Cascade Strategy Reviews

Pros

Great product that provides value to the clients. We work hard and work as a team to accomplish our goals. We are not perfect, but you will be heard if you have something to say. We have had a massive culture change from working in an office to remote work, but if you reach out to anyone, community is here.

Cons

Some leadership has changed over the years, that is based on finding the right person for the right team. Transition is never easy and slows down productivity so that is the con. I have seen a number of my peers come and go, mainly to follow-their dreams or change industries but not to find another job in a similar field. Some teammates were let go for performance or a new direction within that team, common business practices but never easy on relationships.

Pros

Being part of a remote workforce is nice. You have the flexibility to work from almost anywhere as long as you can align your work hours with time zones if you're customer-facing. Plus, most of us appreciate the ability to work from home. Another great thing about remote work is the emphasis on individual contributors (ICs) empowered to work independently and deliver outstanding results. I've had the privilege of working with some of the best teams ever.

Cons

As a seasoned employee, I cannot help but be concerned. The C-suite's limited membership, comprising only two individuals, is atypical. Even though we have experienced sales, Marketing, and CS leaders, they're treated the same as middle management. The zero-travel policy has significantly affected morale, and the detrimental impact is acutely palpable. We recently welcomed a new member to our team from South Africa, and it's unlikely that they'll ever get to meet their colleagues in person, thanks to the stringent travel ban. It's frustrating to be told there's no budget for regional get-togethers while the C-suite continues to travel internationally, further undermining our team's culture and spirit. This is a grave issue that demands immediate attention.

Pros

Remote work provides some flexibility

Cons

- Shifting job descriptions, metrics, and expectations almost monthly leaves individuals confused about how they are measured and what success looks like; these chaotic changes prevent individuals from getting any stability or traction in their role - Hire and fire culture: there are quarterly/monthly reviews, but there are no coaching plans or PIPs given to employees to address development feedback before they are fired - there are not enough resources in supporting teams, so correcting data issues, systems issues, or tooling issues takes far too long and slows down teams - not a single promotion in sales in 2022 - Rudimentary tech stack that holds teams back from carrying out fairly basic expectations - leadership sets the expectation that a sales rep can reach their quota through a combination of inbound marketing leads, BDR passes, and outbound hunting... but there is no BDR team and marketing leads convert well below industry standards, so sales reps struggle (especially without any enablement provided) - Some unrealistic remote working expectations (like mandatory "camera-on" policies at 7pm that might conflict with reasonable working hours, especially for folks with kids/other priorities) - personal information is also stored in the CRM, so employees can see/watch confidential conversations (like external interviews or salary negotiations) - there is no HR department, so teams had no one to raise concerns to after witnessing racist/sexist remarks from executive leadership - oh.... and watch your paychecks.... employees regularly don't get paid on time or in full amounts

Pros

The individual contributors were intelligent, hardworking people who were doing the best they could with the disaster they inherited.

Cons

Their content marketing is great, but I cannot stress to you how dramatically it doesn't reflect what it's actually like to work here. I spoke with a colleague after we'd both left the company, and he said "you know, it's kind of surreal looking back on it. Like, everything they say and all the articles they put out... it's like they're intentionally writing the opposite of how the company runs." The core problems are that the CEO and COO operate without integrity and respect for others. Anyone. Employees and customers alike. - surprise firings with zero warning, even for high performers who get along well with others. Leadership will smile and joke with you one day, telling you how much of an asset you are to the company, and then fire you the next. Yes, it can/will happen to you too. - company isn't getting good reviews on G2, Capterra, etc? Don't fix the product or processes, instead push fake, copy/paste reviews to drown out the legitimate voices. (The same is true of these Glassdoor reviews) - ^same with employee satisfaction reviews. The only reason why they made the "Best Place to Work" list is that they shoved it down people's throats, told everyone how to answer, and said they'd send out a "real" survey internally later to see how people "actually feel" - the product can't match Customer's requirements and there's no way it ever will? Sell it to 'em anyway. They're locked in for a year contract, what are they gonna do? - customers are churning at an "I'm not even mad, that's amazing" rate? Blame the CSMs and take away their bonuses (nevermind that we sold them something that wasn't fit for their purposes in the first place, and we haven't fixed a bug in 6 months) tl;dr: Look up TechCrunch's definition of a zombie company (2015). Look up how many executive hires Cascade has lost. Consider the fact that it's been a _long_ time since they hit sales targets, and, last I heard, were 8-figures behind what they'd promised to investors. Take the other negative reviews to heart, because they're true and do not exaggerate the breadth or depth of the issues. Consider how much you value acting with integrity and receiving respect.

Pros

If I had to sum up my experience with Cascade in one statement...working here almost feels too good to be true! -The people: This needs to be called out first and foremost as it is what drives the incredible culture here at Cascade -The culture: I definitely had some initial skepticism (as many who had experienced changes in culture when most orgs were forced into remote working due to COVID) but those evaporated on day 1. There is such a strong, diverse, supportive, collaborate, and passionate culture at Cascade which is truly remarkable as a remote-centric global company. -ACTUAL work-life balance: With such a powerful culture at its core, Cascade is able to put full trust in each of us that truly allows for you to succeed without burn-out, micromanagement, or sacrificing your life outside of work. -Where we're going: As an organization that helps our customers find true alignment, it's incredible to see this perfectly mirrored within Cascade. We're on an exciting trajectory and it's inspiring that every level of the business has bought into the shared goals and understands their individual impact in helping us get there! -What we do: It's easy to get excited about working in Customer Success at Cascade due to the exposure you get from working with a variety of different industries and their respective strategies

Cons

-The autonomy & trust given to you at Cascade can be daunting at first if it isn't what you're used to (that being said, when coupled with great culture, leadership, and recognition you quickly realize how empowering it really is!)

Pros

- Great BDR leadership - Understanding of learning curve - great collaboration with other BDRs - Friendly competition

Cons

- There are a lot of quick pivots that might slow you down in your daily work, and leave you confused for a couple of days until you get back up to speed. If a fast paced environment with lots of changes isn’t your favorite this might not be for you! But if you maintain a positive outlook and look for leadership’s help you’ll thrive!

Pros

Growing industry with tons of potential. Past the startup phase, and has a solid product market fit.

Cons

Nothing to think of at the moment.

Pros

I worked with very intelligent co-workers who genuinely cared about their customers and their success. I also had the chance to meet a lot of nice people in Australia!

Cons

There was no support team, we were all expected to "take shifts" answering questions through chat and support. This became draining and very distracting when other employees did not step up to help out. It's also good to note the development team was based in Australia (I was in the US), so we would have to wait until 4 pm PST in order to receive any assistance. A few months after the pandemic broke out, the CEO emailed the Customer Success Team to highlight how poorly we were doing and specifically pointed out each person's retention rates and how they had gone down. He placed the blame on our team and showed no compassion that we were all navigating a "new normal" where customers were removing non-essential services. The CEO then decided to move me and some of my colleagues to part time, but luckily allowed us to keep our health benefits. Also good to note bonuses were removed after the US CEO was removed from his position. That was a huge let down and did not encourage the Customer Success team to perform. I later found out the Australia Customer Success Managers never received a bonus in the first place, which seems rather unfair.

Pros

At Cascade we have the privilege of working among a ton of very smart people, both internally and with our customers. Being able to learn from leadership teams across industries as we try to tackle large-scale alignment challenges is always rewarding and challenging. I liken working at Cascade to getting a "lite" MBA - you have to always be learning about how companies work and communicate to achieve key business outcomes, because you're in the thick of it with them all along the way! Culturally, Cascade is incredible. Our whole brand is built on creating strategic thinking across organizations, and that's how we operate internally. We foster a culture of openness, honesty, and challenging each others' ideas. I've never once been even remotely bored here.

Cons

I've been around long enough to see different phases of start-up mode at Cascade, which has been incredible and exciting. With that comes challenges in communication and shifting directions on things, but that's expected. Lots of folks on the business side also work across the world from the dev team, too, so that has presented some challenges with communication. This has all improved vastly as time has gone on, though.

Pros

At an IC level many people here are wonderful to work with.

Cons

Leadership lack of consistency and focus Sales culture is lacking Not a sales focused organization with leadership not reflecting a sincere attempt to invest in development or mobility of salespeople here. Management does not understand how to have a constructive feedback loop and will pick and choose what they determine is culture instead of accepting the entirety of culture even if it comes as acknowledging faults and communicating improvement.