Pros
When I first started, management was focused on creating a real "family" environment among employees. The company sponsored numerous events during the workday and on holidays to promote a team environment. The strength of the teams is evident in the fact that former employees still gather socially years later... with each round of layoff's, former employees step up to help others find new employment. This network is amazing for those of us who experience it. Unfortunately, 90% of those employees & managers are no longer with HRsmart (about 60% were voluntary resignations and 40% were layoff's). Up until last year, if you asked anyone at HRsmart why they stayed, even though better pay & benefits were available by leaving the company, every person would say they stayed because of the people there. Management was concerned with career growth up until two years ago. Conversations with management regarding what your career goal within the company was, were taken seriously, and management would create plans to help employee's achieve their goals, even if it meant they would have a gap in their own department. People were rewarded for hard work and statements of appreciation were frequent from managers.
Cons
Despite the professed return to financial security, benefits were still not restored fully, as of July 2011. **Company contributions to retirement plans have been discontinued. **Company contributions to flex spend accounts were discontinued as well. **Company bonuses were discontinued, despite increased workloads. **Annual reviews and merit increases are done one department per year. In 2011, developers had annual reviews & low standardized pay increases early in the year. As of July, other departments had not received reviews or pay increases. Company policies are inconsistent based on what department you are in. One department (full of salaried/exempt employees) is required to use vacation/sick time if they need to leave work early for any reason, but no one department is required to use vacation/sick time when they need to leave early. For the last 2 years, employees have been over-worked. Between 2008 and 2010, I worked an average of 14 hour days every single day. Company directives change constantly, but management keeps repeating the same cycles. The worst thing about HRsmart is the constant need to find a 'scapegoat' when clients cancel. Management has created an expectation of perfection that leaves most employees wondering when they'll be fired for things outside of their control. Management talks about an "open door" policy, but each time I used that policy, I became a target. Since April 2010, the company has experienced about an 80% voluntary turnover after layoff's were concluded, including half of the executive team being replaced. As of July 2011, about 60% of employees have been with the company less than two years. During the first two years with HRsmart, I was promoted twice within Client Services, received employee recognition awards for the successes I had in my positions, and was one of the top employee's in the company worldwide. Despite a long history of being very successful in my position, whenever I was suggested/recommended for a promotion in a different department or team, management feedback was that I couldn't be moved out of my current position. When there were opportunities to promote me within the account I was on, management chose to bring in new people instead of advancing me (who I then had to "help" because they had no experience on that account). There were no discussions on exactly how my career could be furthered while protecting the company's interests-- it simply wasn't even considered. When I pushed to keep my career goals on track within the company, my manager stalled and put me off 4 different times in the last year. By the time he got back to me, the position was already filled and I was told I had to go back to a previous dept/position (which was a step down in the org chart) because there were no other positions available for me. Less than one month after the demotion, they eliminated my position, after I challenged the paid time off policy for that department. I can easily identify several people who wrote the reviews posted after August 15.... and I'm sure compared to admin and/or entry level positions at Home Depot and Best Buy, HRsmart does feel like a dream come true! Unfortunately, its' the clients who pay the price for the lack of experience that HRsmart now tries to attract as a new hire.
