Over the past few years, Criteo has drifted away from the core values that once defined its unique culture. While it was once seen as a "unicorn" where employees felt a genuine sense of belonging and longevity. The current environment feels increasingly individualistic and detached from its day to day employees.
Criteo used the terms to describe its values as:
1. "OPEN"
2. TOGETHER"
3. IMPACTFUL"
...but in reality the lived experience is:
1. Confusing messaging from leadership.
2. Employees working within their own siloed environments (regardless if they are in an office or remote).
3. Burnout caused by growing responsibilities without a clear vision of the future.
One time, when a C-Suite exec was questioned what should we do to improve employees burnout. The executive simply said that employees should just speak with their managers about their workload. As if it was that simple… but instead this exec failed to acknowledge that on reality, managers are being bombarded with competing priorities from those same executives. While on the the ground employee, questioning these demands often put you in a negative light with your manager rather than leading to actionable solution.
In the current 'low hire/low fire' environment, the company has sought to push some people out through ambiguous performance feedbacks. Coincidentally happing prior to a layoff. Managers have increasingly started giving vague, out of the-blue negative feedbacks to employees, which have appeared to be an effort to create a paper trail to eventually place people on performance plans as an excuse to let them go. Consequently, creating a stressful environment and at times leaving dedicated, long term employees feeling insecure about their future, extremely confused, anxious, and undervalued. A true slap in the face from Criteo but very much in par with the stereotypical corporate culture that so many companies navigates into.
The company used to invest in organization trainings, and influence people to become future leaders in the organization. But instead it’s now led by some managers who lack effective communication, people skills and very little accountability for their lack of clarity. While HR responses have become increasingly disingenuous and robotic. Even the responses seen here, on glassdoor, sounds AI generated.
Ultimately, there is a profound disconnect between the current leadership’s direction and the foundational culture established by founder Jean-Baptiste Rudelle and the previous CEO.
