Pros
- Great financial services experience
- PM's are also client services / account managers, so it's a good opportunity to get client management and relationship management experience
- On-site technical staff are mostly helpful and collaborative
- Excellent location in the Flatiron district of Manhattan
- Nice renovated offices with an open plan and enough conference room space.
- Dedicated QA team
- Highly experienced PM, technical, and UX leadership
- Perks such as drinks and snacks
Cons
- Process is broken. It often is an obstacle rather than helpful. Too much time is spent on managing inadequate software, and not enough time solving major problems.
- Communication is problematic. Leadership micro-manages. There is a culture of secrecy and punishment so employees are scared to communicate problems when they arise as a result. Some key employees don't even read e-mail due to the high volume created by the communication system in place.
- PM's are used as scapegoats, but are relatively powerless to enact change.
- Sweatshop environment caused by poor staff planning, broken process, and lack of a problem-solving management approach - all of these issues converge and result in many staff needing to work longer hours than necessary to deliver projects by the client's deadline
- Lack of willingness to make decisions based on profitability
- Too heavily reliant on one client
- High turnover