Outside Reviews

I’ll echo the other honest reviews I’ve read here. Many of the recent positive reviews do not seem sincere, and I assume members of upper management wrote some or all to get the company’s score higher. Those that have been here longer than a year have been through the wringer. Between countless acquisitions, restructure after restructure, process change after process change, position reshuffling, false promises of promotions and raises, people leaving and not getting replaced, and so much more, we're tired. WE ARE EXHAUSTED. There’s been high turnover the last several months and many/most of those positions have not been filled, causing employees who are already over their capacity to have even more work dumped on them. The burnout rate is high and leadership's excuses for not backfilling are not acceptable. If they can't afford to backfill positions, they should take another look at the new, gigantic, (mostly) empty office in Boulder first. Seems like that rent could have paid the salaries of employees we desperately need. Leadership often asks for our opinions and our feedback but I have yet to see much, if anything, change. Why ask for feedback if you're going to ignore it? Along the way, Outside, Inc. became a wannabe tech startup (but with 600+ employees), although none of us are from tech companies or ever agreed to work for one. We are all from the various outdoor media brands that have been gobbled up by this monopoly, with a CEO that thinks he’s “one of us” and approachable, yet regularly refers to the company as the “Amazon Prime of the outdoor industry.” Only people above a certain tax bracket would view that as a positive thing. The latest big buzzy announcement from leadership is an NFT marketplace that claims to "help people get outside." Once this announcement was posted on social media, internet commenters did their job and ripped it apart. We’ll have to see how this will all be addressed, or more likely ignored, during this rollout. I don't know what the future holds for NFT's and Outside Inc, but it's definitely a strange attempt at a mash up. Unlimited PTO is an amazing concept, but only if we could actually use it. All the work has to get done (and FAST) and the headcount is lagging badly, which means there is no one to pick up your tasks if you're out. You're guilt-tripped into working late, on weekends, on vacations, during your supposed unlimited PTO. Of course everyone should set the boundaries they are personally comfortable with, but after a while, you get worn down and you start to give in. Working at a company called Outside, Inc would lead most to believe we "get outside" a lot. My response to this is to re-read the paragraph above about unlimited PTO.

-low pay which seems common in the outdoor industry (people don't work at Outside for the paycheck) -hiring more higher-level employees versus hiring more individual contributors to execute/accomplish goals (there are many things going on/things that need to get done; we need boots on the ground to execute, not think about things; I understand we need higher-level employee hires to steer the vision, but how do we balance that with what needs to get done today/now? This is a factor leading to major burnout) -performance rating system 1-5 (3 is average; unclear expectations/requirements to get 4 or 5) -lack of headcount (many people are doing the role of five people and there doesn't appear to be discussion on adding more support) -turnover (so, so many people have left or are in the process of leaving the company; difficult to accomplish goals as we're left picking up the pieces/responsibilities from employees that have quit) -lack of culture/identity (from my perspective, revenue is more important than people; we don't have fun together - most are heads down just trying to survive/get through the day/put out fires) -unclear strategy and value proposition (lack of communication from higher-level management on what Outside will look like in five years) -"this environment isn't for everyone" (said to many people about the current environment at the company; feels like a cop out - who is this environment for? If you enjoy working non-stop, changing metrics/goals, and constant fires, is that the environment?) -feeling burned by the organization (there are always two sides to every story, but I've felt pretty burned by the company (promises broken, unclear expectations, lots of egos) and it's going to be hard to get my trust back if I decide to stay) It's a bummer because this place COULD be so amazing, but you get the sense that management doesn't actually care for the employees, rather it's only about revenue and trimming costs. If that's the case, please be more upfront during the interview process as I would not have taken this job if I got the sense that people aren't the most valued asset at the company. I feel like I'm a cog in the wheel/number and can be replaced at any moment with no job security. Also, the outdoor industry is small - people talk. If you're not providing a good working environment, that will reverberate throughout the industry. Your employees can also be your biggest evangelists, but that's not the case at Outside. I want it to be better but I will most likely be quitting soon.