Over the wall - Anonymous employee NIC Employee Review

1.0
Feb 3, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Worked with some fantastic people in PA who were let go for having standards, ethics and morals. Others are still hanging on.

Cons

PM's who are told to never to say NO to the customer. This makes for interesting timelines such as 3 days to create a new mobile app. Based on this scenario management explains they're "managing expectations of the partner" while dev's and other team members slave away at all hours to make them look good at corporate. Everyday there's a crisis so you are unable to complete assigned work even though we are "managing expectations" and are using detailed NASA-esque project plans. Management eliminates necessary positions or departments explaining it's a cost saving measure but then tasks current employees with the eliminated positions expecting them to just tack on more hours and become an overnight expert. Thus the saying you're never off the clock. Long, unrewarded hours unless you're in the clique then it's promotions for showing up and awards for being Awesome or a Rock Star. Corporate emails telling you to vote for Best of the Web because it shows how great we are as a company. These awards are the equivalent of glorified participation trophies. If you're asked to vote for your own company what does that say about your product? At one point we had a Snack Committee (seriously?) who met and provided updates during office meetings even though the workload was overwhelming. Discussions about budget constraints and how we can't afford software or hardware but the office can be redecorated/reorganized. In terms of salary ask for what you want when you walk in the door otherwise you're not going to get it unless you get promotion and even then it's not that much. Conferences for the Kool-Aid drinkers which amounted to a glorified college party. Creepy stalker vibe when you leave and former colleagues who haven't talked to you in months are checking out your FB page, LinkedIn, or cold calling you asking random questions about you and your current employment status.

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5.0
Sep 3, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly/Helpful employees. Schedule and salary.

Cons

I do not believe there are any cons.

4.0
Oct 22, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Overall, NIC is a company that cares about and supports its employees. I have a great work/life balance with a flexible schedule and ability to work remotely when needed. They are willing to send (relatively) junior resources to conferences that other companies would normally send high-level executives. The federal group is a pretty small and very collaborative team that enables everyone to both lead and support opportunities. Also, health insurance is covered by the company which is amazing.

Cons

Overall, I think NIC is behind in technology trends. They primarily focus on custom builds for each agency/project, which, considering their customer base of over 25 states and several federal agencies, is a costly strategy. By creating a different solution for each customer, NIC is investing more time and effort than would be necessary if they adapted a shared services model or used SaaS platforms that most agencies and companies are shifting towards. Because each state and federal agency is treated separately, NIC also uses different management approaches for each customer. This could work if there was an overarching approach that was adapted on a per customer basis, but instead there is no single set of governing principles resulting in a disjointed management approach. They are also pretty niche in capabilities in that they focus purely on using their no-cost model for citizen-facing services. This works for many cases - but not all - and they struggle to adapt/to be open to using other basic contract types like FFP and T&M. As a result, opportunities are fairly limited because they must meet very specific criteria.

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NIC Response
7y
Thank you for the taking the time to share your perspective. We are glad to hear your experience at NIC has been positive. As you know, our employees are our most important asset and we strive to ensure we are the best place they have ever worked. Throughout our history, we have evolved as technology has evolved. We have advanced from dial-up technology, to the first mobile app for government, to delivering the first Alexa skills for government. Today this includes a balance between custom development, platforms, and standalone technology products – all designed to deliver innovative solutions that create efficiencies for government and the people they serve.
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