Pros
Critical Mass is a great place to work when your first starting out in your career. They do a number of things to make employee's very happy and they really do go out of their way to improve employee satisfaction. The have breakfasts every Wednesday, Beer o clock on Fridays, and a special Lunch every couple months. They have lot's of parties and they have lot's of fun team building events. The Calgary office is beautiful and is a open concept. They even have a beer tap! If you like to drink,...you will LOVE <3 CM
Cons
Due to the nature of it's foundations and its still current stakeholders, the company values Creative minds and skill sets more then the technical side of things. While this is not uncommon at Digital Marketing companies, the gap at CM is very clear and present. In the business of Web Design, before there were account managers, and project managers, and accountants, there were Web Designers. That fact seems to get lost at CM. Bottom line: Their Tech team in Calgary is dying. They have a very high turnover and the loss of many key employee's in Calgary has hurt them and will continue to hurt them. They do a number of fun things with employee's but at the end of the day, it comes down to money. They don't pay people what they can make at other companies in Calgary. It's very hard for them to retain top talent as it seem to be a place that grooms top talent until they move on for more money. They don't give raises, bonuses or promotions as much as they need to. People feel stuck, like they can't move forward in the company. They haven't been super successful profit wise in the last couple years and their unwillingness to recognize the importance of the tech team is major part of the problem. It will continue to be in the years ahead until they finally realize that the people who make the wheels turn are the same people they need to keep happy, and keep at the company. If that means paying more, and giving more bonuses, to keep the tech people happy, then they might just have to bite the bullet and do that. Hopefully one day, they finally grasp it,..but by then, it might be too late.