Great people, interesting work, a small company that cares
Pros
Culture: Professional, congenial, friendly, and informal, with a high value for mutual support and encouragement. Company leaders truly care about the employees. They go the extra mile to connect, soliciting feedback on a weekly basis on topics such as how empowered and valued they feel, the effectiveness of the onboarding process, whether the company is moving in the right direction, how well leadership is communicating, and more. Diversity: Workforce is diverse and accepting, and there is zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, intimidation, bias (intended or inadvertent), or harassment. Happily, I’ve never seen or heard of even one such incident in the years I’ve worked here. Management Style: Transparent and open. Managers are chosen to be good leaders and listeners, as well as mentors to new and less experienced employees. New employees are onboarded through a process of mentoring and job-shadowing, gradually taking on increasing responsibility for projects. There are frequent meetings with their manager to make sure they come up to speed as smoothly and quickly as possible. All employees meet with their managers at least once a week to address any issues or questions that may arise during their work. Recognition: There are a number of ways 3Sharp shows appreciation for a job well done. Anyone can send “cheers” to anyone else at any time via the Reflektive app for specific contributions, willingness to extend extra effort to meet a deadline, or to help others. These are celebrated with employees at the monthly company meeting. There are frequent informal on-site and off-site meetings, happy hours, and other events designed to build a sense of teamwork and to show appreciation for hard work and outstanding performance. Team Focus: While individual performance is tracked and recognized, team performance is the main focus at 3Sharp. The company publicizes and celebrates when a team meets a tough deadline or receives recognition for a job well done from our clients. To increase the sense of “we win together”, the company recently switched from a bonus program to profit-sharing, with open and transparent communication of how the program works and how it is tracking vs. goal at company meetings. Every employee can engage with a spreadsheet that will predict the level of profit sharing he or she might receive at different levels of 3Sharp's financial performance. Profits are shared every quarter (instead of once a year) so that employees can realize more immediate rewards for successful work.
Cons
High Expectations: This may not really be a negative, but just a heads up. We hire excellent people and with that excellence comes high expectations. Once onboarded and fully engaged in projects, 3Sharp expects employees to work hard and consistently contribute to the team. While there is a lot of support and help available, people who are self-motivated, curious, and willing to constantly learn new technologies will really thrive at 3Sharp. They will be recognized and rewarded accordingly. Inconsistent Workload: Our clients have major events, product introductions, end of fiscal year or quarter, and the like which can mean a varying workload throughout the year. When this happens, it can get a bit chaotic. Company leaders staff up and plan work with this kind of variability in mind. However, there are times when the workload is more challenging and heavier than may be comfortable for those accustomed to a consistent 40-hour workweek. While working overtime and on weekends is not encouraged (actually, it’s discouraged), it is sometimes necessary. On the positive side, the company is pretty liberal with off time for those who have “burned hot” for a while and need a short break.
