Exploitation of workers - Honduras makes up a significant portion of PH's workforce, and most business decisions are not focused on what's best for them, but rather what will allow the company to extract the most value. My associates were put in danger being forced back to office regardless of extremely unsafe urban conditions simply so the company could write off their call centers. I had associates and leads that were mugged on their way to work, and my clients also suffered a drop in service after this forced change, as the internet was constantly going out at these hubs. PH will claim "care for others" as one of their major values, and absolutely does NOT walk the talk in terms of larger business decisions being made. More on this later.
Pitiful cost of living adjustments - In years of record inflation, employees were rewarded a 3% COLA, and as of this year, will not be receiving ANY cost of living adjustment. I also witnessed associates that were eligible for raises denied on technicalities, including *lateral* movement within the company necessitated by partner contracts ending. Very dishonest and frustrating. I witnessed this several times during my tenure and tried to help fight for it every time to no avail.
Treats associates as disposable - I was never given the tools to help my associates find new opportunities when companies would pivot away from US support to cheaper labor in countries like Honduras and the Philippines. Associates are always *told* that there's no reason to panic and the company will do everything in their power to secure transfers, but managers are not given the tools or training to deliver on this promise, and often associates are left waiting until the last possible minute to have transfers secured, of course leading to a serious drop in their productivity and more importantly, a nearly unbearable toll on their mental health and well-being leading up to their program end date. On the way out the door? No matter how long you've been there or what they've told you, you can expect little to no assistance if you're not at least at the director level. End dates will be finagled so that your healthcare isn't covered a second longer than it has to be, and upper management will make promises of transition assistance and severance packages that absolutely are not delivered on.
Values simply a tool to shame associates into compliance - for all the issues above, we were as management encouraged to place the "company values" at the forefront of all "difficult conversations" Here are some framings I was advised to share with my associates. "Caring for Others" means grinning and bearing the mental weight of not knowing your future in these transfer situations and doing what's best for the client and continuing to keep your nose to the grindstone in the face of an uncertain future. "Embracing Growth" means shutting up about not getting a raise this year because we should be open and receptive to feedback on what we can do better, even when we've done more than expected of us all year. Their solution to the problem of an increasing proportion of employees being dissatisfied with their wages was to increase the frequency of performance reviews so you could justify this lack of wage consideration by telling them more often where and how they fall short (again, even when they don't). Ditto issue on "Being Humble".
Virtue signaling without walking the talk - halfway through my tenure with PH, a new head of HR was hired. I will *never* argue that she wasn't qualified, but the fact she was a black, lesbian Christian was often used as a shield in situations where unpopular decisions were made by HR rather than taking actual accountability. When the wage issue began to impact associates lived realities in a major way with inflation continuing to climb, her solution was to offer financial literacy classes to associates, which was not received well by most people below the team manager level and came off as very victim-blamey - "we pay you enough, you're just bad with money" was the message taken away by our most impacted and vulnerable associates.
Unbelivably poor support for new managers - every time I climbed a rung on the ladder at PH, I knew it was going to be months of struggle getting aclimated because at the time no training resources existed. PH advertises itself as a great place to build a career, and while you will gain experience, it will come at the price of your mental health and work-life balance. What's worse, when upper management is consulted for help, they are often extremely condescending and don't actually listen to the issue at hand. They hear what they want to hear and advise accordingly, resulting in major failures for managers that are at the start of their careers.
One is forced to assume the company is in serious financial trouble owing to the conversations C-Suite was having with senior management. They talk very carefully around it, but they're losing partners, having to cut major benefits, cut corners on wages and equipment, and desperately scramble to keep their tax-free assets in line. It doesn't bode well. Job security for US associates is a joke due to the cost to the partner to retain these employees as well.