Textbook Fail in Corporate Culture - Associate Director Tripadvisor Employee Review

2.0
Mar 9, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The Trip team is sitting on incredible, unrealized brand value. This kind of brand naturally attracts passionate, smart, fun, hardworking do-good people. I believe those people will always be attracted to Tripadvisor brand, despite the frequent chaos, fragmentation, in-fighting, human churn, etc. – great humans will always be a part of this company's culture mix.

Cons

Sadly, our CEO, Steve Kaufer, subscribes to your everyday run of the mill failing corporate culture. It's a feat to cultivate a decaying environment with a brand that has such wonderful and energetic natural momentum as Tripadvisor. During my 4 years at the company I reserved judgment of our CEO until now. Even though I witnessed an absurd level of micromanagement; the do-it-instantly and for $0 fires; and worse, the eyebrow-raising and inhuman approach to his customers and his people internally. There are so many great people here, and we're in it together, aware of the situation. Even though it stifles our innovation and career ambitions, we hold out hope. Maybe soon the board will decide there is a suitable replacement leader? One that can bring vision, inspiration, empathy, equity and diversity, and focus on our customers, which have been putting absurdly high $ into Steve Kaufer's pocket over the years. He showed us quite clearly with the January layoffs of 200+ people that his numbers were more important than his people. Of course it was obvious for us all along. Our greedy approach to our customers was backward and would be our downfall. Now, on the precipice of company contraction due to the global coronavirus, his $-first-people-last tactics are in full force.

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Tripadvisor Response
6y
Thank you for taking the time to share your candid feedback. We appreciate that you highlighted the strength of our people, for it really is our employees that make Tripadvisor a great place to work. During this period of transition, all of our leaders, including Steve, are doing their best to remain transparent. They’re working together across all areas of the business to create a strategy that considers the needs of the business as well as the needs of our employees.

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Pros

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Cons

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Tripadvisor Response
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Thank you for your positive remarks. As our company continues to evolve, we are appreciative of employee comments that highlight our strengths as well as areas we can improve upon.
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Cons

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Tripadvisor Response
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Thank you for your positive remarks. As our company continues to evolve, we are appreciative of employee comments that highlight our strengths as well as areas we can improve upon.
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