Pros
There are some very nice, hard-working people here but they do not get the credit they deserve. At Christmas they have draws for gifts that have been donated by their vendors (insane concept and could be perceived as a conflict of interest by some) and some are pretty awesome. Half day Fridays in the summer – you get off at 2 pm.
Cons
Where to begin, this place really is a family run business which includes getting the silent treatment, losing “privileges” being guilted for having an opinion that differs from theirs and just general manipulation to get you to behave the way they want you to. They want to be a big corporation, but they don’t know how to be. I am really not sure who is in charge around there aside from the CEO as no one seems to be able to make a decision to drive change. Yet when you want to talk to the CEO you are told he doesn't have time for this stuff, he is only to be told stuff from a 30,000-foot perspective. The comment is always well that is the Starlight way – ok but it is clearly not working for you so why not try something else. Their response is “Well it has worked for the last 10 years and clearly you do not know what you are talking about so unless you “sell me the change” I am going to continue to do what I have always done.” Definition of insanity – do the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It is also an ego/ pride thing. They really do believe they are best in class; which is a shame cuz they have so much potential to be great but they are getting in their own way. The SVPs and C Suite have a great culture, they all hate each other and do not/ will not work as a team. One person described it as a bunch of family members trying to prove to daddy (the CEO) that they are the best and deserve to have everything left to them in the will. There is no collaboration, just a lot of backstabbing. However, they have a good life, they get paid well and just put their heads down and keep their mouths shut. They have no idea how to help their teams grow and develop. It is all about what you can you do to make me look good in front of the CEO and do not push the boundaries. Apparently having boundaries is a bad thing. Putting your mental health first is a bad thing as well. They don’t give a crap about you and have no desire to get to know who you are to better manage you. They sit in their glass offices with the door closed most of the time. Then there is the CEO who has a huge corner office and you have to sit on a bench outside his office and wait for him to motion for you to come into his office. That is if you are privy to getting a meeting with him. He rarely comes out of his office to engage with the employees. You get the impression that you are not worthy of his time. It is heartbreaking to see the employees being treated so poorly. The tone starts at the top. You more or less owe him your life if you are going to work there. All he cares about is your loyalty but he has no idea how much people are taking advantage of him. I have been loyal so I am protected. He preaches about loyalty every chance he can get. Yet there is no loyalty back to you – it is all what he can get from you. Every meeting you have with the CEO is about how great he is and how he has become a success. He never wants to know about you or your story or what he can do to help you grow within the organization. It is all about, let me tell you how great I am. Let me tell you how I got this deal or how we go the “uniform” of Starlight. Which is a suit and tie. Our investors do not care about what we are wearing at work, he thinks that will impress our investors. Our investors have wrote articles about CEO’s not listening to their employees if they are forcing them to be in the office every day. But this company has no trust in their employees, you MUST be in the office every day. It is almost all white men at the top but one (poor woman climbs a mountain every day) and you dress the part. It is all smoke and mirrors. We look good so we are best in class. The rest of the staff are beaten down, deflated and downright miserable but they need their job and keep their mouth shut. And still get in trouble because of the poor leadership. There is so much talent in that place but there is also a lot of baggage. If you are good, you will eventually leave because you just can’t take it anymore. People are in therapy to help with their mental health because of the toxic nature. They are very inflexible about working from home. They believe that people are not working because there are not enough emails being sent so in the new year you will only be allowed to work from home every other Friday. And forget about having an appointment and working from home. You have to take a personal day or vacation day. You are theirs from 9 to 5:30 and your lunch is either from 12 to 1 or 1 to 2. It is a dictatorship. There is no trust in that place. This stems from having poor leadership not bad employees. The employees want to work hard and do a good job but there is no ACCOUNTABILITY whatsoever, so people eventually get to the point where they see others are getting away with crap so why care and work hard, we are all going to be rewarded in the same way. Why go above and beyond. No one cares anymore. And do not ever make a small mistake or you will never be forgiven for it. It will be held over your head for the rest of eternity. There are many people that have been told they will never be promoted yet they are promoting young people left right and centre and they are not ready for the job. They have no idea how to manage people. I have worked with a lot of companies and this one is by far the most toxic environment I have ever seen. It is not a team environment and it is definitely not the entrepreneurial culture they sell it to be. There is no taking risks and trying something new, it is tow the company line or you will be guilted and manipulated. Mediocre comes to mind to describe the level of effort you get out of the staff anymore because they don’t care anymore. The poor employees are rewarded and the strong employees leave. My recommendation is save yourself and your self-esteem/ confidence and dignity and go elsewhere. You deserve better than you will get treated here. They promote a culture that does not exist and they are in denial. A company that is not willing to listen to their staff and support them is not a company that you want to invest your time in, go somewhere that will value your input and your experience.