The best job...until it wasn't - Growth Manager WillowTree Employee Review

4.0
1 Jun 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I want to start off by saying that my time at WillowTree was fantastic, and I would have spent my entire career there if I hadn't been laid off. I worked with astonishingly talented people way smarter than I and was constantly learning new skills and bettering myself. My department was 60+ people and I can genuinely say I don't have a negative thing to say about anyone I worked with. Career expectations are outlined very well along with what it takes to get promoted (although it can be difficult to move up here). The pay and benefits were amazing, and the opportunity to work with world-class clients was unmatched. Lastly, I will say that the culture at WT was fantastic, certainly well beyond the "tech culture" of fun events and free lunch, where employees treated each other with respect and I always felt that I had a voice and my opinion mattered.

Cons

Now for the bad...After being bought earlier in the year, the company changed on day one. Obviously this is to be expected after an acquisition, but these changes were like tidal waves before a big storm. WT survived losing 75% of business duringCOVID without a single layoff, but couldn't hang or thrive for several months after the acquisition. I don't blame WT's leadership team for this, because it was likely so out of their control. That said however, I think the communication the last few months was lacking in transparency, which was always my favorite thing about the company. Throughout all the tech industry layoffs, WT maintained some belt-tightening, but the typical things that happen before lay offs weren't apparent, and that's why I think everyone is so hurt.

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WillowTree Response
2y
Thanks for the thoughts and how to return to what it was. I do have to make one correction that we never lost 75% of our business in COVID. Was 25%. I hope that some of the changes we've made in the last 60 days get us back to the level of transparency you were accustomed to and that we all agree is critical to trust. - TD

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Pros

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Cons

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3.0
29 May 2026
Recommend
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Pros

Lots of really nice, and smart people who are very collaborative and excited to share their knowledge. This is not a prestigious place to work, so I was a bit surprised by just how smart and competent people are at WillowTree or TELUS Digital, whatever our name is. The offices are great and the office culture is ridiculously good. Huge shoutout to the employees (it's def not upper management) who go out of their way to make the office culture great. Depending on what project you're on, it can be a pretty chill place to work. If you're early in your career and need experience, the variety of projects makes this a genuinely good opportunity.

Cons

The biggest con is the compensation. It's so terrible, and far below the industry standard that I don't really see how anyone could stay here long term. They don't give raises, no one is getting promotions. There's also quite a lot of restructuring going on, and very poor communication about it. Which is par for the course in the tech industry at this point, but worth noting. It feels relatively stable for now, but I really have trouble seeing how their tech services division is going to survive as AI decreases the cost to build software. Plus, tech services as part of TELUS Digital doesn't really make any sense long term. It's a contact center business with a bunch of people that randomly make expensive mobile apps? It seems to be making enough money for now to keep going, but I feel like that could change any moment.

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