ITProTV used to be a great place to work. It was not without its flaws, but most of the people were smart, creative, humble, and motivated by the team around them to work hard and be successful. ACI is an unrecognizable brand in the EdTech space that was formed when ITProTV, Misti, and LeaderQuest were bought and backed by private equity. It’s common to go through change and natural attrition in acquisitions but the culture now is extremely toxic. People who built an amazing product from the ground up and believed in the company are leaving in droves. Some don’t have other opportunities lined up, but the burn out, finger pointing, gaslighting and drama were too much to handle. When people have tried to speak up in a plea for changes, some leadership, specifically HR, make excuses that it’s a personal problem and not a company wide problem.
There’s a huge lack of diversity at the top, and it’s clear this affects their ability to have different perspectives. And why there is offensive policies like the maternity leave. When we were acquired, the maternity leave was replaced with parental leave and slashed from 4 to 2 paid weeks. A year later, after speaking out against this policy, it was restored to 4 weeks. However, an addendum was added, only “natural mothers” get 4 paid weeks. Unnatural mothers get 2 paid weeks.