Brilliant researchers who are undervalued and overworked - Avis employé Employé (anonyme) quantilope

While the company boasts an impressive roster of brilliant researchers, it is not without its share of challenges. One of the most prevalent issues revolves around the perceived undervaluing of the entire CS team, a concern frequently echoed in reviews. Research Consultants find themselves inundated with a relentless stream of tasks and requests from various teams and company expectations--extending their roles beyond mere research implementation. They are persistently pressured to adhere to client timelines, despite an already substantial workload. As a startup, it's natural to expect changes and restructuring. However, it appears that the leadership is still grappling with the company's identity, straddling the line between operating as an agency and charting a distinct path. The company tends to follow the pattern of larger corporations, increasing workloads without a corresponding boost in compensation or promotional opportunities. During the latest review cycle, employees were informed that there was no budget for pay raises and promotions were severely limited, contradicting the notion that promotions are merit-based at the company. These decisions by leadership have left Research Consultants and Junior Research Consultants feeling unheard and have significantly dampened team morale. Interestingly, they have been hiring new Senior Research Leads rather than promoting from within, sidelining dedicated, long-serving employees who know the ins/outs of the work. Although the company promotes a team setting, the reality is that team support is often lacking due to everyone operating at maximum capacity. Team members are assigned specific accounts, clients, or projects and are expected to shoulder the majority of the responsibilities from start to finish. While it is possible to request support or assistance from other team members, the heavy workload often leaves everyone engrossed in managing their own tasks. Taking time off necessitates a complicated process of finding support for ongoing projects and engaging in numerous meetings to hand off responsibilities to others. Furthermore, the company tends to sugarcoat decisions made at the management level. For instance, they recently introduced a shift from unlimited paid time off (PTO) to a flexible PTO policy, portraying it as a benefit to staff. Yet their new flexible PTO policy seems like standard PTO policies elsewhere now—at most 20 days off a year, any 5+ days more than that requires high level of approval. This change may be less advantageous for employees who rely on PTO to enlist project or client support and to take much-needed breaks. Other teams like Client Development or Solutions seem to have more team rapport and support. There is just a lot going on at this company that puts strain on the CS team overall in many ways.