Shutterfly Reviews

Pros

Flexible schedules, great people, a healthy work / life balance, and fun products make it a great place to work.

Cons

Dealing with legacy products and infrastructure can be painful. There is often not as much attention paid to rank and file as to the Director plus level.

Advice to Senior Management

Be quicker to to innovate and think outside the box. Be willing to get rid of legacy products and systems. Don't be afraid to rebuild and rethink.

Pros

Relaxed environment to work, many good people to work with. Upper management fairly competent. Not much to complain about. Good overall work environment

Cons

Pay is on the low side. Other than that, not much else. The company can be better managed, and management is not agreesive enough.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more aggressive expanding the business as we are the number one in our industry, and we should have been expanding to Europe and Asia by now.

Pros

The people that fill this company are some of the most upbeat, positive, and driven people I have ever met. The whole vibe around the office is of success with a nice swirl of fun mixed in. Working long hours occassionally is no problem because they fly by and I often find myself wandering in on days off, just to check in. I've never found an atmosphere like it. In addition, the pay and benefits are unmatched anywhere in the industry. The company is incredibly forward thinking and progressive. I love working at Shutterfly.

Cons

A lot is expected of each employee and sometimes you'll spend long stretches in the office. A large workload is common, but it's never overbearing.

Pros

Lots of perks (food, snacks, beverages)
Smart and creative people
Good business strategy
Good focus on margins of products
Quarterly bonuses
Cross-functional teamwork is strong
Strong style/design focus

Cons

No process at all for career development
The approval process for promotion is a veiled, seemingly secret, maze
Too Top-heavy
Executives who are not savvy and up-to-date with modern marketing, branding, or advertising strategies
Slow to innovate in mobile/tablet/digital
Little focus on usability
Little to no eco-friendly policies and procedures
Not enough money spent on marketing to increase Shutterfly awareness
Social media approach is scattered and not focused

Advice to Senior Management

Each manager should define a career development timeline and plan for each employee
Given that SFLY products use so much chemicals and paper, institute some sort of eco-friendly position on something - anything
Shutterfly needs to lead the way in innovation in mobile and digital applications
Decision-making truly should be data-driven and not solely based on the opinion and perspective of 1-2 people

Pros

Great culture
Very smart peers for most part
Competitive salary + perks & benefits
Management recognizes smart and hard workers
Reasonable work life balance outside of peak period
Management communicates company's directions as required

Cons

Little to no career advancement plan
Promotions are seen as retention tools rather than career advancement opportunities
Performance expectations and reviews are somewhat superficial
Lately there have been a few cases of bad hires and sometimes poor performance is tolerated
More process and hence less flexibility

Advice to Senior Management

Hire and retain smart individuals
Stay focused on creating stable products
Introduce process to make things better, not complicate existing workload
Stay away from analysis paralysis - be nimble and agile to meet market needs

Pros

Free and discounted snacks and drinks
Flexible work schedule
Work with hard working dedicated team members
Free merchandise from company - use & test your own product

Cons

Some long work hours and weekend work to get releases out
Some late night load testing to not affect live site

Pros

The workforce is the most welcoming I have ever encountered; within my first day I felt like part of the team. Everyone has time for you, no question is too small, and there is never a shortage of smiles in the office.

Cons

The fact that I'm only here for a temporary time period; my next job won't even compare to the upbeat atmosphere at Shutterfly!

Pros

The culture, The relationship with your peers and management, the community culture

Cons

long hours can sometimes be a runaway thing

Advice to Senior Management

remember to remind us to play

Pros

Shutterfly's senior management team totally empowers their employees so you can really see a project through from start to finish. Unlike other companies I have worked at, Senior Mgmt also trusts their employees so you have the ability to do some amazing cutting-edge work and do not need to spend time defending past decisions. The people working here our top notch and among the brightest people I have ever interacted with. They are also super friendly and go out of their way to help out in any way they can. I am usually quite critical and maybe even a little pessimistic, but Shutterfly is awesome from an employee perspective so I LOVE working here.

Cons

There are really not too many cons I can think of. There does seem to be a lot of overlap so it is not always clear who owns what part of the business. That is really the only negative thing I can say about my experience to date.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the great work and do whatever it takes to keep our high flying and totally awesome CEO (very funny guy) happy as I am sure he will have other great opportunities elsewhere given how well the stock has performed the last couple years.

Pros

1) Fast Growing Company - Opportunities for Career Growth!
2) Competitive Salary, Benefits & Stock Options
3) Perfect Work Life Balance
4) Leaders and Managers Treat all Employees with Respect and Care
5) Managers Set Clear Goals and Expectations
6) A Lot of Fun Activities

Cons

Shutterfly brand still not very well known outside of moms segment!

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work! The management has a clear vision for long term growth of the company, which can be seen by consistent increase in stock price.