H5 Reviews

Pros

Really smart, dedicated co-workers who never let me down
Making an impact on a system that needs improvement
Blazing new trails technologically
Respect for the individual
Entrepreneurial, can-do attitude from management

Cons

Ebb and flow of work can be taxing
In previous years, stress that comes with business volatility
Hard to win hearts and minds of a market that is slow to adopt technology

Advice to Senior Management

You should continue to invest trust in your people -- they've seen ups and downs and are wiser as a result.

Pros

They recruit very smart, fun people
It is located in San Francisco
The projects change and are varied
Very little micromanagement

Cons

Job instability- hard to know when you job will be gone, or when/if you are returning
Lack of benefits
Communication not always prized or a core concept
More flexibility in general structure or tasks could be an asset
The work flow is inconsistent

Advice to Senior Management

You need to diversify your portfolio and client base by "thinking outside the box." There must be other opportunities out there considering the uniqueness of what you do, and the amazing employees you have.

Pros

- Most if not all employees have been around for a long time and know the business process and technology extremely well.
- Most teams have a positive synergy to deliver projects at an effecient pace
- Individuals have strong ties with each other and this helps in getting the day to day work done without any unnecessary redtape.
- Extrememly Flexibile work atmosphere
- Good people around to work with.
- Great Office Location

Cons

- The company has been on the downhill for years in a row
- No increaments in remuneration for atleast the past 3 years.
- Too many layoffs .. general work related morale of the teams are rock bottom
- Growth oppurtunities are non existent
- The upper management seems to be capable of making tough decisions when it comes to laying off employees but not when it comes to taking a hard look at the capacity of the management to deliver results.

Advice to Senior Management

- For a company that has been raking in losses regularly over the past few years, maintaining four offices in world class locations (SFC, NYC, Mumbai, Banglore ) seems a bit irresponsible, tough decisions outside of just laying off employees need to be made.
- Accepting wrong decisions and rectifying them early on may reduce the bleeding, but continuing down the wrong path will cost the company.
- The same management team repeating the same ideas will not yeild any different results.
- Why are there no implications to the members of the upper management for failing to deliver results over the past 5 years?

Pros

H5 has some of the brightest and most creative employees I have ever met anywhere. The work can be interesting and things are usually not dull, and it's a great place to pick up some job skills if you're fresh out of school.

Cons

Management already picked their favorites years ago, so there is little room for any new person to advance in the company. And sadly, those picked to manage were chosen because they wouldn't rock the boat and could speak the manager lingo, not because of their intelligence or any sort of managerial ability. It's also not clear that any of the execs know how to run a business at all.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to people even if their opinion contradicts your plans. Talk to people who have been there for years and take them seriously. Outsourcing to India hasn't ever worked for the RMA, and dealing with India takes far too much time away from your brightest workers in SF.

Pros

There are quite a few "friendly" people who work at H5. They have an interesting product that would tickle anyone who has a fancy for law. It is a really, really, really exciting place to work and I loved every minute of it.

Cons

H5 has had a rough few years and laid off a lot of people. And, from what I hear, people have been leaving too. They've been on furloughs for quite some time. Business is slow in this economy. I really wish things were different. Other departments have had to train their replacements in India.

Advice to Senior Management

There r ways to acknowledge the cons I mentioned. Honesty and enabling employees to help the company (in ways outside of their jobs). Other reviewers mentioned that H5 take ideas from their employees more seriously and I so agree with that. Don't turn your back on the US and send jobs to India.

Pros

This company is so close to having such a powerful impact on the world of information retrieval and search with regards to document review. They have the ability to build highly educated, talented unique teams, and have had success proving their process is second to none.
The professional team really acts like a community where intellect, knowledge sharing and innovation is a must.

Cons

Unfortunately the skills of the talented employees are not always utilized as much as they could be by senior staff. At some point these employees need to be empowered to do what they know how to do best, and there should be a better support structure inplace to support them in their ambitions rather then all major decisions and plans coming from the top executives. At the end of the day, they do an awesome job attracting and hiring highly educated, motivated staff... set them free and see what they can do...

Advice to Senior Management

Empower your teams to develop and implement plans and let go of some of the control. The team are dedicated and motivated for success and are treating this company like their own... best interest of the company are forefront in their minds.

Pros

The company is cutting edge in the field of information retrieval, and changing the way people think about the industry. They do a lot of thought leadership and outreach.

Cons

Management does not promote individual growth. Individual strengths are not considered when projects come up. Politicking is common. Lower management is promoted from within with no actual training or management experience, so that inexperience trickles down to the workforce. Growth was too rapid early on - you don't double your workforce when you have only one real client. It is difficult to be promoted if you don't explicitly fit in with the culture of the organization. Expected work hours are unreasonable.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize the strengths of people who work for H5. Positions may have been "entry level" when people started, but prior experience shouldn't be ignored.

Pros

It's in a great location in San Francisco. Linguists are well utilized at H5. So if you're a linguist and want to use your background, this might be a good fit. The money is decent too. Peers are engaging and smart overall.

Cons

Very slow adoption of technology, especially for a "tech" company. Management does not not state expectations until after they have decided whether they're met or not. Management is very cliquish and prone to shutting out those seen as challengers to the status quo. CTO was only a figure head, with no authority or valuable experience to H5's mission. The primary client is big tobacco, which for many is an ethical non-starter.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate! Lateral and vertical communication was largely absent when I was there.

Pros

learning - great, fun, smart coworkers (including the people at the top!)

Cons

life-work balance - some project management is disorganized, leading to unnecessarily long hours

Advice to Senior Management

the life-work balance stuff is too important to let slip to the bottom of your priority list!