Below market wages - Salaries ranged from 10-20% market value for the industry and city. This prevents top talent from coming, or if they do come, it stops them from leaving. Given the company's lack of prestige, suboptimal culture, and lack of potential, one would think they would overpay to compensate. Most people who are above average view the company as a stepping stone.
Severe lack of senior and upper management - Most projects have a lead (usually Sr. Manager level) who then report to the GM. There is almost no middle to upper management. This means there is no vision beyond 6 months, no mentorship, and a real lack of stability if something goes amiss. Chaos reigns in the office when something goes wrong, which is often.
The HR did provide some training to help the staff improve, which it did, but the problem isn't with the people, it's with the company culture and structure.
Befuddling bureaucracy - Speaking of HR/admin. It took way longer to get payments and expenses approved than needed. Travel booking was confusing, Purchase orders required multiple superfluous steps and oversight, and expense reports often needed approval from 3 departments, even with a VP signature.
Whirlwind turnover rates - One project saw nearly 20 manager or higher level employees leave the company or transfer projects over a 2-year span. The constant turnover in key staff members is a sure byproduct of the above issues, low pay and lack of vision. Chaos reigned.
Horrible work/life balance - The chaos, the lack of management produced an environment where people were consistently asked to take on work due to low staff. The Sr. management didn't properly downscale the work to fit the available staff, which resulted in longer days and lesser quality work.
There is also a culture of managing through email, which is not a positive in any situation. Inboxes were busy all of the time with constant needs and pings, most of which could usually be resolved with meetings or face to face conversations. Most people averaged over 150 emails (roughly half of which are critical) in their inbox a day during heavy work periods.
