Spend Spend Spend - but not where it counts - Anonymous employee Diligent Employee Review

1.0
25 Feb 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Used to be a fun place to work. Used to be.

Cons

Shaft incoming in 3...2...1 Diligent used to be an excellent place to work. Everyone around you was as committed as you were, driven and motivated. Management was supportive, initiatives were welcomed, there was a real sense of 'team spirit' - you felt like we were all on the same team, all pulling in the same direction, all trying to get to the same place. About 6 months ago everything changed overnight. From saying "we're all in this pandemic thing together" the CEO turned around and gutted the company. Product and Support got shipped overseas (where it's cheaper - someone should tell him about "fast, cheap, good - pick 2"), product managers who weren't cut loose left of their own accord, tech development got screwed to the extent that the Chinese wall which in well-run software companies exists between Dev and QA (if you need to have the logic for this explained the you're probably Diligent management) was done away with and QA now reports to Development. Go figure. Not that it really matters anymore. Having slashed and burned his own workforce, Diligent's CEO has convinced his backers to give him enough money to make not 1 but 2 acquisitions, dropping $1.3bn+ on the transactions. I wonder if the people who work for the acquired companies (Steele and Galvanize, I'm talking to you) know that Mr. Stafford excels at one thing only, and that's talking out of both sides of his mouth at once. Per Forbes, "We believe that the 2020s-plus will all be around the ethical business and stakeholder capital". Shame that this only extends as far as his front door. Treating his employees ethically, treating them as stakeholder capital, is an alien concept. If I worked for either of these companies I'd be polishing my resume and making a dash for the door. That's certainly what I'm doing.

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Diligent Response
5y
We appreciate the honest feedback as difficult as it may be to read. As you know we have grown rapidly over the last 4 years and in Q3 of 2020 we decided to pause, reset and make structural changes to position Diligent for our next wave of long-term growth. We recognize this has been challenging for some of our colleagues, and we have strived to be generous and considerate in supporting those impacted. This wasn’t a decision we took lightly, as making such significant changes isn’t something we do regularly, and certainly not in the last 4 to 5 years. We did, however, believe the best path to sustainable growth is to better align our solutions around our clients and connect teams in certain locations to make it easier for our teams to collaborate. And with a focus on the long-term, we also doubled down on increasing the breadth of our solutions through mergers and acquisitions. In any tough decisions we make, we remain long-term focused on what’s best for our clients and employees. Our talented teams are growing with over 150 current open positions. We are dedicated to driving impact for our clients and on shaping the GRC category. We sincerely regret that you believe we missed the bar we work to achieve for our employees’ experiences or that you don’t feel that we are authentic in taking a long-term perspective and our aspiration of building the leader in GRC. You’re invited at any time, if you’re willing, to anonymously share any more specific feedback with us at hrconfidential@diligent.com so we can continue to learn and improve. Thank you again for sharing your comments. - Avigail Dadone, Chief People Officer

Explore other reviews about Diligent

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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