I'm honestly not sure where to begin when discussing the cons of working in this place.
I’ll start at the top.. and by the top I mean the CEO (Leo Russell, not Tim Tobin). Besides the fact that he's a generally terrible human being, he is also a horrible leader. He does not give his employees the tools they need to do their jobs or any type of autonomy to make business decisions. He believes that offering free snacks and Friday happy hours are the way to build a company culture and does not realize that culture is actually based on how people are treated and valued in the work place. He uses bonuses as a threat to scare his employees and quite honestly does not compensate people properly (which is ironic because it’s staffing firm and he knows what the market rates are because he relies on them to make money). On the other hand he over compensates people that do not deserve it.. such as family friends, family, close connections, etc. He will literally tell people to “sit down and shuttup,” only because they are new. And to get into the crazy comments he makes about gender, sex, weight, etc would take too long to properly outline here, but you can imagine.
On top of all of this he creates a disruptive work environment by constantly moving where people are sitting. Which is made ever more difficult considering there is no network or server so one is unable to simply move to a new computer and work, rather they need their entire desktop computer physically relocated in order to make such a move. In addition, he changes peoples positions at a whim. One day you are head of events and the next you are head of talent engagement. No warning. No discussion. No compensation changes (unless you’re a buddy of his).
He treats people as if they are incompetent and know nothing. He creates a culture of fear.
The computers are old and insubstantial, however there are countless works of art and uncomfortable furniture that costs A LOT of money all over the office. In order to get even so much as a pen purchased for you, he needs to sign a PO for it to get done. So you can understand where priorities lie in terms of where money is being spent.
There is no board of directors, no Human Resources, NO LEGAL TEAM, NO IT TEAM. There is NO ONE who can advocate for the employees there. This is a place where there is new drama every day, people crying every day, people quitting every day, and people getting fired every day. It is an anxiety inducing environment that I highly recommend you do not join. These comments are not exclusive to Russell Tobin.. but the ENTIRE Pride family of companies, Pride Global, Pride Technologies/Pride One, Pride Healthcare, etc.
DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE SHINY PAINTINGS AND THE BEAUTIFUL DECOR. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE CEO’s CHARMING SPEECHES. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE HAPPY HOURS AND THE SNACKS AND THE NESPRESSO MACHINE. This place will eat you alive and swallow you whole if you let it.
