Pros
The non-leadership people are fantastic, intelligent, and truly working so hard. Anyone who is a senior manager or below should be hired by other companies, because they're the hardest workers in the most stressful of times at this company.
Also the flexibility in the NY office with hybrid is nice, but that is manager dependent.
Cons
There are several things I would encourage prospective employees to consider before joining, particularly those considering roles in the New York office.
1. Frequent changes in strategy and budget: The company has made significant budget reductions and shifts in strategic priorities, particularly in the second half of the year. In Marketing, budgets and priorities can change quickly based on shifting leadership direction. For example, the company has recently moved toward a "social-first" strategy despite having reduced investment in social the previous year within a month due to lack of success. This leads to dramatic increases and decreases in budget that make long term strategic planning near impossible.
2. Limited organizational stability: The company has experienced regular layoffs and reorganizations. There also appears to be an increasing focus on hiring certain functions (such as Analytics) in lower-cost markets. I recommend prospective employees may want to speak with their prospective peers about the frequency of reorganizations and how often teams have been impacted by restructuring before joining, as well as asking their peers how many different managers they've had over the course of their tenure.
3. Limited opportunities for advancement: Promotions can be difficult to achieve, particularly for US-based employees. Within Marketing, promotion opportunities have historically been subject to strict limits, with only a small percentage of employees promoted during each cycle. Promotions have also appeared to be more common in the Berlin office than in New York. Employees primarily focused on career progression and advancement may find the opportunities more limited than at other companies. There is low motivation amongst top performers to continue to overperform as it's clear that advancement is only to happen when certain tenure lengths are met.
4. Leadership culture: There is a perception among employees that senior leadership does not always respond well to dissenting opinions or challenges to viewpoints. Without naming names, there is one AI-focused individual in particular where this applies heavily. While this does not apply universally across the executive team, there is a broader perception that employees who challenge leadership decisions may have a harder time progressing within the organization and are also removed from the organization if they're more senior. This has created a culture where employees are hesitant to openly disagree or raise alternative perspectives.
Additionally, pay close attention to the number of women and people of color in leadership positions at HelloFresh.
Ultimately, I would personally not recommend HelloFresh to anyone I know and have actively not provided any referrals to people because of how tumultuous this company is. If I can offer any advice, it's to look elsewhere unless you're absolutely desperate for a job and comfortable with how unhappy you will likely be here.
