Castlight FAQ

Free lunch and health insurance

Castlight health announced that it is laying off more than 100 employees and contractors in their Charlotte NC location. This is because they can save money in rent by moving the office across country to Salt Lake City. The Charlotte site is the user support for those that use the app and is filled with the hardest working, kindest people that have always been under appreciated by those in San Francisco. If you are considering working for this company, be careful. If an entire site of more than 100 people can be laid off, think about how easily you will be replaced. It also needs to be said that while they will get a tax break by moving to Salt Lake City, the employees in Charlotte will be eligible for unemployment, costing tax payers money. What a shame.

Remember that people have bills, mortgages, families, and other obligations before destroying their livelihood all to save money on rent and to get a tax break. What a disgrace

-Great people -Solid Pay -Good benefits -Pays for cell phone and internet -Unlimited PTO

-Some disconnect for remote employees, they are left out of lots of activities

Above average pay for the role. Great maternity leave

Culture, environment, product, teams and management. To say this was the most dysfunctional working experience in my career is an insult to dysfunctional work environments. Complete apathy to help one another succeed. There is no real rhyme or reason behind the management and assignment of accounts. Turnover was extremely high in my time at Castlight with staff in key support, operational and client facing roles constantly leaving. The blame game is very much a part of the culture. It is not uncommon for emails to colleagues to go weeks without responses and I have known client/user issues that have stayed open for months and some times years. It seemed like no one above the customer facing team really cared. I was with Castlight for 18 months and experienced three rounds of major layoffs. When issues arise CEO and SLT go into panic mode and begin firing talented, necessary staff. The basis of their core offering is a passing fad in healthcare, so they have been scrambling for an identity that is ever changing. One of the best days of my life was my last day at Castlight. Funny anecdote: On my first day I flew to the San Francisco for my orientation. At 8:30am the office was dark and when people began rolling in at 9:00am they had forgotten I was going to be there for orientation/training.

I would gut the entire SLT and try to start over.

I've had jobs where I dreaded coming to work every day, and it is a huge relief not have that experience at Castlight. I actually enjoy coming in to work every day because I work with great people that I like, and the workload is challenging, but rewarding and not overbearing. For some positions, this may not be the case, but work/life balance has been great on the customer experience/design side. The office is big, comfortable, and well-lit. There's no depressing fluorescent office lighting going on. The kitchen is constantly stocked with coffee, beverages, and a wide assortment of healthy snacks. I'm personally glad there isn't a bunch of junk to over-indulge on. There is plenty of couch and comfy chair seating and games to play in your free time like ping pong and foosball. People generally seem to be happy and dedicated to the company mission and product. I use the Castlight app on a day-to-day basis and can say that it is a very useful, innovative tool that I'm proud to work on. I don't think there is anything else remotely like Castlight in the health tech market.

Recent layoffs put a damper on company morale for sure. This restructuring may be for the best in the long-term but it took its toll across the company short-term. It seems like senior leadership has not held themselves as accountable for recent missteps as they should have, as I've only seen promotions among senior leaders while droves of employees have had their jobs eliminated. That being said, the long-term mission of the company seems to be on track and the next generation of the Castlight product has been built and released with favorable results.

Use learnings from recent activities to catapult the company forward.

Castlight had an incredible mission at one point and would do anything to rally around getting things done.

Unfortunately this mission is clouded by internal strife, lack of accountability and ownership. There are no clear roles and responsibilities and no department feels empowered to make decisions therefore nothing gets done quickly.

Trust the people that are hired to do their jobs. Communicate effectively and often. Make decisions based on the health of the business and clients, not personal emotion.