No support for career growth - Software Developer II iHerb Employee Review

1.0
Oct 14, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Come here for the good salary. Leave here for the lack in career support.

Cons

iHerb's organization structure is ridiculously layered and unclear such that there is no way for team members to figure out how to get their voices heard. What's more frustrating is that department directors don't care about supporting the team. Forget whatever you read about iHerb having an "open door policy". The only "open door policy" we've witnessed is the open door for you to be fired if you speak up. There are multiple team members who didn't show up to work one day, until HR sends out an email: "so and so no longer works here". There have been multiple "reorganizations" and team members are constantly passed between managers and directors. The issue is that there is no transition between managers to share an individual's contributions, and it's very common for team member's to be overlooked for promotion. Promotions are denied because the new manager "wants more time to see the contributions of the team member". Unfortunately, reorganizations happen so often that by the time the next promotion period is due, a new manager is again assigned. Team members have brought this issue to directors, but the response is always: "I don't deal with this, talk to your manager". Great... Unfortunately managers are also not bothered with understanding or meeting with team members. It's common for managers to keep rescheduling 1 on 1 meetings because of "scheduling conflicts". Even if meetings are schedule weeks in advance, "scheduling conflicts" keep coming up, aka. managers just schedule on top of the existing 1 on 1 meetings. Clearly team members are not a priority and managers feel that our time can just be pushed back. There is also no processes to guide your career development and guide career growth, nor for evaluation during review periods. Instead, each manager grades to their own subjective rubric. Instead of evaluating a team member's performance and contributions according to their level and growth, managers measure performance on a bell curve in relation to the other members on your team. This means that Software Developer I team members are even graded in relation to Senior Software Developer II. Junior team members then end up with negative "Needs improvement. Doesn't perform on par with ____ team member" review marks because the manager doesn't see them performing at the same level as the senior developers on the team. Unless you're a senior developer, do not make the mistake of joining this company. You'll end up stuck in a demoralizing musical chairs cycle being passed from manager to manager.

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iHerb Response
7y
iHerb has a career pathing plan for our Software Developers, there are plenty of team-members who have been promoted within the first 6 – 12 months of employment with iHerb. If you believe there is a lack of support from your Manager or Director and you think you have been overlooked for a promotion please bring this to the attention of HR and they can look into it.

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Pros

Great people to work with.

Cons

Sometimes communication is lacking or gets changed.

2.0
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Pros

iHerb pays 100% of medical benefits for you and your immediate family. They are generous with vacation accruals. Salaries are generous.

Cons

The company continues to operate with a small-business, "mom-and-pop" mentality despite its growth. Leadership is highly centralized, with most decisions driven by the CEO. Employees often perceive that those who are not viewed favorably by leadership are eventually managed out of the organization. There is a culture of fear around speaking up, as many employees worry about potential negative consequences to their employment. Favoritism among leaders is frequently observed, and advancement opportunities can be limited for individuals who are not part of the preferred inner circle.

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