Disavowing workforce in favor of short-term profitability
Pros
Best-in-class product, flexible/remote work policies, in-office accommodations. Employees generally treat each other with respect, support is largely available to anyone who is willing to ask for it.
Cons
The Customer Success department has been systematically diminished over the past year in favor of corporate profitability. CSMs have been outright denied participation in two of the past three promotion cycles, regardless of their business impact, proficiency, or level of responsibility entrusted to the individuals involved. Variable compensation is completely tied to collective outcomes. No chance for career advancement and no chance to improve personal earnings provides zero incentive for high performers and zero reward for high performance when it is achieved. Hiring for CSMs has crawled to a near halt in 2023 despite steady and continued 20% YoY growth. Backfills are frequently not granted to teams when an individual leaves. When hiring does occur, budgets have been reduced and only lower-proficiency, lower-paying roles are being offered despite postings for open senior-level roles. Front line management is not structured or equipped to actively develop and manage less-experienced, lower-proficiency hires while those new employees handle full portfolio loads and responsibilities above and beyond their stated roles. Okta's senior leadership has publicly stated to shareholders that one of their efforts this year is to reduce labor costs in an attempt to increase profitability, which is the driving force behind these changes. These same items are out-of-bounds for public discussion and do not receive any internal recognition from those same leaders despite a stated culture of transparency.
