Zipcar Reviews

Pros

Flexcar teams were fun, high-energy, and mission-driven. People wore many hats and improvised resourcefully to solve problems and get things done. Internal promotions grew people professionally and were good for morale.

Cons

Flexcar experienced some churn in ownership and management, and somewhat lacked process discipline (probably inevitable when growing so rapidly), but the strong prevailing can-do attitude counteracted the potential chaos.

Advice to Senior Management

Flexcar was acquired by Zipcar and integrated under the Zipcar brand and management team. The ideal company would leverage the high spirit of Flexcar along with with the lean process discipline of Zipcar.

Pros

Ultimately, zipcar is a fantastic concept and the majority of the employees are true fans of the product. There is an overall energy that is positive and people care about their jobs; you can see evidence of hard work in every corner of the office.

Many managers are happy to delegate projects out to entry level employees, which allows you to improve your skills and earn some stripes for your resume. Although you may not receive financial compensation for the extra work, you will find yourself continually challenged and trusted with new responsibilities.

The culture of zipcar is fun. The office is laid back and casual and there are often small events that allow employees to socialize such as a chili cook off or a guacamole off for Cinco de Mayo. Zipcar has found a great balance between keeping things fun and keeping things professional, something that many young companies strive for (and often fall short of).

Cons

After 11 years in business and a successful IPO, zipcar needs to stop telling its employees that it's still a small startup. The pay is mediocre at best, raises are few and far between, and the benefits package doesn't make up for it. Ideally, it would be nice to see some sort of stock option, 401(k) matching plan, or cheaper benefits for employees.

Within the member services department, there is little room for growth. Unlike other departments, there are fewer "levels" of employment so you have three options: 1) make a lateral move to another department and work your way up, 2) wait for your manager to quit and apply for his/her job or 3) seek opportunities elsewhere.

Despite zipcar's young age, some of the "old" folks who have put in 5 or 6 years already have a "that's the way it is" and "I know best" mentality. This can be difficult to deal with because zipcar is still growing and changing all the time. Although experience is important, so is change and there needs to be more open dialogue and acceptance of newer ideas.

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure that the Home Office and the Local Offices are on the same page. The communication seems to break down somewhere and it leads to confusion for employees and eventually members. Remember that as the company grows, it is important to allow employees to grow as well - speaking to the effect of career growth is one thing, but realizing it is another.

Pros

Culture, enthusiasm, nice office, management

Cons

troubling business model, computers are outdated

Advice to Senior Management

Try to recruit more aggressively at the junior level

Pros

Many of the people I worked with were smart, fun, fantastic at their jobs, and passionate about transforming car sharing into an attractive alternative to car ownership. The rapid growth of the company provides a lot of opportunities to transition into other roles and move to other locations. And since the company is in the middle of transitioning from a relatively unstructured startup to a more structured corporation, there are a lot of opportunities to have an impact on the company if you take the initiative to make suggestions and improvements.

Cons

As the company has grown and more standards and procedures have been implemented, the autonomy of the regional offices has decreased. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it has led to some resentment from those who feel like their autonomy has diminished and their responsibilities are being taken away.

Also, the compensation and benefits are almost nonprofit-like. (I actually took a pay cut from a nonprofit job to work there.) Not surprising given that it is a young company still trying to reach profitability, but the passion for the product and entrepreneurial energy can only sustain employees for so long. At the time I left the company was just starting to turn its attention to this issue, so hopefully compensation levels and benefits are improving.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue building the HR function to ensure that employees feel appreciated.

Pros

Great people - sense that everyone genuinely cared about the success of the mission and customer satisfaction.

Cons

Extremely poor communication on the part of senior management, an unwillingness to communicate unpleasant news either internally or to customers.

Advice to Senior Management

You're getting paid to lead - that means taking leadership even when you're making unpopular decisions.