Vantaggi
Do you notice the waves of 'Great Company' reviews for Forum One (sort by date) the come in waves after someone posts a bad review? That's pretty indicative of what my experience was like working there. There was no end to the 'no, YOU are crazy' talk from upper management at this place. The gaslighting was constant and the internal cheerleading ("This place is great!") seems to induce a short of Stockholm Syndrome among staff, some of whom have miraculously weathered the storm for years. I would implore those whose personal or family life is negatively affected by Forum One to consider an exit strategy. Life is indeed better on the outside. Work is not supposed to be like this.
While I was initially excited, indeed infatuated, with the idea of working at Forum One, the excitement dwindled rapidly in the face of so much pressure to produce output with so many clients in so little time and when I had some awful experiences with coworkers that were never addressed. The downsides to working at Forum One are many, but the biggest issue I had was that when I voiced issues or concerns, they fell on deaf ears. Not only that, but there is no shortage to the sidelining and retribution that one receives (both active and passive forms of aggression are accepted by leadership here). The veneer of caring by Forum One leadership is very very thin and you can expect to run toward the exit very soon after arriving. Things have devolved very fast here.
If you're considering work at Forum One and have read other reviews , you will see that the cookie cutter defensive 'rah rah' reviews describe recent turnover as 'growing pains', which is pretty ironic because Forum One has been shrinking at the same rate it has been 'growing' - a side effect of hemorrhaging really good staff like a gaping chest wound while taking on new staff. This is not growing pains, this is bad management. Note the difference.
I've certainly lost faith in Forum One's executive leadership - most of whom were founders but have not run other organizations and lack perspective. While they appear to express a concern for staff and even vocally claim a desire to achieve work-life balance, attempts at culture change or restructuring have simply empowered toxic personalities and have not lead to improvements. I find the ultimate responsibility rests with the CEO and the CEO's decisions. The challenges include a toxic work culture driven by aggressive personalities who should have been removed from leadership positions long ago but who were able to assert control over a spineless executive leadership. Seeing that the CEO has not been capable of reading the writing on the wall, has not genuinely listened to staff nor genuinely created a safe place to express these concerns, it may be necessary to bring in an external consultant to implement a change management plan. This should include changes of leadership.
Svantaggi
Overworked, overexerted and poorly treated staff
A toxic work environment that attempts to shield major problems
Immense turnover for the past two years
Many junior level employees treading water in a cultural vacuum left by turnover
Poor management and leadership skills by all C-level staff
