Pros
Working for a company that is an industry leader provides a significant sense of satisfaction and achievement. Applied has been around for a long time and has been successful in driving the insurance automation industry the entire time. The CEO has regular lunch meetings with small groups of employees from all levels and areas of the company, and he gives opportunity to provide critical feedback and ask questions. The strategic thought and research that has gone into his vision for the company is impressive. His leadership inspires confidence that the company is on the right path. Hard workers who care about their quality of work will be rewarded. The converse of this is also true; those who submit subpar work will not see advancement or compensation that they are satisfied with, as they shouldn’t. Knowing some of the people who submitted poor reviews here, I am not surprised at their complaints and their lack of compensation, as they fell into the latter category. With the variety of positions available (now at a variety of locations) and the encouragement to move around and expand your horizons, this company has something for everyone. You will most likely find your fit somewhere. This makes for a great “career” company as you can try something new if you find yourself getting stagnant. While the company is growing at a steady pace, there are still remnants of a “family” feel to it. Management is conscious of the fact that work needs to be kept in proper balance and they are supportive of those efforts. If this occasionally requires some flexibility with work schedules, that is rarely if ever a problem.
Cons
Two things stand out, and I suspect they are typical of companies of this size. First, communication and teamwork is lacking at times. While there are great examples of teams and individuals coming together and rallying for the benefit of a customer, there are too many instances of infighting and finger-pointing. It seems that we sometimes forget that we are all supposed to be on the same team, working on behalf of our clients. Second, there is definitely some dead weight in certain positions throughout the company – people who have been around for far too long and no longer seem to have any personal drive to excel (or never had much in the first place). These people are difficult to change for the better.