Flexibility Can't Mask a Culture of Favoritism and Broken Promises - Anonymous Ontra Employee Review

Has the best customers in PE. Great place to work; plenty of opportunities for someone who is willing to work hard and be flexible.

No unique “cons” here — like any company, there are ups and downs, but we try to be as employee friendly as possible.

I worked with some incredibly talented people and learned a lot during my time here. The employees were the company’s greatest asset. Unfortunately, most of those people are gone. The experience provided valuable lessons that will stay with me throughout my career. I learned a tremendous amount about company culture, leadership, employee retention, and the long term consequences of organizational decisions. It was an education in both what to do and what not to do as a leader.

Leadership systematically pushed out many of the employees who helped build the company. In doing so, they lost institutional knowledge, damaged morale, and weakened much of what made the organization successful in the first place. Over the years, it became increasingly common to watch key employees leave, whether through layoffs, performance management processes, or circumstances that made it clear they were no longer wanted. Many of the people who built the company, developed client relationships, and contributed to its success are no longer there. One of the most frustrating aspects of the culture was the constant shifting of priorities and lack of follow through on career development commitments. Employees would spend months working toward promotions, internal transfers, or new opportunities, only to be told that business priorities had changed after they had already invested significant time and effort. In some cases, employees were encouraged to prepare for new roles, shadow teams, and begin transitioning responsibilities, only for leadership to reverse course and then criticize their performance in their existing role. It created a no win situation where employees were penalized for following the direction they had been given. Over time, many employees stopped trusting what they were told and viewed career development conversations with skepticism. The environment became increasingly political, with many employees focused on protecting themselves rather than collaborating toward shared goals. Trust eroded over time as decisions often felt inconsistent and disconnected from what employees were being told. HR should be a function that builds trust, resolves conflict, and helps create a healthy workplace culture. Unfortunately, many employees experienced the opposite. Rather than serving as a neutral resource, HR often appeared to play favorites, contribute to workplace politics, and amplify tensions rather than resolve them. Employees frequently felt that raising concerns carried risk, while others seemed to receive different treatment based on relationships and perception rather than consistent standards. The company often appeared more focused on replacing people than retaining them. Instead of questioning why strong employees were leaving, leadership seemed willing to accept a revolving door of people and the loss of valuable institutional knowledge that came with it. For employees who believed in the company’s long term vision and invested years of their careers there, it has been disappointing to watch leadership decisions erode the culture, trust, and value that once made the company special.