Cut employee disability benefits 30% after EngageSmart acquisition - Lead Community Manager SimplePractice Employee Review

1.0
Jan 25, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fancy office, nice employee swag, cute dogs (when dogs were still allowed).

Cons

Cut employee benefits drastically as part of an “organizational alignment” following EngageSmart acquisition while simultaneously touting employee wellness on social media and in marketing materials. Disabled employees needing FMLA leave received 30% less in benefits in 2022 than in previous years. I took leave due to a documented medical condition in 2020 and received 40% of salary through company SDI while on leave with the remaining 60% covered by state disability insurance. In 2022 I took leave again and received 10% of salary from company SDI with the same 60% state disability insurance. Employees were not clearly notified of the reduction in benefits when the “organizational alignment” occurred. Founding leadership cashed out and moved on to better things. The stock options in the company that I received as part of my compensation package were returned to the company after I waited too long to exercise them after my voluntary departure. This was my mistake - I missed the deadline to exercise by minutes. The total value of the options exceeded $25k at the time. HR and Legal were unwilling to budge or grant a grace period to exercise these options following my exit for “tax reasons” that they were unable or unwilling to explain, despite my 4 years of loyal service and documented high performance in a highly customer-facing role. Because I’d already signed my offboarding paperwork, I had no recourse. The company simply took back the stock options that I had rightfully earned, leaving me with nothing. Performative virtue signaling around employee wellbeing and being a “great place to work,” but prioritizes creating value for shareholders over maintaining employee benefits or considering employee development. Product iteration and development moves at a glacial pace due to bureaucracy in Product and Engineering. The entire Marketing team has turned over multiple times in the last 1-2 years, including C-suite and executive level staff. No codified commitment to DEIB during my tenure. This experience is fully documented via email and 100% factually correct to the best of my ability. “Good vibes,” ugly reality.

Explore other reviews about SimplePractice

5.0
Jun 23, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

fulfilling industry with a clear mission

Cons

continuing to grow very quickly, important to focus on what matters most

5.0
Feb 25, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-The exec team is one of the most transparent I’ve ever seen, they don’t try to spin employee communication -Leaders are really open to feedback and ideas. At company meetings employees can ask questions and they don’t curate only easy ones or avoid hard topics. The CPO (people) is meeting with small groups of employees to get direct feedback on company culture. -Lots of opportunities to connect with coworkers, even remotely. The ERGs are great and put on really thoughtful events. Social slack channels are really active and it’s easy to feel part of the community. -Time off is great (both company holidays & FTO), particularly mid & end of year breaks for the whole company -As employees we are all completing AI training which is a major investment in us given other companies are pushing AI but providing no support/education. -The addition of our CDMX office has been a great experience, so many nice and ambitious coworkers have joined and I’ve loved working with them (and even meeting some in person!)

Cons

The rapid growth and hiring of the company has created a bit of chaos and lack of clarity on processes and decisions made. Especially around AI, they got a little ahead of themselves

1
avatar
SimplePractice Response
4mo
Thank you for taking the time to share such a thorough review. You’ve experienced a lot in just one year at SimplePractice! One of our biggest priorities in the past year has been to communicate our decision making and processes more clearly. That can be a growing pain for a high-growth company, but we are committed to doing better. Our team is developing a robust Talent Development muscle that includes AI training and people management training. We launched Monthly Manager Connects last year and plan to grow that program further. If you have any additional feedback on how we can improve, please share your ideas!
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