Supportive colleagues but unclear leadership, favoritism, and culture of overwork. Think twice before applying!
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
The working atmosphere among colleagues is very positive, with a collaborative and supportive environment. My direct supervisor was an excellent mentor, providing guidance and constructive feedback that contributed significantly to my professional growth. The company offers interesting projects and finances professional certifications, such as Microsoft and Databricks, which help with career development. For employees who receive proper guidance, there are good opportunities for advancement. For fresh graduates or junior employees, this can be a good place to start a career.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Management tends to favor certain colleagues who interact closely with them, while others are often overlooked. Communication at the management level lacks transparency, and decision-making can be inconsistent. Work-life balance is limited, with frequent overtime that is neither compensated nor tracked. Salaries are below market average, and many corporate benefits are unavailable to most employees. Employees working on smaller projects often face limited resources and support, making it difficult to implement scalable solutions. The company also prioritizes bigger clients over smaller ones, which can result in neglected projects and limited guidance for the colleagues working on them. Additionally, being assigned to projects that allow for learning and growth often feels like a matter of luck. Everyone should have a fair chance to prove themselves and develop professionally, rather than relying on fortunate assignments.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
The company could improve by involving technical staff in project planning and time estimation to ensure that deadlines are realistic. Communication and transparency between management and employees should be strengthened, and fair treatment should be extended to all colleagues, not just those who have closer interactions with management. Proper compensation or accounting for overtime would improve work-life balance. The company could also provide stronger support for colleagues in smaller clients and projects, and develop a clearer strategic plan to help the company grow and prevent negative consequences like those resulting from the 2024 layoffs. Also, when it comes to spending, the company invests in large parties after all-hands meetings. Instead of allocating resources to such activities, it would be more meaningful to focus on remaining competitive in the job market and retaining talent through fair and sustainable salary adjustments.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The working atmosphere among colleagues is very good. On an organizational level, however, too many unnecessary meetings significantly slowed down efficient work and solution implementation.
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I do not think the company has a particularly strong reputation. Smaller clients were often neglected or received limited support, as priority was given to more important, bigger clients. Colleagues working on smaller projects frequently experienced little backing from the company. Additionally, the way staff were let go in 2024 continues to have negative consequences, which stemmed from the company’s lack of strategic planning. I would recommend reaching out to former KI employees and carefully considering your decision before applying, especially if you are planning to relocate to Germany. I have seen colleagues move across continents only to be dismissed during their probation period, which can be extremely difficult, particularly when adjusting to a new country without job security.
Work-Life-Balance
Work-life balance was effectively non-existent. Technical teams were excluded from project time estimations, and projects were assigned with unrealistic deadlines, which frequently required overtime work.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
Career development and training opportunities were generally good for those who received guidance, such as the support I had from my manager. For colleagues working on smaller projects, however, limited time and resources often meant they were only able to patch existing solutions rather than implement scalable solutions following best practices. The company does finance certifications from providers such as Microsoft and Databricks.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
While team cohesion among colleagues was good, this did not translate into a comparable sense of support or alignment when it came to management interactions.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
My direct supervisor was supportive and acted as a strong mentor, offering constructive feedback and taking employee input seriously. This had a positive impact on my professional development. In contrast, other supervisors were largely part of the management level, with limited direct engagement.
Arbeitsbedingungen
Working conditions were unsatisfactory. Overtime was neither paid nor accounted for. Most corporate benefits were not very useful to employees.
Kommunikation
Communication among colleagues was very good. In contrast, communication with the management level lacked genuine and open dialogue. For example, I was assigned to a project two weeks before my departure, yet the managing director who assigned me never spoke to me about it.
Gehalt/Benefits
Salary was lower than the market average for comparable positions, and negotiating salary based on performance was difficult. During salary negotiation periods, the responsible managing director was often difficult to reach. As a result, some colleagues remained on the same salary for more than two years, while others received increases more frequently. Salary progression appeared to depend largely on visibility and individual relationships rather than consistent criteria.
Gleichberechtigung
Equal treatment was limited. The management circle tended to favor a few colleagues who actively interacted with them, while others were often overlooked. Some capable colleagues were unable to excel in their roles because management did not have a clear overview of individual contributions. When evaluating performance, they often consulted only one or two of these favored colleagues, which sometimes led to inaccurate conclusions. Lastly, many former colleagues, including myself, had not received a work certificate from the company even several months after leaving.
Interessante Aufgaben
There were sometimes interesting topics and tasks. However, only a few of them could be implemented properly within the given timeframes. In addition, the company struggled at times to acquire new clients, which led to accepting projects with unusual or unsuitable tech stacks that went beyond the original job description.
Arbeitgeber-Kommentar
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and for highlighting the positive collaboration with colleagues, the supportive mentorship of your direct supervisor, and the opportunities for certifications and professional development.
At the same time, we would like to clarify a few points. We place strong emphasis on transparent processes, structured project staffing, and equal development opportunities. Project assignments and career progression are not based on personal proximity to management, but on skills, availability, and project requirements. While this may not always be perfectly visible from the outside, we continuously work to improve transparency and communication around these processes.
Consulting projects can involve phases of higher workload, especially when deadlines are tight. However, our clear expectation is that overtime remains the exception rather than the rule.
Regarding compensation, we operate with clearly defined salary bands for each role that are regularly benchmarked against the market. Individual salaries within these bands may vary based on experience, performance, and responsibilities, but they follow a structured framework rather than arbitrary decisions.
We appreciate you sharing your experience and wish you all the best for your future career.