OOOOOF, there's quite a bit, so hang tight.
Executive Leadership Changes / Growth Curve Capital
2024 saw the most change on an executive level that I can ever recall happening at any organization I've worked for in the length of time everything happened. The CEO "retired", but works in some capacity on the board. The COO/co-founder also "retired", but still joins meetings and has some skin in the game on the reseller/partnership channel. The two of these men are characters to say the least, with profanity-laced rants, boys club mentalities, and instilling elements of fear into their approach as leaders regularly. The CRO pursued greener pastures in Q2, and the CMO similarly left after being at Netchex for over a decade. They've since found replacements for these roles, but the amount of change is...astonishing. GCC has come on board and it's evident all they care about is M-O-N-E-Y. Unrealistic expectations from a sales/GTM perspective and little-to-no realization that Netchex will always be a local player in the HCM/HR tech space, no matter how much they're willing to tell themselves otherwise. There is an unwillingness to invest in tools and technology that could get us to the same playing field as other big players, and it's been made clear from GCC that sales are the ONLY thing matter so they can turn around and flip Netchex to another PE firm. Consultants come on board all the time via GCC, all of who consistently contradict each other on what the plan/strategy should be to get Netchex to the next stage of its life.
Culture
I remember the day where it was enjoyable to come to work everyday. People were collaborative, results were looking promising on the future of Netchex. With the change in leadership, lack of accountability on antiquated processes, stubbornness to invest in technology, fear-ridden sales tactics (there is so much turnover in the sales/GTM team that I honestly, at the time of this writing, can't tell you who is still here or isn't). It's a revolving, rotating door for a function of the organization that is apparently "critical to Netchex's success".
Lack of Career Advancement / Compensation
I was promised upward trajectory at the time of hiring. Even after delivering exceptional results, year over year, I'm in the same position I was 5 years ago. How is that we, an HR company that literally sells performance review products, doesn't have a system in place for quarterly/annual performance reviews? In my tenure here I have yet to actually receive a performance review. How does that make sense? The newly-hired CPO (who I'd imagine would be the one to reply to this review) has started to roll out OKRs for the organization, but they've gone nowhere. I can say with certainty that 2 departments within Netchex have submitted their OKRs for 2025, but have yet to receive ANY type of feedback on them. It's an illusion for "positive culture change" with zero accountability on whether or not those stick. Compensation is below national average for employees that bring a breadth of experience and knowledge. In Netchex land, it's "acceptable" because they're a "local company" and use the fact that HQ is in New Orleans as reasoning for their pay structure. Employees are overworked and underpaid, and it's clear throughout the organization this is how it'll be no matter how much "change is coming".
Benefits
There was a point in time where Netchex contributed to family expenses via benefits offerings, but this year, the company contribution has been rescinded AND plan/employee costs raised (even though it was communicated this would NOT happen at any point in the future). In 2025, this is the first year EVER that Netchex has offered paid maternity leave. I'm a male writing this review, but feel horrible for the women at this organization that this is the first year that's been available.
Public Humiliation / Fear-Ridden Tactics
I want to hit home how frequently these occurrences happen. In team meetings with other departments, leadership isn't afraid to shame members in a public setting. Rather than take grievances or frustrations offline in a 1:1 setting, it's common practice to publicly oust somebody they have a disagreement with. It's not just ELT:ELT, but ELT:employee. People are scared to voice their disdain for this, but essentially have to roll with it out of fear they would similarly be chewed out in a public forum or looked at sideways.
