In the spirit of said Truth Seeking...I write not as an unhappy employee, but a concerned one. There are some seriously pressing challenges that are taking place within the company as a shift from culture to corporate takes place - challenges that feel like they are glossed over due to the incredible popularity of Pluralsight when viewed from an outside perspective, and relative ease of success up till now. While there are so many good things, there are trends that are of great concern to many, and need to be addressed to avoid catastrophe. I write this out of love for the company and mission, and as a steward of the culture. I write this not to air dirty laundry, but as an avenue to communicate things that seem to be falling on deaf ears.
Employee engagement scores decrease quarter after quarter and upper management glosses over these issues saying that "there are worse places to work." The slogan of "Pluralsight. There are worse places to work" isn't inspiring. My hope is that with the latest survey (lowest score and many comments regarding concerns) that these issues are reflected upon and not chalked up to merely some change happening as we grow - the issues are deeper than this.
There is an ever increasing feeling that career advancement/development is about as real as Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster; a fable that many seek after, but will never find. Internal promotions are dismal at best, even for those who perform at a high level, and have been with the company for years. Of more concern is the issue around higher positions not even being opened up to internal candidates, but given to friends of the manager from outside the organization. Got Nepotism? What more, these outside managers bring with them their old ways of doing things and have difficulty embracing the culture that makes Pluralsight so special. It's hard to see the company go from people planning on long-term careers, to a 3 to 4 year job at best. There are so many talented and passionate people within Pluralsight, it is disheartening to see them looked over.
People want to feel they are progressing. While promotions are next to non-existent, the hope is that compensation would be rolled out, and given to help. A compensation model has been in the works for several quarters now, and each quarter the same story that it is "being finalized" is told. This feels out of touch, and has lacked in transparency as to why this is the case.
Of course numbers will always be important to a business; however, there has been a shift to numbers being more important than people - contrary to the culture. This has caused the sales and marketing teams un-due pressure, created non-ideal sales/marketing activities, and fear in the workplace when discussions of layoffs have happened in an oddly nonchalant way. The sales organization has been changed several times in the past year which has led to role confusion and a questioning of over-all direction. While the company talks about “record quarters” and a “record year,” the message of it not being enough is pervasive.
