Pros
My review is a little different than others in that I left of my own volition due to somewhat unusual circumstances and not at all due to being dissatisfied with the company. This means I have no ax to grind and no necessity to lie to protect my job.
When I read some of these reviews, I feel like I must have worked for a different company. One reviewer said there were no pros to working for CINC.
Want some pros? How about being able to bring your dog to work? I mean, maybe if you are a cat, that isn't a pro for you, but I loved it. Felling stressed? Find someone's cutie to pet. I wish I had worked for CINC a few years earlier so I could have taken my dog to work.
How about free lunch provided every day? And not just a crappy lunch either. Sure, everyone doesn't love every meal equally, and my vote is to ditch ravioli day, but if I had to pick a single restaurant that I HAD to eat at every day, I can't think of a single restaurant I would like more every day than what CINC's in-house chef does on a regular basis.
Typically, small companies can't provide as good of a health insurance package as larger companies. Yet CINC has better insurance than its Fortune 500 parent company.
Dress code? I wore shorts all summer, fall, and most of winter. Did you? True, I was discouraged from wearing a bikini (I'm a guy, BTW) so even there, management was looking out for the well being of most employees!
Educational opportunities? Um, well, maybe they should consider... Nope!!! CINC provides each employee with an education benefit that allows each employee to spend up to about $1,200 per year for training. And they don't make it so difficult to get something approved that you give up the idea. Are you a software developer wanting a book, a subscription to some training site, or would like to attend some professional training seminar? You know you are!
How about a small startup that is maturing past that stage but still largely has a family feel AND has a stock purchase plan for their Fortune 500 parent? CINC has it. Who else can boast an employee stock purchase plan AND a small family oriented company feel? That's rare.
Of course there is 401(k) matching!
To my surprise, when I approached management a few months ago requesting financial training for employees, they called my bluff and allowed me to run with it! Didn't see that coming.
It would be nice if they offered some sort of health incentive plan like covering gym memberships and stuff. Oh, wait, that was added this year.
I can listen to music when I code. I can shoot that beer loving hippy in flip-flops on the other side of the aisle with a Nerf dart. And in most of the department areas, there is a table containing food that employees voluntarily bring in. It's kind of rare that the table in development doesn't have something to snack on.
As a developer I get to work with some brilliant people. There are so many people I can learn from here. From a developer perspective, there are a lot of opportunities to learn and interface with other technologies.
Would you like to work for a company with a heart? CINC does plenty of charitable events but they won't talk about it because they really just want to help and aren't interested in blowing their own horn, so I'll blow it a little for them. Listen to one of our passionate clients explain how CINC employees came to her home in Houston after a hurricane and helped her deal with her own personal disaster. She will most likely be a CINC client for life. You can't buy that kind of client loyalty. It only comes from the heart.
Want to work from home? It varies depending on the job, but it is the most liberal place on working from home I have worked at. When I started I asked my boss if working from home on a Monday or Friday was frowned upon. I had worked for companies that didn't like the idea for fear that employees would treat it as a three day weekend. My boss said it sounded like they didn't have the right employees. Finally, a place that understands that the right people don't have to be treated like children.
Looking for a career instead of just another job? CINC has more employee advancement than any other company I have worked for, some of which were much, much larger.
Want work/life balance? OMG, this is your place! I actually heard the CEO say something like "If you want to go watch your child play his soccer match, go!" I'm not sure what he said after that. I fainted. Want a company that values its employees? This is your place. I once heard the CEO say they would reject customers if they were verbally abusive to employees.
Does your current company offer all this? If so, please leave me a comment and provide an email address to where I can submit my application.
Cons
CINC is in the process of crossing the chasm from startup to post startup. This can be a challenge at times. It is a fast paced environment and adaptation is required.
All of these fantastic perks don't come for free. You have read a lot about culture in many of the reviews. If you aren't willing to care and give it your best, you won't enjoy the CINC culture and you won't be a good fit.
Others have mentioned that the work location is not the best and that is true. Management has taken steps to hire REAL security for our protection. I'm not talking about some dude with a badge and a radio napping his way through the day. I'm talking the kind of guys you don't want to confront that are actively patrolling the area.
