Pros
Colleagues are highly skilled, friendly, empathetic, and easy to communicate and work with. Skyward’s staff is the best part and the organization should work harder to retain employees and keep employees satisfied.
Cons
Onboarding - Project onboarding was nonexistent and unorganized. Onboarding consistent of typical HR tasks then jumping straight into a project stand up without much explanation. There was high pressure from management to push code quickly, and as soon as possible (my first push to production was day 3) — which is a reoccurring theme throughout and across projects and management. Management & Leadership - Skyward’s leadership and management are equivalent to an early-stage startup with low-maturity product teams, with all the “growing pains” associated with it. There is a significant disconnect between leadership vision and management decision-making, resulting in no unified company direction. Problems are approached with a “wait and assess” mindset, allowing problems to fester until they impact the bottom line and have to be confronted. A few projects have no project/product manager, resulting in aimless/meandering product development cycles without clear goals and timelines. Culture - There can sometimes be a “That is above my pay grade” and “It’s not my problem” mindset. Resulting in a lack of urgency. Transparency - Transparency with leadership decision-making, communication, and overall company health has declined significantly. Layoffs occurred without notice or explanation.