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      Circles

      Engaged employer

      Circles Reviews

      3.0

      48% would recommend to a friend

      (547 total reviews)
      avatar

      Rameez Ansar

      49% approve of CEO

      43% positive business outlook

      Circles has an employee rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, based on 547 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Circles employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Telecommunications industry (3.6 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      547 reviews
      1.0
      7 Jun 2018

      Please don't join

      Software engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Only pro would that the colleagues are good apart from the management. Because same problems have brought everyone more together. Everyone can relate to the problem and sympathise with each other.

      Cons

      Please don't join this company if you're a software engineer. This company is the ideal workplace for managers who don't care about the engineering culture and think of engineers as just some cheap labour. That is why they are always after hiring cheap Engineers from the Indian subcontinent or very pathetic service companies. There idea is that if they can get all engineers from a poorer background and dependent on visas then they'll be able to oppress the engineers. The job is 99% production support and 1% building features on top of the worst codebase anyone can see in their whole lives. You'll get frustrated to your core. The technical management has zero technical skills and think they can run a team of software engineers but just oppressing and old school management techniques. It's really disgraceful. If you value software engineering even 1% then don't join this company. Don't fall in their trap. They keep saying that the situation will improve but it has only gotten worse every day for the past year. This is the reason that most engineers leave this company in a matter of months.

      avatar
      Circles Response
      7y
      Hi there, we thank you for your time in sharing this review with us. Your experience is regrettable, and we are sorry you felt the way you do. We hear that you've enjoyed your time here with your colleagues, and we're glad you're able to find a support network. On the management and workplace culture, we're equally concerned about what you've raised, which is radically different from what we inculcate in the workplace. We've always, and will continue to, strive to be empowering to our people so that they can own their initiatives from start to end. Besides this, we constantly review our salary benchmark to ensure we're rewarding our people competitively. This is in addition to incentive schemes we've made available to Circles.Lifers who perform exceptionally well - they're considered for Space Explorer awards which promise extremely attractive incentives. On your point regarding management, we understand that management styles differ from team to team. We're in the process of introducing new ways to do better in the area of management, so please bear with us as we continue to grow and evolve. If there is anything we could be of assistance or clarify, please do not hesitate to contact us at talent-network@circles.asia. We wish you the very best in your new endeavour!
      1.0
      12 Mar 2020

      Not recommended

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      The ideas of the product are good and innovative. Good investors.

      Cons

      The founders asked employees to submit good reviews because the rating dropped badly. They fired everyone (left only 2 people) in Australia after only 4 months Some people’s salaries are cut. They fired more than half of people in Taiwan after less than 1 year of operations They keep on firing the engineering team since last year. They make people work 7 days a week, all departments. They make everyone work in a crowded room when other companies are requesting their employees to work from home during the corona virus pandemic. Work from home doesn’t exist.

      avatar
      Circles Response
      6y
      Dear Circles.Lifer, Thank you for taking the time to write your concerns. Please do note that while we do encourage our employees to provide feedback after key moments, we are in no way able to, nor do we condone forging reviews. We do take constructive feedback given to us very seriously, though the multiple avenues that are available, both internal and external. We do hear your concerns about the recent restructuring, it was a tough but necessary decision to make in order to realign our organisation with our mission and vision. The leadership team is fully committed to making informed and sensible decisions, though perhaps we could be more communicative about the work that goes on in the background. We'd like to remind you that flexible working arrangements have always been available, subject to individual team manager approval, and your HRBP has also been available for consultation on such matters. Regarding the Covid-19 situation, as you know, CL has instituted multiple measures from last week onward and are monitoring the situation. We do share your view on people being our greatest asset and so we look forward to working with you to make Circles.Life a great place to work and grow! Rest assured that your feedback is duly noted, but you may also wish to talk to your HRBP or participate in the recent Open Hours at 2pm, Friday so as to engage us further in communication. Thank you for your hard work thus far!
      1.0
      13 Aug 2020

      Toxic Culture and Unhappy Employees

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      - able to wear many different hats since you're joining a startup environment where they throw you multiple tasks and projects to do. this would look good on your resume if you have the mindset of hustling and taking on everything that comes on your plate - there are some good people in the company, talented, hardworking, humble and ready to really make an impact. you would be very lucky to work with them.

      Cons

      1. retrenchment exercise was a joke. employees were let go without dignity, told that they were let go and expected to return assets within an hour or two the same day. no damage control, no sympathy. during the meeting, told some employees they were being let go because business needs changed, but after that newspaper reports and even a Glassdoor review below mentioned that people were let go due to performance/ productivity issues (if you fire entire teams in Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, and India, are you sure you're doing right by the employees if you said they were bad performers?) in my pov, a company that does this to their employees have 0 respect and you would be better off not joining lest you face the same situation. 2. promises stock options but gives nothing as a non senior management employee, esops promised were never exercised or given. many people have left and are unable to exercise their stock options (we paid to have them) and I'm not even sure about the legality of their practices. 3. lack of transparency. company wide townhalls questions are vetted beforehand, and founders/ leadership team prepare their answers. expect 3 minute answers that are vague and promise things far off in the future without really getting to the point. 4. huge superiority complexes, founders and senior management believe "if you dont fit our culture, then maybe this isnt the place for you". Very narrow minded thinking, if you arent giving 200% and sacrificing your own personal time, being aggressive in pushing your ideas, or exceeding (not just meeting) your kpis, then you arent a culture fit in their eyes to be honest.

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      Glassdoor has 695 Circles reviews submitted anonymously by Circles employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Circles is right for you.