From Great to corporate
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
I loved working at Scalable in the past and still do. The company is highly ambitious and has managed to attract so many amazing people that I just love working with. Building a great high quality product with a high degree of visibility (e.g. all my friends know and use it) is so rewarding. And although being a bank by now, it still does (or better say 'did') feel like a working at start-up. A highly organised and professional one though.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
Lately, they are taking all the wrong turns. Scalable is a company built on very smart and talented people willing to go the extra mile. And in order to attract these people, the company culture created was matching what these people seek: An environment of trust paired with a high degree of freedom. Meaning, flexible working hours, an unlimited home office policy, and a very generous work-from-abroad policy.
In return, people were willing to make the next audacious highly ambitious deadline work. Working not far, but considerably beyond their 40 hours per week, during the night and weekends when necessary (to keep product disruption with client impact to a minimum), and under constant pressure to deliver faster. While stressful for many, such an environment is motivating for most people I work with at Scalable. And that environment is being changed fundamentally right now.
The trust in its people seems to be gone. And with it, the granted freedoms are being taken away. Recently, a new work-from-abroad policy almost completely took away previously granted rights. The home office policy is being severely reduced. (Note: I like to come to the office most of the days, but know that I'm significantly more productive at home. Their office neither has enough meeting rooms nor allows for concentrated work in a quiet environment.) And all of these new policies are announced in a tone-deaf and out-of-touch manner by leadership. It's quite apparent that they are not realising that they are taking away the essence of what makes Scalable attractive to most of the fantastic people working here.
The impact of those decisions won't become apparent right away, but over time. Asking for the same level of commitment while granting fewer freedoms - the math doesn't add up. The company will pay for it by losing its great people in exchange for mediocre ones.
Bottom line: Don't come to Scalable now. You missed out on its great years. It's going to be nothing more than the average corporate bank soon.