Factorial has no clear career growth or development structure. Roles that should be offered to experienced internal employees are frequently handed to external candidates. The company shows little interest in retaining or developing its people — hiring and firing happens without much thought. Employees who have been there for years often stagnate, not because of poor performance but because of a complete lack of real growth opportunities.
People management and development is essentially non-existent. Performance reviews are entirely performative — box-ticking exercises with no real substance or fairness. My own review, for example, was conducted by a Senior Leader who had no direct oversight of my work, barely knew me or interacted with me and still rated me “below expectations” without defining what those expectations even were or having enough consistent oversight to draw that conclusion.
I’ve seen colleagues hit targets and go above and beyond, only to be blocked from promotions because they supposedly “don’t live the values enough.” without a clearly set criteria. Based on my time in the company and my observations, if you think critically, ask questions, or disagree with dysfunctional practices, you’re branded as “difficult”, "negative" or “not a team player.” Promotions and salary increases may be withheld from employees who are oustanding performers. I’ve even seen a bizare suggestion that to demonstrate “cooperation/teamwork,” you should take another leader out for lunch. In my experience, reviews here feel less about actual performance and more about maintaining control over employees.
Toxic Work Culture
This culture of fear and manipulation is quite strong. Every failure in leadership or communication was reframed as a “great opportunity” for employees to shoulder more work. If you questioned it, you risked being labelled negative and could face consequences such as being put on a performance improvement plan (PIP), which in some cases can ultimately end employment. Accountability flows downward only; leaders are rarely held responsible.
Leadership provides very little coaching, training, or resources — only relentless pressure for results. People are forced to do the work of five roles (account management, sales with unrealistic targets, customer support, product support, and process optimisation/admin work) for one inadequate salary. Management openly acknowledges this, but dismisses it as “normal.” When employees raise pay concerns — especially over huge discrepancies between markets (e.g., AMs in one country on €20K while others with identical responsibilities earn €30K) — leadership diverts the conversation back to “work harder and hit your targets.” There is little transparency, and no recognition of contributions and achievments beyond targets. Unsurprisingly, people burn out and leave. Average tenure is barely a year, sometimes less.
The “values” are mostly performative. There is little psychological safety: people are anxious, exhausted, and sometimes afraid to speak up and if they do, there are consequences. In my team alone, multiple colleagues developed health issues, had burnouts, and eventually quit. Leadership brushed it all off. The entire culture is short-termist: push people to their absolute limit to hit quarterly targets, then replace them when they collapse or leave.
Uncertain Compensation
Targets and variable compensation structures change constantly — every quarter brings a new scheme, and hard to plan around. You might work for months on an upsell only to discover that the structure has changed just before you close the deal, slashing your expected earnings. This kind of shifting erodes trust and demoralises employees.
Conclusion
What my experience showed me is clear: Factorial does not invest in its people, does not build careers, does not pay fairly and does not care about the health, and wellbeing of people. Reviews are arbitrary and unfair. Leadership is unaccountable, dismissive, and manipulative. Employees are overworked, underpaid, demoralized, and replaceable.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this review are based solely on my personal experience and observations during my time at Factorial. They are not intended as statements of fact, but as my subjective perspective.