Pros
1.) Interesting software tools (client-facing) 2.) Some very nice colleagues
Cons
Things to consider before seeking employment at Stackline: Note: my experience was as a manager on the Account Management team (aka Channel Operations or “CHOPs”): 1.) Turnover. In about a year of employment, I witnessed a ~25% annual turnover rate (12-15 people) including Engineering, Recruiting, Site Design, and Account Management. On the Account Management team, specifically, turnover was above 40%- most of which occurred within less than 1 year of employment. Many were actively contemplating an exit. No matter how it’s spun, this is an extremely high turnover rate for the industry and a company that is 5+ years old. I had a sense this may be an issue, so I asked directly about turnover during my interview. Unfortunately, interviewer falsely stated that only 1 person had left. That was not accurate at the time and has only gotten worse. I was also told that the company was aiming to grow 4X headcount within a year. A year later, they had barely broken even from all of the departures. Former recruiters for Stackline, upon exit, have gone as far are warning candidates away (recruiting is now handled by top leaders directly). 2.) Reasons for Turnover. Themes include but are not limited to: non-existent leadership and employee development, lack of basic structure/process/transparency/communication, workload, and perception of employee mis-treatment. Low morale, on average, within the team is palpable and not truly addressed. Employees are encouraged to rat on each other if anyone voices a concern- which is termed “if you see something, say something”. CEO commonly tries to scapegoat people or shift blame- instead of taking an honest self-assessment. When he does seek advice, he surrounds himself with a limited few who are typically unwilling to tell him the hard truths for warranted fear of indirect retaliation. 3.) Departures. Employee exits are commonly swept under the rug or not announced in any formal manner. Select individuals or groups of people are then partitioned off by CEO to receive customized, inconsistent, explanations. This explanation is typically coupled with speaking poorly of the former employee and attempts to root out any more potential dissenters. Pizza parties, meaningless promotions, and other concessions are sometimes made to stave off further employee exodus. Some employees are pressured to sign documentation upon exit saying they will not speak negatively about the company (this is not tied to a severance payment). 4.) HR. A Human Resource professional or function does not exist despite several team requests to hire such a person. This impacts employee reviews, hiring, termination, feedback, benefits, employee relations, leadership accountability, discrimination, role clarity, etc. In one concerning example, a website designer was told to paint the walls in the office. This took several days and involved working solo on a tall ladder. Incredibly, this person was then asked to re-paint the walls to a slightly different color. 5.) Hours. Non-explicit expectation is 8A to 6:30P most days. Weekends and nights are not uncommon. Top leaders will directly message your personal cell phone at any day or time as needed. Lunch is usually brought back to the office and eaten in common area or at desks. Summer hours were instituted in 2018 (can leave at 2P on Fridays, Memorial Day through Labor Day). However, top leaders did not normally leave at 2, so most people did not feel comfortable taking advantage of summer hours. 6.) Vacation. PTO is below industry average. All levels receive 12 days (accruing at 1 day per month) for the first year and 15 days after that. That is in addition to 6 federal holidays. PTO tracking is haphazard and not readily available to employees. Unused PTO does not roll over annually or get paid out upon exit. 7.) Stock Options. Stock options are allotted by CEO with no known involvement from others within the company. As such- qualification criteria, number of shares, and vesting periods are not uniform and seem to be purposefully vague within hiring documentation. Recommend applicants to ask specifically about: the above, valuation methodology, and future plans to go public or be acquired. 8.) Bonus. There’s a history of not paying bonuses or being late with payments. There's also no clear gauge as to what qualifies someone for a bonus. The bonus and stock options are often used as lures to get new people in the door- beware of any incentives that are not well detailed and committed to in writing. 9.) Other Benefits. There is no short-term or long-term disability coverage, group life insurance, or any other benefits outside of health and dental (which has one high deductible option available and premium is fully funded by employer). 401(k) recently became available and matched up to 4% of salary. Client calls are handled with personal cell phones but cell phone expenses are not reimbursed. Catered lunch is provided on Fridays. If you need to drive to work, parking is over $300 per month and is not reimbursed. 10.) Fake Reviews. Positive Glassdoor reviews are likely written by the same few authors trying to perform damage control and bury poor reviews. 11.) Training. If you’re hoping for any formal training or onboarding plan, there is very little. Peers can be helpful if you’re willing to ask for a lot of help. Especially if you’re not coming from Amazon, it may be a difficult ramp. 12.) Full Service. Clients who pay to be “full service” (vs. software only) have little boundaries as to what that can include. It could be advertising, content, product set up, ad hoc analyses, etc. Many times, clients end up not being staffed appropriately. This causes much stress on the Account Management team and can also result in clients receiving lower levels of service than were implied. In some cases, dedicated headcount or hours were promised to clients but in actuality, it did not exist. At one point, CEO said he wanted 10 clients for every 1 account manager (far above normal for industry) and that people just needed to stop complaining about workload. Culture can be hard to define- but we all know when it’s good and when it’s bad. Stackline, unfortunately, is a bad culture with no end in sight. For all of the above reasons and more, proceed with caution. Ethics, people leadership, and basic professionalism do not seem to be core values. “Grit” (working hard) is what matters- which is code for getting two employees for the price of one. The company motto that’s literally plastered on the wall: “Do more, faster”. Enough said. Contribute your time and talents to a culture where people can flourish, contribute in meaningful ways, and feel assured that their leaders care about them. No title, compensation plan, or promise of future potential is worth sacrificing your character and well-being for.
