Brain drain and new management destroyed what was once an amazing place to work - Recensione dipendente - Software Development Engineer presso Smartsheet

A story I used to hear from several co-workers was "I know in tech people typically move from job to job every few years, but I could genuinely see myself staying here for the rest of my career." I don't hear that sentiment anymore. Over the last year or so, a large number of veteran people who made Smartsheet the thing it is today have departed the company, with some key people not by choice, due to changes in strategy for the company. Some exciting upcoming projects were scrapped, in part because the people who were necessary to accomplish those projects are gone. The concept of technical managers who also write code is gone. Managers who deeply understood the technical complexity of our systems are largely gone now, having departed or been assigned other roles. Our strong independent QA team is now absorbed into development, and the managers who used to have the political clout to push back and say no to cutting corners have been reassigned or have departed the company. The general sentiment is adapt to the new way or "good luck with future endeavors" - a statement our CEO has replied with on another review here on Glassdoor that shared a similar sentiment. I'm not arguing that the decisions of management haven't been effective - one need only look at the company's growth in size and stock price to see that it has. And certainly not all of the departures have been bad - we've had a wildly successful IPO, and some people just don't need to work anymore - a testament to how amazing Smartsheet has been. But as a place to work now, where you will spend the majority of your waking hours, you probably want a place where you can be proud of your work, and where you can think of management as the people who help facilitate your personal career growth and success. Where you can be free to be an advocate for quality without fear that doing so will harm your prospects for career advancement. Where ideas can flow freely, and you can be free to explore new technologies and improve experiences for your customers beyond the Minimum Viable Product.