VISION – There is no clear vision for where this company wants to excel or what it wants to do well. Leadership seems to believe that acquiring other companies will improve the bottom line, yet they consistently refuse to improve the products they already have. Multiple products serve the same purpose, but none outperform the competition. The company lacks the insight needed to truly understand what churches need and to develop tools that enable effective ministry. They also fail to create tools that are usable not just by church staff, but by volunteers and attendees—tools that could help make their software a household name. As a result, when churches sign up for a Church Management System, they often do not recognize the product names or the company, and nothing stands out from the competition.
FAILING ACQUISITIONS – ACST has attempted to make progress in their software offerings, but they are hamstrung by their reliance on acquiring other companies—companies that often come with their own problems. These are then awkwardly shoehorned into existing systems, leading to a fractured ecosystem. They now have multiple products intended to serve the same purposes, yet each one falls short due to functional or user experience issues.
BAD WORK ENVIRONMENT – ACST frequently reorganizes its teams without considering team dynamics or working relationships. They separate teams that should be collaborating and reassign them based on executive preferences, often without understanding what the teams do or how they operate. Some departments duplicate work already being done elsewhere. Reorganizations are also used as a primary method of employee termination, with individuals moved into unrelated roles only to be fired later. High-performing employees are overlooked for promotions, while those lacking skills are advanced due to favoritism.
There are cases where managers allow employees to work outside of their roles, disregarding company standards and processes, simply because someone wants to do a different job—and leadership does nothing to address it. Additionally, the company has struggled to adapt to remote work environments.
DYING COMPANY – ACST has struggled for years to differentiate itself from competitors, a challenge made worse since the pandemic. Significant layoffs have occurred, and most of those positions have not been backfilled. While the company may appear financially stable on paper, this is largely due to its shrinking workforce.