Pros
The office is located in a part of downtown Chicago that has access to plenty of restaurants and drinking establishments. The liberal vacation policy is nice but also allows the business to escape the need to pay for unused vacations days in the event that an individual decides to resign, see comment on the attrition rate. This is actually a neutral comment but there isn't really a place to insert with this format - after only a year or two being employed some people become managers or directors or are simply moved from department to department. This is mostly an effect of attrition combined with desire to not increase labor expenses. At times this works out for individuals or teams that are ready to advance or for employees that want to try something new; however there is also the risk that people are advanced before they are ready or are put into positions that don’t follow suit with career desires, which can lead to ineffective contribution to the business.
Cons
The parent company is in the middle of an identity crisis. The utility parent decided to buy a retail electric company back in 2012 in defense to what was occurring with electric re-regulation in OH. While it was good to see a traditional monopoly structure step out and get involved in electric choice, the now vocal utility parent is showing desire to roll back the restructuring clock in order to achieve a regulated rate of return on their aging generation fleet. This threatens not only the continued progress of electric choice (and free market principles) but also cascades into their retail electric subsidiary via the items below. The attrition rate is excessive. This may have to do with a mostly unhappy office culture (low morale) and the salaries offered for certain positions. The attrition rate is recognized but is then trivialized by leadership to the point that no real action is taken. For prospective team or department managers: this is a real issue that may affect your ability to succeed. It is difficult to attain objectives when you constantly have to deal with turnover. The leadership approach is top-down command and control. While this is a prerogative reserved for those at the executive level, the approach isn’t so great when it comes to fostering a trusting environment, which then bleeds into the office culture. Though corrections are attempted to become more transparent and engaging, the damage is done and subsequent actions seem disingenuous. Examples like asking people for input after a decision has been made to make them feel like they are influencing business direction or dismissing advice because it doesn’t align with desires is counterproductive and cavalier. As a result of this identity crisis the company finds itself in a situation in which the leadership isn’t quite sure how to manage the expectations of its employees. It’s difficult to put the blame solely on the executive leadership when the parent isn’t clear on the long term strategy for the subsidiary. Since this is a business and people have marching orders it does make sense that labor costs are kept at a minimum and soft items like office culture aren’t a top priority. However, when leadership attempts to portray the company as something different than what can be gleaned from the press or investor calls the messaging is confusing and affects the way the employees perceive the company and the leadership.