Pros
There have been notable improvements in the last couple of years among the support groups such as IT, Admin and Facilities. They seem to communicate much better amongst themselves as well as with the office as a whole. There is a lagoon and walking path nearby the Burlingame office. Very smart people. For a company with a limited budget they try to put on fun events and provide some lunches and snacks.
Cons
Beware that not everyone gets a performance review. Therefore a lack of merit increase or promotion goes unexplained and opportunities for professional development or kudos for jobs well done are completely unrecognized. The ties between privilege and being an extended part of the Managing Director’s family is evident. There is a very uneven “good ‘ole boys club” that in this case doesn’t mean just the men but if you are somewhere around 1 to 3 degrees removed from the family you will be shown definite favor. If you’re not in that group you are at a clear disadvantage. The HR team is very much a clique and can often end up treating those not in that family club as “less than.” It’s very high school-like. It’s difficult to impossible to report the issue when they make up a large part of the problem. Providing salary bands for employees would help to set some standards. However, if you don’t receive a performance review the point is moot. The company is young in general. While there are a few “old heads” in their mid-30’s or older, the majority of staff are in the early to mid-20’s which leads to a social immaturity as well as lack of other professional and managerial experience. Though it’s an attempt, the 1 annual manager training isn’t going to do the trick. There is a high turn-over rate so those who stick around for a couple of years “qualify” as managers. Sometimes there is a depressing lack of challenging work in that your day to day activities become rote.
