Acumen reviews

3.1

30% would recommend to a friend

(394 total reviews)

Thomas MaCurdy

5% approve of CEO

22% positive business outlook

Acumen has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 394 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Acumen employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

394 reviews
1.0
Oct 7, 2015

Hollow words and closed doors belie potential opportunities

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The initial 6-18 months are especially good for learning some basic skills and being introduced to some interesting project-work right out of college. There is some opportunity to get visible and meaningful work. Most of the employees are very friendly people that make the work-day experience enjoyable.

Cons

As is to be expected with a company of this size and youth your experience is HEAVILY dependent on who your manager is. While some people care, the majority of people making decisions kill any hopes for transparency. A recent trend is that managers only focus on 'getting the task done' and not set up an efficient process for future iterations. However the biggest issue is that top-down decisions break any positive momentum the company builds by either making puzzling decisions or by pushing out 'good' people.

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Acumen Response
10y
Thank you for your honest feedback. We want our employees to feel valued and are currently taking action to address some of the concerns you mentioned. We encourage employees to express their concerns to HR/hiring mangers directly as well.
1.0
Oct 23, 2018

Offer best untouched.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Nothing really to write 5 word long description of Pros!

Cons

* Filled with people who are without options to do in their career. * Scarcity leading people to naturally feed off each other and the leftovers.

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Acumen Response
7y
We know that we're not perfect, no place is, but we are committed to improving every day. As such, we are disappointed that your time with us has created such a negative impression. Please help be part of the solution and share your observations with HR and/or other Sr. Management. We can't address concerns without knowing about them first. I must, however, take exception to your comment regarding, 'people who are without options to do in their career.' We take immense pride in our people and the work they help us do.
2.0
Apr 11, 2016

Long way to go...

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There have been notable improvements in the last couple of years among the support groups such as IT, Admin and Facilities. They seem to communicate much better amongst themselves as well as with the office as a whole. There is a lagoon and walking path nearby the Burlingame office. Very smart people. For a company with a limited budget they try to put on fun events and provide some lunches and snacks.

Cons

Beware that not everyone gets a performance review. Therefore a lack of merit increase or promotion goes unexplained and opportunities for professional development or kudos for jobs well done are completely unrecognized. The ties between privilege and being an extended part of the Managing Director’s family is evident. There is a very uneven “good ‘ole boys club” that in this case doesn’t mean just the men but if you are somewhere around 1 to 3 degrees removed from the family you will be shown definite favor. If you’re not in that group you are at a clear disadvantage. The HR team is very much a clique and can often end up treating those not in that family club as “less than.” It’s very high school-like. It’s difficult to impossible to report the issue when they make up a large part of the problem. Providing salary bands for employees would help to set some standards. However, if you don’t receive a performance review the point is moot. The company is young in general. While there are a few “old heads” in their mid-30’s or older, the majority of staff are in the early to mid-20’s which leads to a social immaturity as well as lack of other professional and managerial experience. Though it’s an attempt, the 1 annual manager training isn’t going to do the trick. There is a high turn-over rate so those who stick around for a couple of years “qualify” as managers. Sometimes there is a depressing lack of challenging work in that your day to day activities become rote.

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Acumen Response
10y
Thanks for taking the time to leave this review. Honest feedback is important to us. Please include this information in the annual survey that is out right now as well.
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Glassdoor has 432 Acumen reviews submitted anonymously by Acumen employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Acumen is right for you.