Ashamed. at end of my rope. G-d forgive me for posting this!! - Software Engineer SEI Novus Employee Review

2.0
30 Jul 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I am truly amazed by the quality of talent this firm has attracted. There's something awesome about working alongside folks who are so eager to spread their knowledge and experience. Even in the worst of times middle managers will stick their necks out for their subordinates, and they never stop teaching. I am grateful for that. G-d bless these people.

Cons

How brazenly stupid is upper management to orchestrate the posting of fake reviews on glassdoor? Perhaps fake is the wrong term? Let's say these are orchestrated reviews. None of these company-approved reviews even attempt to begin describing the sad state of affairs at Novus. Don't these people have any fear of G-d??? As an earlier reviewer on this site has noted quality is simply not an option. Sales and upper management routinely make promises to prospective and current customers in order to attract and keep business. These promises have no grounding in reality. Multiple departments' cries of protest are overruled as a matter of course because sales have been in a slump for 18+ months and something has to shore them up. Under a process such as this it is impossible to conduct well-structured work. Deadlines are used to drive business processes that ordinarily would operate under different motives. This focus on deadlines is detrimental to quality and morale. When deadlines are missed - as tends to happen when sales-driven work is piled on - an intensely fueled process of assigning blame is invoked by upper management. We regular employees have no upfront notification of this blame assignment, so we always end up caught in between political interests which have clearly spent uncountable hours setting up this framework (what they call "accountability"). As is the case in a rigged game, the house always wins. To give you more perspective into what this blame assignment looks like, please consider how much time and effort this firm spends on identifying goals of every employee and then measuring everyone's performance against these goals. Not a bad thing in principle, this singular drive to document every breath we take and later use it to point out ways in which we've failed to deliver has resulted in a hypertrophied, top-heavy goal-setting and review process. Surely even G-d himself doesn't spend so much of His time on judging and punishing good, honest men and women. I have heard that last year the process was used to justify ultra-low bonuses for the producing levels of the firm; regular employees were left with pitiful scraps. What a shameful perversion! We live daily in a swirling vortex of rumors and speculation regarding perceived and real threats. Here at the bottom I am not sure whether I should be looking for a new job or what. There have been numerous departures in the past 9 months. Many were handled poorly. Especially at the management level people tend to disappear, their job functions left carelessly strewn about for someone else to pick up. Upper management here knows precious little about communication. Employees are sold an open meritocracy during the interview process and are then shocked to find the place in a state of inter departmental cold war. I've personally heard from some managers who have regretted selling the party doctrine to prospective hires. It's all a lie. I'm thankful to G-d that this isn't part of my job... The place appears locked in a deadly embrace with itself. Everyone's afraid for their jobs because every misstep brings blame, and we all know what this means. To be fair, I have heard of some mythical "good old days" when purportedly things were different. This was before my time. I sincerely hope for the sake of those who've been here a while that the old days actually did happen. I've prayed to G-d consistently asking Him for Providence. If no help will come from our fellow men then perhaps the Almighty will intervene with as little as a word of His wisdom. Things have gotten so bad that I've spent hours pouring my heart out in the confession booth. I feel bad for everyone stuck here with me, yet against all sensible advice I keep coming to work, hoping - pleading - for the situation to improve. If anyone is reading this, please send help. I don't know what to do.

Explore other reviews about SEI Novus

5.0
22 Nov 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Striving to be ahead of the curve

Cons

Innovation is hard and it isn’t for everyone!

4.0
1 Aug 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I worked here before the company sale -- it was a great first professional experience. Benefits are great.

Cons

Management could be more synchronized.

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