The Best Place to Cure Yourself of Imposter Syndrome - Anonymous employee Vaco Employee Review

I've never worked somewhere more thoroughly built around mediocre white men empowering and promoting other mediocre white men, while their strong blend of ignorance and overconfidence actively holds back the business and frustrates many others who know they can help but are constantly talked down to, made to feel unimportant, and removed from their decision-making positions. It's the kind of place where people leave dirty coffee mugs in the sink despite the dishwasher having room in it, the paper towel roll doesn't get replaced when it's empty, and the shiny escalade that parks in the VAN ONLY handicap spot every day is neither registered for handicap plates or a hang tag. And van-only spots are for vans... with wheelchair ramps, more specifically. They value loyalty and participation over talent. The company itself is incredibly self-obsessed. You either buy into the brand 100% or you're an afterthought. If you speak up and tell a sales guy they don't know marketing better than you (a marketer), for example, you start making enemies. The same person that will talk crap and belittle you and your team will then be placed in charge of your team, while their ignorance and over-confidence spreads like a plague as they promote employees they're close to, who have not reported to someone in their same field for years, into senior leadership positions, and within weeks the gaps in their knowledge become obvious and concerning. The internal competition means as much, if not more, time is spent on how to keep internal salespeople happy, rather than thinking about what would grow the business. Everybody is out to create their own personal brand, which actively holds back the company from growing. CEO Brian Waller and other execs will lie and gaslight you. I don't know what's worse - that they know what they're doing and just are used to getting away with it from the over-privileged white male echo chamber they exist in, or that they're so used to getting away with it that they don't actually realize when they say something that directly contradicts how they acted or how they will act. Waller will say in a meeting that he "cares about each and every one of us," and then an employee who's worked down the hall from him for three years will have to introduce themselves because he's never had a conversation with them before. He'll say "what's up" as he passes you in the hallway, but then be looking right back down at his phone before he even finishes speaking for you to respond. He'll say "yeah we have a plan for this" and then 24 hours later you'll find out there is zero plan and you'll spend the next eight months leaderless, neglected, and floundering. The Chief People (HR) Officer acts buddy-buddy with the CEO. But having a close relationship isn't an issue - it's the inability to maintain even a semblance of neutrality when your role is meant to handle complaints about your perceived work buddy. People don't trust going to them when the complaints are about leadership because they see how they act amongst each other, and their dismissive attitude about those issues has further solidified that feeling. If you feel you are an expert in your field, you will only be treated like one until one of the dozens of "partners" or "VPs" disagrees with you about something they often have little to no relevant work experience about. And then they'll make moves to get rid of you, no matter if you're entry-level or C-suite. I've seen NUMEROUS people quit without having a job lined up afterward. It's that bad. If you need a job, great. Let the recruiters help. But I could not recommend working FOR Vaco any less.