Great colleagues, but poor leadership and direction post-acquisition - Anonymous employee Descartes Systems Employee Review

1.0
19 Mar 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people I worked with directly were supportive, capable, and great to collaborate with

Cons

Work environment declined significantly following the acquisition Leadership lacked clear direction and accountability Product decisions often felt short-term and disconnected from customer needs Poor communication and limited transparency from management Employees were not treated particularly well, leading to low morale Concerns raised by teams were often not meaningfully addressed Overall sense that the company prioritises acquiring businesses over improving them

Explore other reviews about Descartes Systems

5.0
1 Dec 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great leadership team. Great culture. Very reasonable work-life balance expectations. An organization that tries hard to always do the right thing and be fair to customers. Many key employees have been at Descartes 10+ years, great tenure. Clearly one that you can build a career at.

Cons

Lots of tech debt, makes it difficult to feel like we can innovate and do cool things. All of the acquisitions make Descartes difficult to navigate and learn, makes it even more difficult to get things done. Feels a bit stagnant at times.

1
4.0
13 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Descartes has a strong, reliable sales process that works. A lot is always changing and evolving in the business as the company acquires multiple companies per year giving sellers new products to work with.

Cons

Base comp for AE is less than the market rate. Because the company focuses on acquiring new products, little dev work goes into current systems.

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