I worked for a company that was bought out by Diversant. I continued to work there only because of the excellent project and the client.
Here are my cons:
1) I work on a sponsored Visa and everyone in the IT world knows that the visa renewal process is like a life line for us. You could be moving mountains, finding cure for cancer, solving climate control, yet one mistake in this process will be the end of your life here. This company doesn’t take this any seriously than a mosquito bite. They will work on your renewal process like taking an order in IHOP and worse... when they screw up the order, they wont even apologize. The Lawyer treats you like that fly over his food - his timeline for any response is 2 weeks. About the paralegals and the admins who process your Visa paperwork - well the people washing dishes in IHOP or Wild Wings will do a better job. Consultants who are on Visa looking for a job, please run away when you here DIVERSANT.
2) Insurance- I have worked for way smaller Companies than this and got excellent insurance. Diversant’s mid level insurance costed me $1500 per month. Then during yearly renewals they proudly came up with new less pricier, better insurance. Guess what, that insurance doesn't cover major healthcare providers. So if you need to go to the doctor, you can only go to that shady guy who has a “clinic“ in the ally way behind a big hospital.
3) Benefits- They say they have 401k and paid time off. But in reality, benefits and PTO written on a toilet paper has more worth than what they give.
4) Projects/ Clients - They may have couple of clients but from what I know most of the consultants find their own project.
5) Salary- You will get your bi-weekly paycheck. And you have better chance of wining the lottery than getting a $1 raise from them.
6) Employee Relationship: They never answer or return your calls properly. They don’t care what/how you are doing and how your project is going. You will hear from them only when your project is about to end - just a courtesy call. Of course they have occasional parties, happy hours, sometimes even cruises. But they do it for themselves- account managers, recruiters, client managers, their office staff. Consultants will be lucky to even hear anything about it. I heard a funny story where one of their recruiter went to a client location to give cup cakes. The recruiter gave those cupcakes specifically to the client’s direct employees and managers and left out their own consultants. When I left the company, they didn’t care. To be honest, the main vendor was more concerned about me leaving than my own employer.
7) If you go for visa stamping and you get a 221-g, you better have GOD by your side, because Diversant will not even move an eye lid for you. They will direct you to the lawyer and guess what they will charge a hefty fee just to assist you. Still you will get nothing from them.
Now I could go easy on points #2 - #6 (yet I hear a ton of consulting companies excelling in all of those areas). But I can very well say that 99.9999% of the IT consulting firms, prioritize & put excellent due diligence and attention to detail when it comes to visa Stamping & renewal process. They very well know that even a teeny tiny mistake will change the life for someone. Diversant submitted my visa papers with INCORRECT CLIENT NAME and wait for it ........ FOR LOCATION THEY GAVE MY TITLE & FOR TITLE THEY GAVE MY LOCATION. I got an RFE and delays in subsequent tasks COSTED MY WIFE HER JOB. Now does it make sense when I said the people working on this important task might not even know how to wash dishes ?
Most of the consultants who are still with them are either not having any other options, or are in denial believing that it won’t happen to me - DE`NIAL AIN'T JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT !!!!
So my sincere advice to everyone, just move to any company. If you are still desperate, don't have any options and if you feel this is the last Life boat, just SWIM. You have better chance of being alive.
