

The office's proximity to the metro station made commuting convenient.

Dislikes

1. Indian startup: Do not be misled by the US-based appearance, the currency in dollars, bootstrap, or founding engineer; this company is similar to any other Indian call center and offers modest compensation. 2. Exit process: The company's exit process lacks structure, often characterized by impulsive decision-making and a notable absence of HR support. Employees encounter difficulties obtaining relieving or experience letters, exacerbating the challenges of transitioning to new roles. Moreover, the company's stringent notice period policy, spanning 2-3 months, coupled with demands for payment in lieu of notice, adds to the complexity of departing. There also have been instances where the company has provided unfavorable feedback to future employers, tarnishing departing employee's reputations. 3. Job security concerns: The company's hire-fire culture introduces uncertainty regarding job security, causing anxiety among employees. This highlights a problematic hiring process where individuals are terminated post-hiring for reasons unrelated to their skills or performance. Examples include an employee being demoted to intern and subsequently fired for asking questions deemed inappropriate by the CEO, and another case features an individual terminated for requesting work from home, a negotiation agreed upon during the hiring process. These instances contribute to the overall unease among the workforce. Surely, many lives will be at stake after this review. 4. Leadership and culture: The work environment is spoiled by unconventional expectations and a notable lack of trust from leadership, creating a double standard within the company. Notably, the CEO took extended vacations himself, yet reprimanded employees for taking short leaves, asserting that leaves should only be taken in emergencies. Communication from the CTO is indirect, always channeled through the CEO, and limited to urgent times. The CEO's perceived rudeness and mistrust further deteriorate the work atmosphere, impacting morale and collaboration. His practice of listening to video and voice recordings, especially the use of unprofessional language with some employees, conveys a demanding attitude. This includes instances of yelling to maintain control, possibly as a strategy to discourage salary hike discussions. Despite official working hours being 9-6, employees are expected to work a minimum of 10 hours on weekdays and sometimes on weekends as well with no comp-off. Moreover, the CEO frequently emphasizes that the Indian center is not yielding profits, leading to a refusal of promised half-yearly appraisals, directly contradicting what was communicated during the hiring process. He thinks salary payments are an act of charity rather than fair compensation for our services<mark style="background-color: #fff5e4;">. His attempts to manipulate ratings by encouraging management to write favorable reviews add another layer of concern</mark>. 5. Workplace conditions: Basic amenities are lacking, showcasing a focus on cost-cutting at the expense of employee comfort. The workspace is overcrowded, attempting to accommodate 50 people in a space meant for 20, creating cramped conditions. Additionally, the quality of coffee and tea provided is questionable, being made with milk powder rather than fresh ingredients. The office boys's unhelpful attitude further exacerbates the situation. as simple tasks, like obtaining hot water, become unnecessarily challenging due to reluctance and questing. The absence of dedicated toilets within the workplace forces reliance on unsanitized public facilities, posing a considerable challenge to employees' well-being and comfort. 6. Code quality and collaboration: The codebase exhibits subpar and unoptimized practices, riddled with bugs that compromise the software's functionality and user experience. Rather than focusing on constructive solutions, there is a tendency to blame others, impeding team morale and collaboration. Knowledge transfer is virtually nonexistent, with the prevailing mindset being, "You're an engineer, figure it out yourself." The fear of taking risks and implementing improvements hinders progress, as individuals here prioritize self-preservation over innovation. Additionally, obtaining information from leadership is accompanied by taunts, creating an unwelcoming atmosphere for communication. Despite the use of numerous technologies, none seem to function optimally. The workplace lacks a favorable environment for knowledge acquisition. Code reviews are not taken seriously, and in the event of production issues, developers are often targeted for blame, potentially leading to termination....Read More

Work Details

Work days: Monday to Friday (Strict Timings)

Work related travel: This job involves Travel Within City.