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Tom Sawyer Software

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Tom Sawyer Software reviews

4.2

77% would recommend to a friend

(68 total reviews)

Brendan Madden

78% approve of CEO

67% positive business outlook

Tom Sawyer Software has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 68 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Tom Sawyer Software employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

68 reviews
4.0
Mar 30, 2014

Mostly satisfied

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting technology, good people, relatively stable

Cons

The company management was not able to realize the potential (or did not want to)

avatar
Tom Sawyer Software Response
11y
Thank you for taking the time to write a review, and for taking note of the potential that the company has. In recent years, Tom Sawyer Software has sharpened its focus towards rebuilding its engineering expertise and towards much more rapid product development. Supported by a stronger engineering team and better products, we then utilize our marketing and sales efforts to develop a larger market presence to realize our company's potential. Tom Sawyer Software is well positioned in the software industry and highly regarded in many industry sectors.
1.0
Nov 26, 2013

Hostile Environment Due to CEO/Owner

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great co-workers, some very smart people to work with. Great product Flexible hours

Cons

CEO thinks that he is the best at everything. He does not want to tap into the expertise of people he hires to get the job done but rather makes them feel incompetent by constant micro managing. You have to battle with him each day to get your job done. He will often send emails to the whole company called them, s..t heads, letting them know that they have low IQ levels. Systems are antiquated and anyone who try's to bring a change are beaten up till they have no choice but to give up.

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Tom Sawyer Software Response
11y
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. The CEO is the most experienced at Tom Sawyer Software, given that he founded the company and has worked there for more than twenty years. He is hands on and works at both a high level and at a detailed operation level as well. This attention, and the similar attention from other staff, has protected and built the company, and is necessary. It has also helped Tom Sawyer Software to become the top producer of graph visualization and analysis software in the world today - the first great company in the field - and to supply to organizations in many different industries. Our company has a culture of high standards, uncompromising continuous improvement, and work style that requires precision and attention to detail. We have developed cross-functional processes and systems through systematic development. We have also built our own information systems, structured file systems, wikis, and complex, data-driven websites, and are exploring the use of our own software for more operational functions. Tom Sawyer Software has many talented, appreciated, and respected managers and staff that thrive in this environment, and their ideas are valued and adopted when appropriate. Many of these staff have worked five, ten, or fifteen years with the company. They have the technical skill to do the work and use the systems and methods developed at the company. Successful staff members do not resist the requirement for continuous improvement and high-quality reviewed and approved work. Sometimes a manager or staff member joins Tom Sawyer Software from another company where there have been strong vertical silos and nearly completely independent departments that pick and choose what quality standards to have. Tom Sawyer Software does not function this way. At times, it is necessary for the CEO to insert himself or other managers into a department's work in order to improve what was perceived as uneven work quality, to improve consistency, or to address work practice problems.
1.0
Oct 23, 2013

Stay away if you value your health and sanity

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great co-workers have your back at every turn. Cool technology being used for a variety of interesting projects at client sites.

Cons

The CEO is a nightmare. He's unprofessional, inappropriate and a control freak. He uses SKYPE messaging to hide and passive-aggressively abuse employees from the safety of his home. He trash talks employees to subordinates and managers. Frankly, one of the worst managers I've had the displeasure of dealing with in one of the most hostile work environments I've ever seen. Just imagine getting an email from the CEO to everyone where employees are called stupid morons. Classic case of Founderitis!

avatar
Tom Sawyer Software Response
11y
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. At Tom Sawyer Software, the CEO enjoys being directly involved in many aspects of the business and feels it is a personal responsibility to ensure that work meets the quality standards and goals that the company has established. When he has the right managers in place and the right review flows, then this work is shared, goes smoothly, and is delegated as much as possible. In many cases, department managers and staff are still developing, or are new to the company, so the CEO steps in to train or reiterate the company's quality standards and work practices. It is probably because of the CEO's high level of involvement that the issues raised by the reviewer might have occurred, but meeting to clarify goals and expectations can also easily solve them. The company uses many online means to communicate internally and work quickly because we offer staff a lot of flexibility to work locally, remotely, or distributed around the world. As such, messaging apps, such as Skype, are used heavily. As with any organization, there will be certain personality types that will not fit well into the culture, and others that will succeed and flourish. Tom Sawyer Software has many stable five, ten, and fifteen-year managers and staff, and staff that have left for graduate degrees or other careers and then returned later to work for the company again. We believe the long tenure of many staff indicates something very good about the CEO, the company, and the overall culture.
Viewing 64 - 66 of 68 Reviews

Glassdoor has 78 Tom Sawyer Software reviews submitted anonymously by Tom Sawyer Software employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Tom Sawyer Software is right for you.