Vectorform Reviews

3.7

67% would recommend to a friend

(62 total reviews)
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Jason Vazzano

76% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Vectorform has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 62 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Vectorform employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

62 reviews
2.0
31 Mar 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Vectorform gets early access to some of the latest / coolest technology from various partners such as Amazon, Microsoft, Oculus, and HTC / Valve Corporation. To add, they are also doing a good deal of projects as it relates to IoT, AR/VR, Mobile app development, Voice, and Machine Learning, Web development. There are also a handful of some very talented individuals that work on various projects and bring a ton of value to their clients. Also, I liked the Innovation Consulting offering which allowed Vectorform to build early and strong relationships with new clients which would eventually turn into future project work. They are also very flexible when it comes to the hours you work as well as providing you the option to work from home. The office is also centrally located in the heart of Royal Oak, which makes it ideal for client visits, lunches, as well as being close to downtown Detroit and the surrounding suburbs. Also, the office space is designed very well, with lots of open space, tall ceilings, stand up tables, and

Cons

When I was first hired, I was very excited about the new opportunity and was under the impression that this would be a chance to work for a really cool tech company that played in the digital space. However, after few weeks, I began noticing some very significant red flags. First, there were about 5 or 6 employees who put their 2 weeks in within the first month while I was there. To add, this turnover continued as more emails started going out about long-time employees who had found new opportunities elsewhere. Even when I left, more employees departed and the Also, the management team had done a very poor job with giving employees feedback on progress, where improvement was needed and overall performance. Vectorform also had a few Directors and Senior Managers and Technical resources that have been there for over ten years seemed to have been part of what I called the "inner circle" and felt almost cult-like. Essentially, you have one group of folks who were hardcore dedicated to Vectorform and another group with one foot out the door. Specifically, a high number of project managers seemed to be the most likely to either leave or get fired. To add, they also pay each of there employees with paper checks at each pay period. For a company that presents itself as a futuristic tech company in 2018, handing out paper checks every two weeks seemed a bit odd. I also felt at some point, that they were running by the seat of there pants especially as it related to client fires and various issues that would arise with a project. Vectorform also relies heavily on 1-2 core clients that generate most of their revenue. This creates significant risk especially if the relationship is damaged or completely severed. I believe much of the employees' dissatisfaction came from one individual specifically.

2.0
12 Sept 2018

The good and the bad.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

· Cool workspace (e.g., LED lights in the floor, one-wheel). · Full kitchen. · Talented team. · Diverse projects (It's a contract house). · Flexible schedule.

Cons

· The company has been, and continues to be, financially unstable. There have been multiple layoffs over the years, most recently nearly 30% of staff were cut. · Projects are often sold underrate which leads to improperly scoped work, tight deadlines, and team members working overtime. · Despite what you may be told, you have little room for creativity. Much like other contract houses/agencies, you are at the demands of the client(s). · The culture used to be something very special - truly a team based environment. Now, its sole focus is on profit and realization rates. (In addition, many of the team members that were the backbone of this culture are no longer with the company.) · Executive leadership refuses to choose a specific direction or type of work to focus on. This has resulted in a frustrating amount of wasted time and resources. · A larger effort should be put towards transparency and honesty. E.g., there are three locations, not five (as listed on their website and branding). The New York office closed YEARS ago; Munich within the last year. · They brand themselves as an, "invention company." They have invented 1 product (DTE Energy Bridge). · It took this invention company (founded in '99) 18 years to provide direct deposit. (I will admit, I slightly enjoyed receiving a hand-delivered paper check every other week.) · Favoritism is prevalent. It can be based on things such as how many extra hours you put in, or having interests that align with Leadership. · They offer WFH, but depending the team you are on, this can affect their view on your performance/position/value within the organization. · Continued promises of having "Developer Days" and "Brainchild" (passion projects), but never fulfilled. · Despite claims of diversity, there is none, and seemingly no desire or focus to improve it. · There are very few promotions, pay increases, or bonuses.

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Vectorform Response
7y
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed comments. While Vectorform has certainly had some financial highs and lows through the years, as most companies have, we are financially stable. Making the tough and frankly heartbreaking decision to let staff go is never an easy one. However, sometimes it is necessary for the greater good. Regarding our culture of invention, It is important to understand what product invention really entails. For every 10 concepts we dream up and prototype only one or two might make it to a proof of concept stage. For every 10 POC's that make it less than one will result in a commercial product. Objectively speaking, if a product we invent becomes a commercial success every 10 years - that's not too bad! Regarding what we call "incremental invention" which is more focused on adding incremental value to an existing product - we find this can be just as challenging and rewarding with the added benefit that a far greater percentage of projects make it into the hands of the public. Regardless of how you classify our projects, the fact is that we have invented a lot of great things over the years. Examples include: A game that helps children with autism learn life skills (for Kaiser Permanente), a system to help doctors diagnose neurological disorders (for Texas Health Resources), and new methods of sports training (for Adidas) - just to name a few. Paid client work and invention are not incompatible concepts. In our business, not all projects are the same. Sometimes they afford less opportunity for creativity and/or invention that we would like. Other times we have the latitude to achieve things that are beyond our wildest dreams. Client work can often be challenging and certainly timebound both of which sometimes require extra effort. This does not result in favoritism for those who put forth extra effort but rather a culture of pride in what we can accomplish when we pull together to achieve the seemingly unachievable. Vectorform’s leadership has established a very clear direction and vision. However, we must balance this with client demand and need. It’s true, it’s not always an easy balance and sometimes adjustments are needed. It should be noted that at the present we are working on a variety of fun and exciting projects with a good sales pipeline of interesting work as well. Finally, Vectorform offers a rich benefit plan that allows for work schedule flexibility, including the ability to work from home, and many of our employees use this benefit regularly. If an employee feels their team does not support this, we hope they would address it directly with the team or with human resources. It is important to us that all Vectorformers can enjoy our benefits equally. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
1.0
10 Oct 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Diverse projects Somewhat autonomy possible if you're lucky Royal Oak downtown is cool

Cons

Where do I start, This is a great place if you want to experience working for a badly run mini-corp. Senior management is just people who have risen to the top for no apparent reason than time spent at the company and they completely eat juniors talents and skills. Typical agency world where juniors put in all the hard work and senior management (directors) barely know what they are doing. Much of your effort will go unnoticed. Client is king no matter how good you are at your job. Most of all the vague deliverables are delivering nothing but fluff with pretty pictures and industry buzz words. Founders are too busy dreaming and completely ignore the deplorable state of employees. Every few months they will rebrand the company objectives and off we go again. There's a reason this 17 year old company is basically a start-up, but works like a corporation.

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Vectorform Response
8y
Dear Former VF Team Member: We were disappointed to read your review. You are certainly right in stating that clients receive our focus, attention, and dedication. As a service business, it is essential. In fact, we take pride in being solution oriented to ensure our customers’ needs come first. That said, our team members, who we trust to service our clients exceptionally well also receive our focus, attention, and dedication. We’re sorry that you did not feel this balance. We wish you had a better experience, and know you likely made a significant impact on the client projects you supported over the years. We are working to increase the recognition, visibility, and efforts of our team members. We know how important this is. Recognition events, acknowledgement at company-wide meetings, along with 360-feedback, and proactive steps taken to outline career paths for employees, are all steps being taken to improve recognition of our team members. And, yes, our founders are always pushing for what comes next. One of Vectorform’s core principals is to continue driving commitment to meaningful innovation in the industry. Not every effort is successful, and that can be frustrating at times. The team has demonstrated many times over in the last 18 years that it can and will continue to invent the future. Being here 5 years, you played a significant role in that. As for the state of employees, we have collected ample survey data, conducted 1-1 interviews with nearly everyone in the company, and continue to make improvements in internal communications, leadership training, process improvement, and resource and project allocation. Through these mechanisms, we’ve learned what our team members value, what they love about Vectorform, where they want to see improvements, and we work to make adjustments each day to continue creating the company we all envision. Vectorform’s People Operations Team
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