Pros
Good pay and alright benefits for the region. Better work-life balance compared to similar companies, with a flexible schedule within the confines of a typical 9-5 day and nearly fully remote work, aside from occasional visits to the Milwaukee corporate office. Employees can enjoy considerable autonomy if comfortable taking initiative and the associated risks. Opportunities to engage with diverse projects—though this is also challenging due to each project requiring extensive, specialized knowledge.
Cons
Onboarding and mentorship processes need significant improvement. Expectations and priorities frequently shift mid-sprint, causing wasted effort and unnecessary additional work due to unclear direction from leadership. Documentation is often outdated, disorganized, or missing entirely, forcing reliance on tribal knowledge. Speed of delivery is often prioritized over adherence to standard best practices, resulting in inconsistent tech stacks, uneven coding standards, poor documentation, accumulating technical debt, and underappreciation of technical quality by management. Essential practices such as continuous integration, automated testing, and adoption of proven technologies lag significantly.
BSL is conservative and complacent, content to coast in its niche market while charging residents high rates—even for independent living—and providing minimal reinvestment into employees. Certain standard employee benefits are missing or inadequate. The company's "compassion fund" feels more like a publicity stunt than genuine employee support; instead of leveraging corporate resources, the organization pressures employees into donating their own salary or PTO. This approach comes off as insincere and misaligned with their stated values of compassion.
