I worked at CoStar for over 2 years. There have been a number of changes over that time, but they were largely misguided. The company is more interested in improving their outside appearance and increasing ratings on glass door than they are in enhancing the satisfaction of actual employees. Don't be fooled.
While the number of promotions skyrocketed over the past year or so, the process lacked transparency and more than half of the researchers in the DC office were promoted on the same day. Clearly, this round of promotions was in the works for awhile, but was kept under the radar before and after the decisions were made. Those that weren't promoted had no idea that a bunch of their coworkers were, and when it finally came to light, employees who had been left out were given no explanation. It was TOTALLY ARBITRARY. The "metrics" that everyone complains about have become so unclear that they can be used in any which way to back up a promotion or lack there of.
If you didn't get promoted, it was because of your "metrics". But supposedly there was less emphasis on the metrics at this point and they were no longer the sole indicator of performance? Even if you accept the "metrics" as a valid justification, the metrics had changed so many times by then that no one even knew what they were. Not surprisingly, when I asked my manager to show me something more substantial that indicated my sub-par numbers, like a report or something tangible, he/she could not produce anything. Promotions and bonuses are not based on quality of work, amount of work, or even metric numbers - managers do whatever they want and use the phantom metrics to back up their decision either way.
The company claims to have opened the lines of communication to show the employees "that their opinions matter." That's a joke. Keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself if you want to keep your job. Supposedly managers are now receiving training to develop their relationships and rapport with their employees so "both are able to continue growing in their work." That's a bigger joke. Passive aggressive e-mails are the name of the game. HR likes to play the "neutral" card when it comes to office conflicts and employee concerns, but in reality they are always on the side of management. The name "human resources" is ironic - they are more "inhumane" than "human" and only resources if you're looking to get fired.
