Pros
Softchoice says it all in their core value - Growing the potential of people in technology. They are very focused on their people and quick to publicly recognize those who are going above and beyond. Softchoice tends to promote based on merit, and not tenure (for the most part) which encourages people to work hard and demonstate leadership compitencies. Softchoice has terrific training progrms when entering into the company or a new role, as well as additional training (leadership, self growth) for those interested. The majority of the senior leadership are genuinely smart, ethical individuals who I am proud to work for and delighted to have access to as mentors. I know not many people can say that! The best thing about the company by FAR though is the people. Softchoice makes a conscious effort to not only hire strong talent, but people who are a CULTURAL fit as well! There is a lot of effort put into making sure we are people with like-minded work ethics and terrific personalities so that coming to work every day is a joy. When people ask me what working at Softchoice is like I am usually pretty blunt - it is the most stressful job I have ever had. However, I wouldn't think of leaving, and that says a lot! Side benefits for me are also cultural - the philanthropic mid-set with 2 paid volunteer days, lots of team building, terrific monthly company updates and a genuine open-door policy with management.
Cons
While I love working at Softchoice, there definitely are some major cons. 1. Compensation - I know everyone seems to say this, but with Softchoice this is true. I know because many of my counterparts are leaving Softchoice and going to roles with better work-life balance with simiar companies or vendors and being paid on average 20 - 50% more. A former employee in HR confirmed to me that company policy was to find industry standard pay for your role and pay a level below the median. It is demoralizing to hear constantly that our company is "world class" yet you refuse to pay the peopl who are getting you there as such. This is a tough one to get past and ties into issue #2... 2. Get more for less.... as the company constantly re-invents itself and works through financial highs and lows there seem to be a constant mission to get more from their current workforce. Well, you can only ask that so many times before your workforce starts to break. I had a full workload 4 years ago and every year they have added responsibility and complexity with zero pay adjustment. I look at co-workers in similar roles and I am literally doing the job of 2 people. I love the company, but feel absolutely taken advantage of. My work-life balance is a mess and it isn't a time management issue. Leadership is quick to empathize with the workload and acknowlege I have too much on my plate, but won't seem to help do anything about it. 3. They stand up for their people! Unless the person creating an issue is making the company lots of money... then they can get away with anything. This is by far one of my biggest issues with Softchoice. They say they aim for a positive culture and expect their employees to fall in line with corporate expectations, however if you are a high-producing Outbound Sales rep you can almost get away with anything (I will say empathically that this is NOT the norm... most OB rep's are terrific). I have literally countless examples of reps refusing to change their behaviour, refusing to learn key elements of their role and forcing others to assume responsibility, being verbally abusive and disrespectful to their inside sales reps and operatons, and NOTHING is done. I know complaints have made their way up the chain to even VP level, but nothing seems to happen. When they have acknowledged the complaints leadership are dismissive at best... It's "not that bad" or it is a "misunderstanding ". Leadership is choosing to look the other way because this person produces. This is wildly frusterating as it shows the company is consciously choosing money over people.
