Calendly reviews

This is really sad for me to post.. When I joined Calendly in 2021 it was amazing and I loved logging into work every single day. Unfortunately, now that is not the case. To those that are looking for a job in the tech sector this may be a great option for you. It will get your foot in the door but, do not expect to grow at Calendly unless you are willing to wait 3+ years. Regardless of what recruiters say in your initial call (I was told I would be promoted within 6 months). Even if you have experience in other sectors it is frowned upon to try and leave CX before reaching senior product specialist/ product specialist IV or V. Upper management even said that they will not stop you from applying but they will not "help" either. I am guessing this means in terms of recommending you/putting in a good word. I am not sure what pay is now starting but, when I started it was a salary of $47,000 plus bonuses if we reached goals. Everyone started at this same rate. This has since changed and now we use a tier system (Product specialist I - V). I have heard from new hires that now people coming in start at less than what I had. Compared to other companies this pay is very low in my personal opinion. Others also agree and have had the need to have 2 jobs to keep up with inflation and times we are in. Metric types used to calculate are standard in the industry (Solves per hour, CSTAT, Chat Acceptance, Productivity ect.) My personal issue is that metrics change so often (for example from 3 solves per hour bumped to 4) that you are given whiplash. They were just changed AGAIN not that long ago.. This is rough for those trying to excel in their role and makes it hard to attain goals. Many new individuals have mentioned how stressed this makes them because they never know what to really focus on. Adding onto this is also the change of software we use to do our jobs as support and the expectation to still meet metrics without decent training. Expect to take a short Lessonly and then be ready to go. Another issue I faced was the amount of micromanagment.. You are watched every second of every day. Normally this would not bother me much however, my issue comes when even using the bathroom can mess up your metrics/productivity. There is not a bathroom break option to enter so if you have to go you have to take the hit in productivity. This leads to many agents going to the bathroom while taking chats. This has been brought up to upper management and they do not care. Not surprising because they can go wherever as they please without a worry. The CX department is the red headed step child of the company. Tolerated nut never fully included. You will no longer be able to go to retreats, participate in meetings for DEI groups regularly, join company meetings regularly, or have / wellness days holidays off. When I started working holidays was optional for extra money. Now expect to work 365 unless you request it in advance and even then it will go by seniority. Funny thing is on the company linkedin they posted that we received floating wellness days to use which is completely false. Bright side to this is that at you at least get double pay. If you decide to work here you will be told that they love feedback and I urge you to take that with a grain of salt. Feedback must only be based on metrics/data (which you dont have access to). Anything that is deemed to be emotional will not be tolerated and will pin you as a troublemaker. This can affect any positions you apply to which is why it is better to just nodd and keep silent. Calendly has had multiple layoffs and kept quiet about it. We have only found out because we notice people being deactivated in slack. Wages are stagnant. You will only receive a pay raise if you move to the next level in CX and which metrics changing constantly this can be rough sometimes since you have to be completely green for 3 straight months to qualify. One Metric you do not meet and the 3 months start over. Outside of support this is also true. Many complain that they go years without raises which is why turnover has been much higher lately. However, they prefer for you not to have a second job and any second job needs to be approved. Overall work here if you need to (especially in this market) and when you find a new opportunity jump ship!

EXECUTION MODEL Calendly's product development model most closely resembles a development agency, with the founding CEO as "the customer” who is choosing features to ship, setting all product priorities, and providing specific product requirements on each product project. And similar to customers working with development agencies, there is often continuous scope increase, constant re-prioritization, and discarding developed work in favor of something else. While there is a place for this type of development model in SaaS, it will likely frustrate product managers who seek autonomy and empowerment to objectively drive meaningful business results. Usage and experimentation data results are often disregarded in decision-making. Growth teams have struggled to achieve any traction or meaningful impact and progress as a result. PRODUCT LEADERSHIP C-suite turnover at Calendly has been remarkable and has materially affected the ability to execute strategic plans effectively. During my time at Calendly, there were changes or removals of key executives including the CTO, CMO (twice), CHRO, CCO, CRO, and CPO. Most notably, the product teams have experienced three different Chief Product Officers over the past five years with departures largely due to conflicts with the CEO over product vision and strategy. Product teams have reported low engagement scores without any outreach from product execs in response. On more than one occasion, the CPO has shifted stance to mirror the CEO's during executive reviews—leaving teams to defend their points of view with little air cover or support. MARKET THREAT Once an innovative solution to solve an acute problem, asynchronous scheduling has become increasingly commoditized in SaaS. There is an increasing number of startups developing similar products with more agility and disruptive technology. Behemoths like Google and Microsoft offer Calendly-like scheduling tools as part of their broader ecosystems at no additional cost. IT teams can too easily justify canceling Calendly in favor of these features that are included in Google or Microsoft workspace subscriptions. While Calendly remains "the Kleenex" of asynchronous scheduling, it must innovate more rapidly to address user needs beyond basic scheduling to maintain its market leadership.