Miles Technologies is a company that relies heavily on a well-orchestrated marketing bit in order to entice potential talent. They will tell you they have received the "Best Places to Work" award for two years in a row and is one of Forbes' best software companies to work for. They'll even brag about how employees work in Lego-assembled desks, in an attempt to convince you that you cannot possibly miss out on the chance to be employed by this "prestigious" company that's equal with firms that have a proven and established track record of excellence. They will even have you come back three times during the interview phase. Never mind the fact that you have to take days off your current job, for a prospect that may or may not even work out in the end.
Once you start working for the company, you'll see exactly how much you've been had.
First off, Miles Technologies starts off you with a low salary. There's no getting behind this, especially with them justifying it by saying the offer is "average" nationwide. The problem? They assume that the cost of living in the rural midwest (where your Miles Technologies salary will afford you a comfortable way of living) is comparable to Moorestown, one of the most expensive towns in South Jersey.
Their software developers, IT consultants, online marketing writers, all make below industry standards in the region.
You will experience no better adjustment as you put in the time with the company. A typical salary negotiation meeting starts off with the manager telling you what the national average pay increase is, then they will reveal your actual increase. This sets your mind up to thinking that however much you're getting, even if it's less than one percent, is a respectable adjustment; when the truth is, they are unwilling to pay you what you are actually worth. Miles Technologies treats you as if you're average, and pays you fittingly. They do this while trumpeting their millions and millions of annual revenue. If the company is doing so well, as they claim to be, then shouldn't it make sense to extend that success to the very people who got Miles Technologies there?
Second, churlish and unprofessional behavior are not condemned here. The company as a whole behaves like it is one big frat party, as a commenter here has previously noted . A normal day won't be complete without running into a higher-up shouting expletives to someone across the hall. Whether or not this is meant as a joke, it doesn't matter. Not everyone is "in" on the joke. Plus, this should not be tolerated in the first place.
The lack of a dedicated Human Resources department means there's no avenue to voice out complaints amongst staff, except through Chris Miles (see Pro above). Either you just roll with it, or in your frustration, quit. No one will do anything. The problem with Chris Miles acting as the HR of the company is that he can be at many times unaware of the bottom of the rung's problems, and tend to side (blatantly or otherwise) with the higher-ups.
Third, for an IT company, Miles Technologies is behind the latest technologies. Most of the employees work off outdated or dying hardware. You'd be lucky if you can go an entire day without requiring a computer restart.
Fourth, Miles Technologies is guilty of using "career advancement" as a crutch. In order to squeeze out management-level output from you for entry-level pay, they will hold out your promotion or salary increase up until you complete a project that is well beyond what you can manage during the day.
One's promotion should be based on skill and value that they give to the company in the eight hours that they are under Miles Technologies' roof, not whether they are willing to work overtime.
There have been employees that have gotten promoted without the appropriate pay increase. Essentially, more work will be demanded from you, for no additional compensation. They assume that you will like the idea of getting a better title so much that you won't complain about your paycheck. This is repugnant and in bad taste.
Fifth, for a company that claims that family comes first, they have surely mastered the art of giving employees an avalanche of work. Walk around the company at noon and compare the number of people who are working through their lunch break with those who don't. Chances are, you'll see most of them making a sandwich to bring back to their desks. Even department meetings are conducted at noon. You should not be working during your lunch break, the company isn't paying you for it. And yet, because there's too much to do and you will more than likely be reprimanded for missing an unrealistic deadline, you would have to swallow your pride and work.
One of the most virulent habits of the higher-ups at Miles Technologies is assuming that everyone can work at full efficiency for 8 hours straight. This is next to, if not completely, impossible. This expectation is not made better by the fact that everyone is micromanaged. If someone tells you that it is better now that your hours are not tracked, they're lying. You will still be expected to track your time down to the last minute. The only difference now is that you don't have a software that will alert you for every minute that you have gone over the allotted time for working on a project.
Sixth, people waste so much time conducting meetings. And meetings about those meetings. And pre-meetings for meetings about those meetings. Should meetings be abandoned? Absolutely not. In a few cases, a meeting must be done. But to have a meeting for every insignificant, minute detail of a project is such a waste of time for employees who already have an overflowing workload.
Seventh, the only way to advance at Miles is by constantly telling everyone of your peers of what you are doing, even for the most insignificant of accomplishments. Management is largely oblivious of hard-working staff who prefer to let their output do the talking. If you're not sending emails to everyone at every minute, no one knows you, and no one will be on your side come time for a promotion.
Eighth, Miles Technologies is proof that gender inequality still persists in modern times. There is not a single woman holding a chief officer level position. Women make lesser salaries than men for the same title. Maternity Leaves are minimal if not non-existent. After-work activities skew towards men's preferences first and women second.
