Vantaggi
If you're like me, you are generally a cynic by nature. I perused Glassdoor before I joined Octo and wasnt sure what was true and what wasn't, other than they impressed me with their culture during the interview process and what I had heard from others I knew that worked with them. The truth is that NO company is perfect, and Octo is no different. However, I can report that so far if you are looking for a place that: - Is transparent with sharing its corporate strategy and direction - Lays out how you fit into the firm - Gives a ton of money for personal development and free on-site classes for Agile certs - Has genuine people that are serious about their work, but don't take themselves too seriously - Offers above average comp benefits and perks and bonuses at all levels Then this is a pretty good place to work. Couple things that impressed me thus far. Firm held a series of focus groups to gather feedback on a new career progression model. New model does a much better job of addressing a career path for technical engineers like me. Most firms, would not invest a ton of ton adjusting to that kind of feedback. Most management is pretty approachable too. The CEO held a really big summer party for the entire firm and all their families at his house. There are politics as you go up the leadership chain, but no more than any other firm. The leaders seem very sincere in how they listen to you, which is a big deal in how I assess whether a place is a decent place to work.
Svantaggi
Firm needs to do a better job of addressing how technical folks can add value to the firm strategic direction. Some folks perceive that proposals are the only way to go. Some of this is being addressed in the new career model that is still being developed, but still an issue. Like any firm, there are pockets of folks that like to complain about whatever. It could be the weather, the customer, their workload. I find this really irritating. Every firm has them, but it doesn't make it any less annoying. There was not much in the way of orientation to the firm. My PM spent a great deal of time explaining the ins and outs, but I expected a more formal orientation. I've heard other new hires say the same.