Feel treated like a resource, not an asset - Internet Marketing Consultant Rise Interactive Employee Review

I'll admit it, when I decided to join Rise I was swayed by all the things listed above. Brand new downtown office, stocked kitchen with a regular fridge and a beer fridge, laid back atmosphere, a good set of coworkers, a chance to get valuable experience in a potentially exciting industry. I thought, eh, it might not pay that well, but maybe I won't completely hate work everyday. Maybe, if I prove my worth and stick around for a little while, I can get all these things and also get paid. Well, that's not exactly how it works at Rise. You see, there are two main issues with the concept above. One, you do hate going to work everyday when you work at Rise. And two, you will never be paid what you are worth. The Executives at Rise (aka the CEO and his buddies) like to convey a few central themes during their numerous company meetings; 1) Rise is kicking ass and taking names and everything is just dandy so no one worry about anything, 2) Everything is awesome because you employees are so awesome and talented and you work great as part of a team and you have so much room for growth within this company so let’s stick together and side by side we will win forever, and 3) We know it’s a little weird that 3 employees left in the last week but just know we care about you and want what’s best for you and you guys are the most important thing in the whole wide company, so if you ever need anything, anything at all, feel free to ask at anytime. The first couple of times you hear this spiel you don’t think much of it. You think, “I’m new here. I don’t know what’s really going on. People look happy. Everything is fine. I’m fine here. Everything is going according to plan.” But than it keeps coming and coming and coming, and you think, “Maybe people aren’t that happy. Something does seem a little off. All these talented people are leaving. Our clients do kind of suck. I don’t really know what the executives do with their time. I’m not making as much as I should. And I’m working way longer hours than I need to.” And finally, “Welp, I’m definitely not happy here.” Trust me, the words might be different but this happens to almost everyone. Some suck it up and keep working, others start interviewing, while many just quit to get out of there. But in reality, almost everyone who gets hired at an entry-level position goes through this at some point. It’s really hard to peg the nucleus of my unpleasant experience at Rise on one thing in particular, but if I had to, if there was one thing that I thought was the root of all things unpleasant about my experience, it would definitely be the executives. Broad, yes, but accurate, also yes. You see, the executives don’t really know what they’re doing. I’m not going to name names, so I’ll treat them all as one, but in reality some are worse than others. I understand it’s a start-up, and a lot of things are “learn on the fly” type things, but this group seems particularly bad at learning on the fly. In particular, they can’t for the life of them figure out how to make happy employees and retain their talent. They give us everything; game room, free snacks, Keurig, happy hours, beer friday, Christmas gifts. How on earth are the employees unhappy? Do they need 2 iPads each next year? Would another catered lunch do the trick? I’m rambling, so I think it’s time I get to the thesis. The executives don’t realize it, but they treat us like expendable resources. Sure, they put on this show that each of us is a vital asset to a successful company, but in reality they want to squeeze as much work as possible out of each of us before we inevitably leave and they hire someone new. Give employees a little more stuff, and postpone their breaking point for that much longer. Feed them a little more food, and prolong the façade that everyone at Rise is happy. As long as employee gripe is kept to a minimum, everything is fine (WARNING: when employee gripe isn’t kept to a minimum, a completely irrational and ill-advised firing may occur). The executives are so enamored with the idea of high employee morale, that I am sure they frequent glassdoor and monitor every review and are going to try long and hard to figure out who wrote this. They’ll certainly have the time for it, because after spending an extended period of time there I still have no clue what they do with their time, what value they bring to the table, or how they are at all qualified for the positions they are in. But bring up any issues you have with the executive team to HR, and they’ll thank you for your input and do absolutely nothing at all to change anything. Because, in the end, the executive team is the one making decisions. Long story short, I didn’t have a good experience at Rise. I don’t see the company going anywhere under current leadership, and I don’t see leadership changing anytime soon. If it does, that’s a different story, but based on experience, what is going to happen is your frustrations will build as time goes on and on and after a while you will realize you’ve just wasted A LOT of valuable time. P.S. (for the executives): I know how to improve employee morale. It’s really simple. Keep throwing stuff at them if you want, it is appreciated. But MUCH more importantly, make sure your employees feel as if they are being fairly compensated, and get rid of this whole time tracking obsession and 50/hr week standard. There is no better way to drain morale then to underpay and overwork. P.P.S.: I left out a lot of things. Just know that I am extremely happy with my decision to leave Rise, and everyone else I’ve talked to who has also left has said the exact same thing. tl (1098 words, sorry);dr – Executives are incompetent and without realizing it are creating a morale draining environment.