Vantaggi
I worked at Extra Card for 3 years and it was by far the best 3 years I’ve ever experienced. The company was flexible with working hours, so long as you completed your work on time and attended relevant meetings to you and your team, then they didn’t mind when you worked. The culture was the best part, everyone was friendly and kind, there were a few butting heads but that’s to be expected when you’re in a room full of talented people. The product and its mission were something that I could stand behind. The remote working environment was an absolute bonus. Managers were understanding regarding bandwidth and workload. My first director and last manager were very helpful to me when it came to my bandwidth and workload. I was apart of the last layoff that Extra Card had, and it was tough letting go of such a great work environment, team, and the product itself. No matter where I go, there will never be another company whose culture will ever compare to Extra. It is something I will continue to miss and continue to miss to be apart of. It was my absolute honor working for that company and its leaders no matter the outcome.
Svantaggi
CEO is a great person, he’s kind and professional, but I think being a yes man really hurt the business. Always remember that the people in your ear are telling you what they want because it’s what’s best for them, not what’s best for the business. I think he tried and eventually got gutted over and over again which made him tired. I sincerely hope that this outcome is a lesson on what not to do and what can he do better. Layoffs are layoffs, did we over hire yes, but would that have changed the outcome of the layoff, no. Business is business. A little more transparency would have been beneficial, instead of saying we’re on the right track and we’re hitting the numbers. I would rather know what’s coming so we can attempt to change it than be blindsided. There were some managers who should not have been managers to be begin with. They did not support their team, and their expectations were far too high, so there was no room for error at all ever. There were managers who did not take accountability for their team and their teams outcomes.