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      Optimal (WA)

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      Optimal (WA) reviews

      Great Perks - Anonymous employee Optimal (WA) Employee Review

      2.0
      20 Sept 2015
      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Fully stocked kitchen, pool table, close to the water, many learning opportunities and training. Hours are flexible and team members are good about completing work.

      Cons

      CEO changes his mind on a whim, manager is inexperienced and manipulative. Ran like a much larger company than it is. Absolutely no positive reinforcement. You never know if you're doing a good job or if the manager is being sincere. The manager has a personal chat with 4 other employees where they make all decisions about group activities and gossip about fellow employees. Manager is in a friend group and she hires from that group. During my employment I saw her hire two more of her friends which led to a cliquey and divided environment. Manager likes to tell people about themselves in front of everyone, and constantly makes jokes at other people's expense. The friend group is incredibly cliquey and it's made worse that one of the members is the manager. Management makes many false promises and manipulates the employees into thinking its a great work environment.

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      Optimal (WA) Response
      10y
      We had a long conversation with the rest of the team about this feedback, because it took many of us by surprise. Regardless of what we want to believe, we need to be honest with ourselves if this is a sentiment shared by others on the team. Other employees openly discussed their thoughts and conveyed that they did not feel this was a general issue facing the company. Every year, an outside consultant collects anonymous feedback from our employees about the culture of the company, the opportunity for growth, and their compensation. Each year, our employees have given us high marks for the culture of the company, which is why this review came as a surprise. Still, it taught us that, as a small company, we need to be even more vigilant on maintaining a great culture.

      Explore other reviews about Optimal (WA)

      5.0
      8 Jan 2020
      Software engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Working at SR Education Group was really awesome, everyone there is super friendly and they often play board games and play wine on Friday afternoons. They also have regular company lunches that are paid for and have a full kitchen you can use to make lunches (they will buy whatever food/ingredients you ask for). There is also a pool table and ping pong table you can use, and they don’t expect you to work more than 8 hours a day even if it means pushing back deadlines. You can have a lot of ownership over specific products if that’s what you want.

      Cons

      They are based in Kirkland, so if you live in Seattle the commute is a bit annoying. The pay could also be better.

      1
      5.0
      11 Aug 2019
      User experience designer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      - Amazing people to work with. Everyone is very helpful if you aren't afraid to ask for help, and there were always great conversations at the lunch table. Lots of fun activities and the team is welcoming and tight-knit - Lots of opportunities to take charge and steer projects in a particular direction that's most helpful to your own professional growth, provided you take the initiative and figure out how to align your professional goals with those of the company - Great benefits, flexibility, and trust. Work life balance is great, and the company does things like weekly outings to the local farmers market, which is a nice break in the workday - Company encourages professional development, which I highly recommend taking advantage of.

      Cons

      - Company is very small and has been experiencing quite a bit of growth, so there are lots of growing pains. I think this is typical for any growing small company - Not a lot of guidance or mentorship from leadership, at least for my personal discipline (design). I found a way around this by seeking mentorship externally and taking advantage of conferences, etc., but it does require initiative. PMs who want to follow the path of a senior PM might have more luck seeking this out - At the moment, design is tertiary at this company. Leadership acknowledges/is transparent about this, at least.

      2
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