Pros
Pros for CODE and some Consultants: The CODE team is truly amazing and has some great teammates and leaders. You can make lifelong friends at this company if you want to, although sometimes it's because you're sharing a collective trauma of dealing with a client, or exec leadership. There were and still are some truly amazing people at this company that I can depend on, they will be invited to my wedding and are lifelong friends. Pros for rest of company: If you are a straight white Christian male, a woman that worships the patriarchy, or one of the following: Brahmin, Khysatriyas, Vaishyas. This company is for you. If you do not think the above is better than you or you aren't one of the above, you might struggle to fit in. Female-identifying applicants you will get to work with impressive exec female leadership, that have said astounding things such as, "Gendered feedback doesn't exist". Truly the kind of female leadership that can only exist in 'Merica. BIPOC employees, you get to place your hope for an equity-driven workplace under one of our senior exec leaders on the DEI team that has publicly posted on LinkedIn saying the following "White people just don't get the same kind of opportunities as other races, the system is not designed for us to succeed". Wow definitely not awkwardly placed in charge of this group to try and save face instead of doing an actual intervention or sensitivity training! Neurodivergent applicants: I can't even really joke about this one because of how atrocious it was. An employee with ASD, and during the start of the pandemic, were very isolated and their routine was ripped out from under them (not good if you have ASD). They were having extreme struggles and had gotten FMLA approved by their doctor. They were the only employee working on a client project (the client insisted on working with them, and wouldn't work with anyone else, not uncommon). The executive leader on the project was "worried about the client relationship" and not the health of the employee when taking FMLA. The exec then proceeded to try and STOP THEIR FMLA. You cannot do this, it is extremely illegal. The fact that they even thought about this, and then had the gall to even try. Disgusting.
Kontras
There are quite a few, but I will just stick to stories that I directly witnessed and are my favorite when explaining the company culture. Hiring: There is a lot of nepotism, but my favorite example of it is the following. A CODE intern applicant (getting a master's at an Ivy League), beyond overqualified, and everyone on the CODE team that interviewed them wanted them on the team. Unfortunately, they also talked to our CEO, who has zero knowledge of technology and makes brash decisions. At our intern post-interview happy hour, the applicant who was applying for a job in Chicago talked about how they didn't like NYC (where they currently were), and how great Chicago was (where the internship and job would be). The 'negativity' didn't sit well with the CEO and we weren't allowed to move forward with this brilliant black woman getting a STEM master's in one of the most competitive schools on the planet. However, a relative of the CEO who doesn't even have a degree was given a full-time salaried position without even a real interview! Wow definitely not a biased leader at all, truly trying to even the playing field by giving an opportunity to someone without a college education! (lol) Respectful Dialogue: At one of the semi-annual national meetings an employee was paired at a table with a few other employees. We got onto the topic of reusable tote bags, they thought reusable bags were 'dumb' and that they "can carry all the bags in without a tote bag". The employee responded by saying how the tote bags are less likely to break and can carry more in one bag making fewer trips necessary. To which they responded with "#$%^ the turtles", for those that don't know sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish (what they eat) and then end up dying from eating plastic bags. What a nuanced and well thought out point of view, I'm very glad they're in charge of getting clients excited to talk to our company! Loren the Leader: The dress code is now a bit relaxed, but it wasn't always like that. One day an employee got called into the office by the head of the CODE team. Apparently, our CEO said they saw them in jeans and a plain white t-shirt in the office one day. In reality, they were wearing dark blue chinos and an all-white short-sleeve button-up. However, instead of coming over to verify what they were wearing, they went to talk to the CFO because they didn't know their name and wanted to find out who it was so their boss could 'handle' their poor business decision. The boss didn't want to have the conversation because they knew how unbelievably pointless and pathetic it was. Aside from this being pointless and petty, what does this say about the CEO as a leader? To me, it says that they're incompetent, self-absorbed, and a control freak. There are too many stories to count, so I'll just finish up with one of my favorite quotes that I've heard throughout my time there. "Oh, you're Jewish? but you don't have a Jews nose!"
