Pros
A great benefits package, particularly the health benefits. A good location. Senior employees are given the week between Christmas and New Years off. Management holds an annual picnic and Christmas party. The company and its reputation are well known in the industry (which is helpful in finding a new job, but not as helpful as advertised by management). Good experience, both in terms of the work preformed and learning the type of work atmosphere to avoid.
Cons
The company’s business model is flawed by design. Salaried employees are knowingly given more work than can possibly be completed in a day/week. Obviously there are times when salaried employees will need to stay late or work weekends, but that should be the exception and not the rule. At SSA employees are expected to work nights and weekends, often in excess of 70 hours a week from Jan – late April / mid May. Those that do not are labeled as lazy and terminated. Employees should be entitled to some semblance of a work/life balance. The pay is bad, and management takes advantage of a soft job market to avoid giving raises. Management also avoids giving periodic/annual reviews for the same reason. The companywide management style is one of intimidation and fear. Management is often ignorant of specific client issues until the client, with whom staff have no contact, brings them to their attention. The immediate reaction to any perceived mistake is to immediately assign blame and take punitive action against the staff response. No mistake is ever used as an opportunity to teach. Instead, employees are verbally berated in front of one another, and what should be private e-mails between employees and supervisors are always forwarded along to other team members solely as motivation for them to work harder. Management provides little to no oversight or support of its employees until a problem arises.