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Proofpoint Reviews
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Full-timePart-timeApprove of CEO
Gary L. Steele
142 Ratings
Pros
Great work-life balance and office culture (in 11 reviews)
Great people, great culture, lots of room to expand career (in 14 reviews)
Cons
No 401k match yet, however it's on the agenda for next year (in 17 reviews)
No 401K match in the benefits offering (in 14 reviews)
Helpful (1)
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"Employment at Proofpoint"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
Nice Work culture. Latest Technologies. Growing company.
Cons
Work load might be more depending on the projects.
Proofpoint 2017-10-13 14:57 PDTHelpful (11)
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"Great company with a few big issues"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (More than a year)
Pros
First of all, I love my job and I love the people I work with. My immediate management is very easy to work with and I have the best and brightest peers around me each day. The company is great at helping each other succeed and gathering resources to come to your aid when you ask for it. The product is great and although the most expensive solution in the industry, I also truly believe we bring the best value to our clients. I feel good about what I do each day and I'm allowed to be self-driven in my day to day activities.
The executive team is open about the business activities of the organization and will often hold all-hands meetings and allow anyone to ask any question the see fit privately or in front of their peers.
Additionally, processes and systems seems to move quickly, so there is not a lot of waiting around for promises or expectations to be delivered.
The pay is good and the work-life balance is also very nice.Cons
If you're gone, you're gone. I've seen multiple people just disappear one day from the company with the only explanation given to them is that they weren't a "cultural fit." Although some of these firings may have been warranted, it seems classless, in my opinion, to fire someone one day with no advance notice, attempt of behavioral management or any explanation at all as to why they are being let go. Many times, this is coming from an executive level, removed from the floor. I'm not alone in my fear that I may be the next victim if I step one toe out of line... perhaps they may even track down who wrote this review and let me go that way - I'm sure Proofpoint has a way. Even more, these employees had good performance metrics and overall healthy relationships in the office. It's a bit concerning when this happens way too often.
Also, beware if you're going after an SME Commercial position. The quota for the smallest segment in Commercial is 90% of the next segment up which no one apparently thought through clearly. The smallest SME segment quota had a 22% percent increase this year which no numbers from last year warranted and the field position above them was ONLY a 15% increase. The client size is significantly smaller and the deal size is also much smaller. In fact, the only people who seem to really make quota in that small commercial segment apparently close deals of companies that were actually larger than their generally approved segment size. In addition, Proofpoint does not price to sell effectively to smaller clients; one of the primary services we provide has the same exact base price for a 300 user company as it does for a 3500 user company... what this means for the reps is tough luck on selling that to the smaller client. Proofpoint seemingly prices them out on purpose because we don't have enough back end support to handle selling too much of this service to smaller clients; which would be fine IF the company didn't expect those services to be sold in that space which is the only conceivable reason for such a large quota increase.
Third, Proofpoint is very cheap when it comes to any type of SWAG. Getting a pair of Proofpoint branded socks for a long-term and loyal customer is like pulling teeth and heaven forbid if you want a T-shirt or anything like that... just forget about it. Another employee went so far to please her client that she had to liteally go to the store to pick them up something and say it was from Proofpoint because the marketing dept was either unwilling or unable to get her anything to send. Either way, that's an issue. I assume that is why we lost our last head of marketing...
Fourth, the company offers a great incentive to refer your friends, but often times recruiters won't even call applicants you recommend. They make it very difficult.
And finally, they company does not offer a 401k match. Just get one already.Advice to Management
Especially directed to Senior/Executive Level Management: I am an employee who loves their job. You make it seem like anyone in the org can come to you with any concern. However since I've been here, the real vibe coming from you is that if anyone disagrees with you, they are toast. There is a definite intimidation factor there and the random/secretive firings don't really help.
Also, the HQ office in California it seems to get preferential treatment to other offices. In one example, why is the client base in Utah covered by an Account Management team in California? It doesn't make much sense since your Utah location is your second largest.
And finally, it seems that decisions for the commercial segment are made too often without the inclusion of commercial management. If you simply got the ideas of people in that segment for things like product pricing, territory alignment, appropriate quotas, etc, things might roll a little smoother in that space.Proofpoint 2017-09-15 11:40 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Ethical company with Work life Balance"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
-Great Culture- Unlimited PTO, Theme Dress Friday, End of Q beer bash, Team Volunteering(Yes we give back as part of work)
-Ethical and Engaged leadership- From directors to SVP will jump in to clear hurdles and accomplish results. Their pride in helping customers is infectious
-Best Tech- In sales being at the top of Gardner(by a lot) surely makes engaging prospect easier.Cons
Rapidly scaling Company(Should be a pro but had to find a con)- The process aren't perfect, as you would expect with hyper growth. So if you aren't willing to roll up your sleeves and scrape your knees a little. This might not be the place for you.
Advice to Management
Continue to build a performance based culture.
Proofpoint 2017-10-13 12:44 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Named Account Manager"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Excellent Technology, Some REALLY smart people, dedicated believers and doers. Proofpoint does care about customer experience. Culture used to be the best, and still is within certain groups or people. Honest and ethical company
Cons
Cut territories and accounts so you can't make money. Don't feel like you can disagree or give constructive feedback to middle Management, they don't want to hear it, they don't want to rock the boat with their Mgr. Pressure to produce and do reports had taken over and squashed any fun that was there. Sales people need to have some fun! Thinking outside the box is not encouraged. Ridiculously Cheap Company
Advice to Management
Weird politics have crept in, good people have left. Products don't sell themselves, pony up for real Marketing. CFO should not run the Company, every department under Finance is messed up and real unneeded Sales prevention and frustration exists.
Proofpoint 2017-10-17 12:24 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Account Manager"
StarStarStarStarStarRecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time
Pros
Tremendous Growth Opportunity with a great product
Cons
Revenue Growth has made meeting sales goals difficult
Proofpoint 2017-09-28 13:06 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Senior Release Engineer"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Great place to work at Proofpoint.
Cons
Need to focus on to improve infrastructure.
Proofpoint 2017-09-21 22:10 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Renewals rep"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
I love my job, the quota is very attainable. I have been here 3 months and have hit 40% of my yearly target already. Management is great, approachable, knowledgable and understanding. The product is superior to other vendors in this industry making it easier to sell and market.
Cons
No 401k match yet, however it's on the agenda for next year.
Advice to Management
None
Proofpoint 2017-09-20 20:31 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Mostly good, only some bad"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
Industry leading email security company that is growing into a full cyber-security company.
The stock price is great and the company's profits and cash flow is very good.
Top-notch threat research team. Lots of money is spent on R&D to track emerging threats.
The company is more into acquiring other companies than they are into being acquired. When they do make acquisitions it falls in line with a larger strategy, the acquisition adds value to the company as a whole, and the $'s make sense.
When ever upper management has a meeting, they are open to any questions and answer them honestly.
My manager is great. Anybody on my team is willing to take a few minutes to explain something I don't understand - work, benefits, time-off, etc.
Free soda, coffee, and snacks in break rooms.
ESPP comes with a 15% discount of whichever is lower, the closing price on the first day or last day of the 6 month period.Cons
No match on the 401k.
The ESPP has a look-back, but it only uses the first day and last day for buy dates, so you can't buy at the absolute low during the 6 month period. Also, you can only buy into it during "open enrollment" every 6 months.Advice to Management
Many other companies offer ESPP AND 401k match. The only people who participate in the 401k are upper management who need more places to put excess retirement money. Your basic rank and file employees can barely max out a Roth IRA, let alone set aside more money for the 401k that doesn't come with a company match.
Proofpoint 2017-09-18 14:58 PDTHelpful (9)
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"Beware and ask the tough questions."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Great technology
Technology solves tough security concernsCons
Quota obtainment (Ask for their sales rankings, they can anonymize the data),
Very few people making their OTE, On Target Earnings.
Turnover is at all time high,
Leaders are leaving in numbers, sinking ship.
Not a sales driven company (CFO runs everything).Advice to Management
Don't wait for mass exists to do something, it will be too late.
Salespeople and SEs need to make money, taken care of some and not others hurts morale.
Take some of the stock you are cashing out and pay your people.Proofpoint 2017-09-14 06:23 PDT![Proofpoint Logo]()
"Amazing Company, Takes Care of It's Employees"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Proofpoint full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Management listens to employees, great compensation and referral bonuses, flexible schedule
Cons
Getting hired can require a bit of work but it weeds out the bad apples
Proofpoint 2017-09-08 13:58 PDT
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