Toxic culture, weak leadership, and complete disconnect from reality - Software Engineering Manager Diligent Employee Review

1.0
30 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

In its current state, I cannot highlight any positive aspects of the company.

Cons

The company has completely abandoned its former “employee-first” and well-being values. What remains is a pressure-driven, exploitative environment where employees are expected to absorb the consequences of poor leadership decisions. Within engineering, decisions are rarely based on logic, data, or realistic planning. Instead, internal politics, personal agendas, and lobbying dominate. Success depends far more on who you know and how well you can navigate the political landscape than on actual competence or contribution. The culture has deteriorated into a classic blaming environment. Collaboration is minimal, accountability is avoided, and individuals or teams are quick to shift responsibility elsewhere to protect themselves. This creates a toxic atmosphere where trust is low and morale continues to decline. There are serious organizational and leadership issues. Senior leadership appears disconnected, reactive, and often lacks the competence required to lead effectively. Rather than taking ownership, responsibility is consistently pushed downward, leaving teams to deal with the fallout. There is a clear sense of panic at the top. Strategic direction feels uncertain, priorities shift frequently, and decisions often appear driven by short-term pressure rather than long-term thinking. This instability directly impacts employees, who are expected to continuously adapt without clarity or support. The gap between the company’s public image and internal reality is massive. The values and culture promoted on platforms like LinkedIn are not reflected in day-to-day operations. What is marketed externally feels more like branding than truth. Overall, this is not an environment I would recommend to anyone looking for a stable, respectful, or sustainable workplace. Burnout is not the exception here—it is the natural outcome.

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2.0
11 Mar 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The product is market-leading, and the space is genuinely interesting. There's no shortage of smart, capable people at Diligent. A lot of talented managers exist within the org who could do more if given the room.

Cons

Direction changes constantly — sometimes it feels quarter over quarter. The result is widespread burnout and an inability to execute. Senior leaders rarely push back on the CEO, which means teams absorb every strategic shift without warning or context. HR leadership prioritizes serving the executive team over the broader employee population. The HR team is stretched thin and operates more like a compliance function than a culture or development partner. (Turnover within HR leadership has been notable.) Pay is below market. The equity program is opaque, poorly managed, and functions more as a retention mechanism than a genuine benefit (with no clear path to liquidity). There's a meaningful gap between what the company says it stands for—especially around employee experience—and what it actually delivers internally.

11
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Diligent Response
2mo
Thank you for taking the time to share such thoughtful feedback about your experience. We truly appreciate you recognizing the strengths of our product and the talent across our team, and we’re glad to hear the space feels interesting and compelling. We also recognize that as a company focused on governance, risk and compliance, that it’s critical to hold ourselves to the same high standards internally. Through our monthly pulse surveys, we listen to our team, learn and actively work to strengthen any areas of feedback from alignment to transparency, or accountability across our leadership teams. In fact, one of our OKRs is focused solely on ensuring we have an empowered and accountable team, which we rally around as an organization. We appreciate other sources of feedback like yours, as it is an important part of that effort. Our People team is committed to supporting an elevated employee experience and continuously improving how we listen, respond, and evolve. While we won’t always get everything right on the first try, we are highly focused on continuing to iterate and making meaningful progress to ensure our actions reflect our values. We encourage continued feedback and appreciate you sharing your perspective. If you’d like to provide any additional context, please feel free to reach out at: HRConfidential@diligent.com
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