Seeing this combination—both from my own experience and witnessing it happen to others—was revealing.
It made me acutely aware of how inefficient the labor market can be. Despite problems mentioned below the company still manages to have people come and go to fill the spots.
A. Leadership & HR
1. The culture was quite concerning.
- The company's big vision was clear, but on the ground, Team priorities kept shifting—mostly due to management changing their minds.
- It was very top-down and hierarchical. They branded like a startup, but the culture was traditional and rigid.
- Ppl were pushed to do more without the proper support or competitive pay. Good packages seemed reserved only for the sales team.
2. Management tactics were insecure and amateurish. Examples as:
- Beyond basic issues like bad insurance and special-case only WFH, there was heavy micromanagement like tracking clock-in/out times.
- When I see people resigned, HR would give a "gentle reminder" face-to-face not to join competitors, hinting at lawyer letters over the non-compete clause. This was a first for me in all my job moves. Frankly, the company didn't have any special trade secrets to justify such tactics.
B. Middle Management
1. A serious gap in real competency vs expectation
- More than half of the team leads aren't justify their title. They struggled to turn leadership's goals into clear plans, often just acting as messengers to subordinates.
- Many were overly confident without the skills to back it up—lots of big talk but little practical execution.
2, Poor people management and a toxic environment.
- Human resources were constantly mismatched. People were pushed into roles they weren't hired initially leading to unnecessary staff leaving.
- The feedback culture was negative and often crossed into unprofessional, bully-like comments.
