HCSS Programmer reviews

4.7

88% would recommend to a friend

(2 total reviews)
avatar

Steve McGough

88% approve of CEO

100% positive business outlook

Reviews by job title

2 reviews
2.0
Jun 23, 2013

Great idea, poor execution

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The facilities are great, hours are reasonable, and direct contact with customers and trainers makes it easy to learn and understand the business problems.

Cons

Management. The company has seen a lot of success and as a result Mike (the president) has become convinced that he is the expert in everything. He fosters an environment of cronyism, overrides or ignores major customer concerns, and refuses to listen to competent employees. As a result, the best managers and engineers don't stay long. Due to a constant influx of trainees, lack of wider industry experience, and incompetent micromanagement, programmers spend the majority of their time propping up 20-year-old hacks. Second, for programmers, work experience here counts for nothing on a resume. Employers don't care about VDF experience, and development team processes are very different from industry standards.

5.0
Mar 13, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are several small perks like Friday lunches, casual dress, and nice facilities. The atmosphere has always been low stress and easy to work with others. They also pay all entry fees in sporting events like 5K's and triathlons. Each year we get a generous profit-sharing check on December 15, in time for Christmas. Managers and employees are easy to work with.

Cons

I read the interview reviews and can see what they mean. We do have a long and overly complicated interview process. And it is sometimes conducted by unprepared people with various lines of questioning. I agree that it should be changed dramatically. However, I don't think the interview process reflects the programming or support groups in culture or style. There have also been a handful of complaints about Mike, the CEO. He is a bit brash and whimsical at times. He does change his mind on things and does like to have his hand in lots of projects. While these are not very bad in themselves, he does have room to improve in his delivery of management. Despite these faults I think most reviewers failed to mention one of Mike's greatest strengths. Simply put, he cares about his employees. There is no way to prove it in this medium but consider these facts and give me the benefit of the doubt: 1. He built a memorial gazebo outside the office to commemorate his first employee and friend, Carl Schaer. 2. He gives out an overly generous profit-sharing check each year when he could otherwise distribute it to just the executives. 3. He set the company up as an ESOP in the (correct) hopes that it would make the employees think more like owners. 4. He only hires and promotes managers that have an open door policy because he values input from employees. 5. He takes a regular salary and never wastes company money on fancy hotels rooms, rental cars, etc. When you get down to the details Mike is perhaps an acquired taste personalitywise, but one thing you can count on is the fact that he is reliably nice as a person.

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