I've been thinking about writing a review for a long time about my current experience at Templafy. I think what held me back the most, is the fact that these reviews are also read and monitored by management, and that I fear unofficial, social repercussions if people figured out who might have written it. Unfortunately, Templafy has become a workplace where transparency or speaking up is punished. I almost wrote a negative review full of resentment and harsh words, but in the end, I think it’s only fair that I stick with the facts, my experience and some concrete examples. I truly hope Templafy takes this input to heart for the mental wellbeing of its employees.
The truth is that the company and its culture changed rapidly over the last half-year. Humane values and trust are disappearing. Instead, financial profit is prioritized over the psychological safety of its employees and their personal development. The Sales department is affected the most by these changes. As an employee, I stand behind the strategic decisions and shift. The ambition of wanting to grow and expand is a natural next step for Templafy, but the big problem is its execution. Let me break it down:
1. Unskilled and unfit Salespeople are being promoted to manager positions. These managers put their own insecurities on their subordinates. There are multiple examples of them openly criticizing their subordinates in front of others. Templafy also doesn’t have any leadership training. This is mind-boggling to me when you’re responsible for helping and developing others. Over the last months, I’ve also seen punishments prevail over positive incentives (“No drinks for you since you didn’t hit target”). This dynamic creates fear amongst lower-level Salespeople.
2. New KPIs are introduced without any understanding of how they should be reached. It’s important to give your employees the necessary resources and training. Expect to not hit targets in the first half year if you are a new ADR/SDR.
3. Newly onboarded Salespeople are basically left on their own. Their managers put the responsibility of training them on others, instead of training them themselves. In this way, they dodge responsibility constantly. Even when these new colleagues explicitly ask for specific input, it’s disregarded if the manager doesn’t think it’s a good idea.
4. Many Senior Salespeople have complained about the lack of a development plan. It’s truly hard to progress, because it’s ambiguous how one can progress internally and because a lot of empty promises are made constantly. Even then, I know multiple colleagues that have been very proactive and independent with their own development (e.g. following trainings, learning about the product…), and still weren’t offered a position when there was an opening. Most non-managerial Senior Sales staff leaves after two years of employment.
This is because they have a clear bias for hiring external people. When this lack of internal development is addressed to C-suite, they respond that you ‘also got to become best friends with the right people’, over showing competence or drive. In their defense, a plan has been rolled out as of late, even though it’s still very limited in scope. Next to that, this management has not been executing plans well, so there is little hope.
5. There’s a strong tendency towards micromanagement, where all actions of any Salesperson are being controlled and checked. Over the last months, the number of calls and emails are highly monitored, even when hitting target. This undermines the intelligence and autonomy of the workforce. It also just clearly shows how Templafy is growing more authoritarian, with no trust and the only communication allowed being top-down.
6. When financial results aren’t met, people on the bottom of the org. chart get blamed, despite hitting almost every KPI over the last year. Templafy’s management is too afraid to dig deeper into the cause of the real problem, because it might actually show that some AEs/AMs/managers are underperforming.
7. There’s no psychological safety in the Sales department. When people are going through a difficult time, manager’s easy answer is “Sales is tough”, instead of displaying emotional intelligence or empathy.
8. In between the lines, there’s an unspoken attitude that the further down the company’s hierarchy you are, the more unintelligent you must be. Managers dumb down their messaging, give no ‘why’ to decisions, or disregard any ideas from lower-level Salespeople. There’s no inclusion and transparency in decisions, and communication is belittling. The underlying philosophy is that employees need to be controlled and kept into check.
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People Plus (how HR is labelled at our company) tries their best on solidifying a culture of “Belongingness”, where there’s a seat at the table for everybody. A great idea that I wholeheartedly stand behind. The problem lies (once again) in its execution:
1. Inappropriate jokes are being made at times when they shouldn’t. Sometimes, these jokes are discriminatory in nature (racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.). This is hurtful beyond words. It’s tragic to see that a lot of managers partake in this kind of ‘humor’. They are supposed to set an example, and right now their behavior inspires some vulnerable, less intelligent subordinates to make the same edgy ‘jokes’.
2. A lot of politics goes into promotions. Over the last 6 months, there has been a trend of people with similar profiles being promoted. This means straight, white men with the same personality traits and a passion for golf (also known as the Boys Club). Not only is this old-fashioned and discriminatory towards other groups of people. It also poses a danger for groupthink, a phenomenon wherein the same ideas gets accepted and encouraged by a group without any critical reasoning.
Hilariously, this happens in a lot of meetings as well: people who have no real input, constantly echo the same thoughts, just to take the spotlight for some minutes or to satisfy C-suite. I think it’s a danger when the same ideas are generally accepted by a group without critical notes (think: cult/extremism). But the people who have their reservations/critical input, stay silent because of the psychological unsafe work environment. Or because they’ve given up on Templafy as I have.
3. People Plus is well aware of the different structural problems at Templafy. Multiple people have been courageous enough over the last 3 months to speak up and share their experience and problems towards a People Plus Partner.
Furthermore, the points made in previous Glassdoor reviews are valid, true and also provide a lot of insights into some company pain points. Yet, nobody in this department has taken responsibility or helped the employees who needed it badly. They shrug off concerns, and hide behind their magic word “Belongingness”. The bitter reality is that I’ve seen multiple people cry over the last weeks at my office. Others report mental wellbeing issues, headaches, anxiety, stress, depressive feelings, lower self-esteem, and sleeping problems. Nobody should be asked to go through this for any company.
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The pay is okay (a bit below market standards), even though there have been some very controversial changes in some commission plans. An non-legally binding document about equity has been rolled out 1,5 months ago, but no concrete information has followed. My assumption is that this is a way to bind people to the company longer.
Next to that, there’s also no formal pension plan if you work in Copenhagen, which is exceptional for a Danish company. The cognitive dissonance between the big deals we close and the lack of letting your employees join in this financial success is therefore pretty high.
Friday bars and events have now become places where employees gossip about Templafy and others in the company. Before, this used to be a place to wind down and be proud of your accomplishments/company. Now, all the cynicism of the last week comes floating above. Concretely, fewer and fewer employees visit these events. It’s a testament to the company that Templafy has become. I have low hopes it will get better in 2022.
