Layoffs
-Most recently, they laid off roughly 17% of the workforce, of which 25% of those were hired within the last month, which shows they didn’t have accurate forecasting of their business trajectory when doing a recent hiring spree.
-Those who were laid off with no cause were given no warning, no severance and no security whatsoever.
-The manner in which these people were laid off was very cold and impersonal taking place in groups and with little to no showing from key leadership despite it being their responsibility to break this news.
-The founders and partners showed little to no remorse or sympathy for these employees dismissing them as if they were never there, deactivating their accounts in minutes and providing them little to no opportunities to have closure with the work they had dedicated so much time to and to the coworkers they cared about.
Business practices
-The way they bring on new business is primarily driven by ego, the bottom line and image instead of their long-standing call to ‘move the human race forward’ or even just be ‘human’. Their external narrative tells one story but it doesn’t align with their internal messaging and practices. It seems like company leadership doesn't know who Human really is, what they value and who they want to be and that lack of clear direction creates internal issues and confusion.
-Many of the projects are not scoped properly despite concerted internal efforts by many to improve these processes. Their SOWs are highly vague and rarely involve input from the teams that will actually be tasked with the work. This creates challenging timelines, sets nearly impossible expectations and ultimately puts strain on internal and client relationships while also likely causing the agency to be unprofitable (although I can’t speak directly to finances but the recent layoffs in themselves speak volumes). There is also little to no transparency about this process and most of it happens in a vacuum.
-It feels like they are conducting business in their own self-interest above all else. Ultimately with this inconsistency at the top, the teams tasked with doing the work are not set up for success.
