Great Company for Personal & Professional Growth
Pros
Pariveda is an interesting twist in the world of IT Consulting companies. We put our people first and technology second. Pariveda's goal, when finding new projects, is to identify interesting, challenging projects to provide the highest potential for growth for those assigned to the project. We consider the individual growth of each employee to be paramount to the overall success of the company. As a result, the work environment is very performance-driven and offers a constant challenge to anyone who wants one. We seek out projects that use technologies we're not familiar with and compete on large projects against some of the largest consulting firms in the world. Personally, I love the consistent challenges I face and look forward to facing harder challenges as I grow. Pariveda's model for developing it's employees from entry level to VP level is a progressively more well-worn path. Performance metrics for being promoted are well-known and frequent feedback is given throughout the year to help guide individuals through their careers. Individuals may be considered for promotion every year and their eligibility is not determined by the number of "slots" that are open at the next level. One of my favorite aspects of working at Pariveda is the transparency. Pariveda has open pay-scales so everyone in the company can see what everyone else makes. There's no second-guessing whether you were able to negotiate a better or worse salary than another individual and rarely do we hire someone at a lower level than they can perform at. In the rare cases we do, we have a process for accelerating their promotion schedule for the first year. In addition to salaries, Pariveda is transparent about the business decisions being made at every level. While everyone may not be included in the business invites, we are encouraged to ask about anything the company is doing and continue going up the levels until we can get the answer we're looking for. There's no real chain of command when asking questions either; which is incredibly refreshing. I can call, slack, email, or even walk up and talk to Bruce, the CEO or the VP of business strategy. Everyone is approachable and if they don't know the answer to your question, they're not afraid to say, "I don't know, but I know who does."
Cons
We're an IT Consulting company. While the majority of employees love Pariveda, there are a few projects that are less exciting or interesting. In some cases, we have had to terminate projects due to the negative impact they had on our employees. Some employees will never experience a "bad" project while others may be placed on great project after great project. Management does their best to decline or terminate bad projects and find new good projects, however, at some point we still have to pay the bills. In these cases management does their best to rotate employees to minimize the negative impacts some projects have on an employee's overall health and morale. Ultimately, though, the project you're on does not determine career advancement as is the case with many other large consulting firms. Instead, the ability to demonstrate personal and professional growth are the keys to success at Pariveda. I mentioned this in the Pros, but for some this is a Con. Pariveda is not a company where you get the job, work 9-5, browse Reddit all day, and go home. We purposefully find challenging projects to take on and try to put people on those project who have the most room to grow. If you don't enjoy the stress of challenging situations, Pariveda may not be a good fit for you.
