Disappointing Experience for a company that prides themselves in loyalty
Pros
Management seemed to really want to watch their teams grow, company culture (excluding upper management and c-suite) was wonderful. Chicago office was neat for the two weeks it was open before they laid off 20% of the company.
Cons
The lack of transparency was all too apparent, especially in the months leading up to the mass layoffs on Feb 15th. For a company that goes on and on about their company values, (i.e move as one, etc) VTS execs were the first ones to throw said values out the window the minute the economy took a turn. Look, i get that lay offs are necessary in unplanned situations, but to convey yourselves the way you did was just.....so....unsettling. Forcing a robotic script to be performed onto the managers who were conducting the layoffs was all too authoritarian. Watching these poor managers schedule unassuming, tenured, fantastic employees one by one into "surprise" (very much planned) meetings to break the news to them, while in turn, staring at your own calendar waiting to see if you're next was so eerie and not the way i would imagine any other company to go about lay offs. Sure it wasn't a company wide email, but i would argue that the way VTS chose to do layoffs was worse. At my time at the company, i did really enjoy the culture, but it was the structure that was annoying. I'd say in the last six months alone, there were at least three separate org restructures, new management set in place, and positions realligning to "better fit the company". It was confusing, annoying, and put more roadblocks in front of people who were trying to advance. It really showed how little leadership knew what was going on. I was one of the lucky ones to see lay offs coming and understand that my place at the company was only viewed as a number and not a person. I never want to feel that way at a place of work again.
