Pros
- Great financial services experience - PM's are also client services / account managers, so it's a good opportunity to get client management and relationship management experience - On-site technical staff are mostly helpful and collaborative - Excellent location in the Flatiron district of Manhattan - Nice renovated offices with an open plan and enough conference room space. - Dedicated QA team - Highly experienced PM, technical, and UX leadership - Perks such as drinks and snacks
Kontras
- Process is broken. It often is an obstacle rather than helpful. Too much time is spent on managing inadequate software, and not enough time solving major problems. - Communication is problematic. Leadership micro-manages. There is a culture of secrecy and punishment so employees are scared to communicate problems when they arise as a result. Some key employees don't even read e-mail due to the high volume created by the communication system in place. - PM's are used as scapegoats, but are relatively powerless to enact change. - Sweatshop environment caused by poor staff planning, broken process, and lack of a problem-solving management approach - all of these issues converge and result in many staff needing to work longer hours than necessary to deliver projects by the client's deadline - Lack of willingness to make decisions based on profitability - Too heavily reliant on one client - High turnover