In short:
Unprofessional management
No company values
Poor communication
Employee mistreatment
The first wave of layoffs started in August last year. Several colleagues were invited by their managers to discuss “the project” they were working on. When they joined the meeting, they realized it was a trap. Their managers, along with the Head of People and Culture, told them they no longer had jobs due to poor company results. Their access to all company tools was immediately blocked, and they had to leave the office without saying goodbye to their colleagues. Some of these employees had worked there for over two years. When they asked how management decided who stayed and who was terminated, they received no clear answers. Even those who survived the layoffs got no clear answers despite asking.
Out of about 15 people who were terminated or not given contract extensions in the last several months, only one was Dutch. The rest were expats. Shortly after laying off a few people, the company started hiring for the same positions! The only new requirement for these roles was fluency in Dutch, even though the jobs did not require it.
The Head of People and Culture is the least people-oriented person I have ever met. She once encouraged us to write online reviews about Convious to attract more talent. One of my colleagues wrote a negative review. The review was then screenshotted and shared with the entire company. The owner, the Head of People and Culture, and several other managers publicly criticized the review, asking how someone could dare write such things. They said if he wanted better benefits, he should find a corporate job. That review is no longer on Glassdoor because the person who wrote it got scared of losing his job.
Another time, someone spoke up about how management was handling the layoffs, saying we all deserve decent treatment and shouldn’t be scared of coming to the office only to hear that another person got terminated. That person was called unprofessional by the company owner on a general Slack channel that everyone could read. That colleague was, of course, terminated in the next round of layoffs.
After the layoffs, the company organized an event where they chose four "best" employees, though no one knew the criteria. One of the chosen ones was the Head of People and Culture. The company owner gave a special speech praising her.
The company has no real values, except ones starting with the letter C, like "cool," which make no sense.
Several people went on sick leave due to stress from long hours, working on holidays, and even being shouted at. At one point, almost the entire team was on sick leave, and everyone knew why.
There is a lot more that could be said, but this gives you a taste.
Please avoid this company unless you are desperate.
