Now for the not so good….
There is no true value for diversity. Not just from an ethnic perspective, but also background, way of thinking, etc. Pariveda really struggles here. You will quickly hear “we are different from most companies” and it’s “the Pariveda way”. What they are really saying is that they want you at act, look, think, behave, and even breath the way they do. If you don’t, you’re an outsider and you won’t succeed.
It’s EXTREMELY clicky. When you first start, you have this ery feeling that you have just joined a cult and they are sizing you up to see if you will make the cut. You’re not crazy. They are. And if you don’t act, look, think, behave or breath the way they want you to, you better believe that people will gossip under the guise of “feedback” behind your back. It’s not that you did anything wrong, you just have to learn the “Pariveda way”. Which bring me to my third point…
Because people are smart (and yes they are perfectly aware of this) you will have random people CONSTANTLY giving “feedback”. Constructive feedback is great, but sometimes it is just plain gossip and negativity if they never speak directly to that person.
Because they are so clicky and it’s a small company, there is A LOT of bias. Once you’ve passed initiation into the cult, bad behavior is excused, ignored or justified. Promotions, assignments, and performance reviews are heavily influenced on if people like you. I’ve seen bullying behavior minimized and not even mentioned on the performance review of the bully.
The promotion system is severely flawed. You can be up for a cohort promotion, recommended by your manager for the promotion, but fail to get it based on a case presentation that, for some, has nothing to do with their 9 to 5 job. What sense does that make!?
Pariveda is a company that “rewards” tenure with great pay and these artificial “manager” titles for some. In the real world, these “managers” are simply senior level individual contributors who are overpaid.
As I said before, there are some great people at Pariveda. There are also some not so great people who get away with poor leadership skills due to longevity and closeness to senior leadership. Not that they would purposefully let this happen, many people are just afraid to let them know that some people have poor leadership skills, is biased, and no longer have the competencies need to truly be successful in their roles. Are you really going to risk being a cult outsider by going up against people who have worked with some of the executives from the beginning? I think not. So, they continue getting overpaid for a role they shouldn’t have in the first place.
Someone once told me that the key to success at Pariveda is getting people to like you. The problem is that people are different and have biases. To base success on if a person “likes” you is fundamentally flawed with embracing diversity because people are naturally comfortable around others who are most like them. It’s OK to not “like” someone at work as long as there is respect for one another. This is a lesson this young company will soon have to embrace as they grow.
