Pros
PRO TIP: Always read and digest company reviews “with a grain of salt.”
When companies struggle to get good reviews organically, some leaders urge new hires to write glowing reviews on Glassdoor. Similarly when employees just have a bone to pick with fine companies, some try to mar the company image online. I trust that you are smart enough to spot the difference between those which are disingenuous and those which are genuine reviews—pay attention to that and to the common threads that you see.
As for me—
My personal experience was good: I had good team mates, good managers directly over me, and a positive career boost in the end. I waited a while after I left, taking time to collect my thoughts and write out this review. The PROs are heartfelt and the CONs are simple observations.
// The team members are wonderful people. //
I cannot underscore this one enough: the people I worked with (across my team and other orgs) offered help, showed gratitude, and exemplified human kindness.
// Certain managers and VP’s are exemplary leaders. //
Fortunately, I had a wonderful leader in each of my roles at Recurly. They listened to our concerns, they stood up for us when it counted, and they got into the trenches to lead by example instead of driving from behind. Unfortunately, this is not everyone’s experience at Recurly, but I can easily tell of many instances my managers/directors exemplified good leadership.
// Hard work and dedication is (usually) recognized. //
The #kudos channel gets a lot of use each week as people show their gratitude to one another for above-and-beyond work that exemplified the Recurly Core Values. It honestly felt great to be recognized in the channel or in the weekly company call. I received some bonuses, unexpected gifts, and public kudos across my time there.
// Work/Life Balance was great in each role I had. //
This experience certainly depends upon the team you’re on, the manager you have, and the type of work your team does. It’s not a consistent experience across the company, but you do have a measure of personal control over it. Recurly could let you run yourself ragged, but they will listen when you put your foot down: be your own advocate here.
// The culture was pretty amazing when I first started. //
Fun, energetic, a sense of adventure and liberty to be yourself: I loved the culture. I worked from home, had flexible time off, received awesome swag, and loved the buzz of the online culture we had. Meeting many in office was equally exciting. The company culture wasn’t terrible when I left, but I have to confess that the Recurly I left is not the same Recurly that I joined. It seems more “corporate” or rigid since the acquisition. This doesn’t taint my earlier memories of Recurly, though, and I’ll always enjoy the memories of my time here.
// The talent at Recurly is second to none. //
They are some of the best and brightest people I have ever worked with, and I count myself blessed for having rubbed shoulders with them. Several skills and talents I leverage today are a direct result of learning as I worked alongside them.
// Always something fun and interesting going on. //
Trivia nights, group “desk yoga” breaks, virtual events, games, book clubs, and a rotation of company meeting Hosts kept things fresh and exciting. I honestly could not join all of the things offered, but I enjoyed the ones I could.
// Gotta confess that they sport some of my favorite colors. //
Purple is just a rich and royal color. And their design team is second to none in using the colors, values, and imagery to convey all kinds of information across the app and website and marketing efforts. So much talent there, it makes my head spin. Recurly has some legitimately good swag that they send out regularly. I still use most of the gear they’ve sent me over the years.
Cons
I can boil down my “CON’s” to one primary problem—unfortunately, that one problem affects many different things within the company. In a nutshell, Recurly has too much focus on growth over stability. Maybe it sounds too simplistic, but this problem rears it’s ugly head in several related ways:
// All efforts go into hiring instead of retention. //
They celebrate great new hires walking in the front door… then let their best people walk out the back. A meager effort is made only after they tender their resignation. I wish Recurly could recognize the stellar talent and wealth of experience that it already possesses, and then take clear and swift action to retain it before placing so much effort on new talent.
// Recurly passes over existing talent for outside talent to fill leadership roles. //
This is NOT a knock against any outside hire: they just accepted a great job offer and then do a great job. The concern is that Recurly crushes morale by making them feel like they’re not suitable for the job — when we all know they’re a perfect fit with rich Recurly experience. This has happened many times that I have personally seen.
// The experienced people leave and go where they do feel valued and recognized—some happily taking a pay cut to do so. This problem is such an easy fix, but it takes a shift in perspective about how existing talent and experience can sometimes outweigh a fancy degree.
// Some in leadership will not listen to those below them. //
Eventually, the ignored ones leave. I can list specific instances where clear warnings were given to management, but no action followed—until an incident happens. Other reviewers mention innovation trickling from the top down. Two sides of the same coin, as I see it. The people in the trenches are often ignored by those making the battle plan.
>> This has other negative effects that trickle down:
They are bleeding out valuable experience, product knowledge, and talent. The person who built that feature? They left. Now the new people (skilled as they are) still have a big knowledge and experience deficit to make up before they can move the org forward more. Obscure features say to ask Support for more info, but those SME’s already left and no one really knows the details anymore.
It adds up—
Some of the best talent is allowed to burn out, feel undervalued, and just walk out the door because Recurly is trying to grow fast, without concern for maintaining a stable base and happy employees along the way. Bigger is not better when those who make you better leave.
