Im sharing my experience in hopes that this will save someone else from making the wrong decision. The job market is tough right now but please consider if you will be happy sitting in a fluorescent lit cubicle day after day living the #PDILIFE before deciding if power design is the right fit for you.
First and foremost- This place is an HR nightmare. Theirs is a reason the HR team takes up its own building. That many people are actually needed to do damage control like cover executive scandal and post positive reviews on company sites to fool the general public into believing this is a healthy and fun place to work. There is an ALARMINGLY large statistic of leadership participating in extramarital affairs with their much younger team members. This is widely known across the company and seen firsthand during company parties, yet nothing is done to demote these people. A day at the office often feels more like arriving on the set of Love Island vs a professional office setting.
If that isn’t a red flag for you, the pay and benefits should be. Salaries are below industry average, yet year after year the company breaks sales records surpassing the previous years revenue. When employees request raises to their base pay they are told there’s no room in the budget but maybe if their performance is deemed worthy in the coming year they may be eligible to receive a bonus of an unclear amount. Good luck paying your bills in the highly inflated market of Tampa with your PDI salary and 3% cost of living raise. Benefits are a joke and despite the dozens of surveys that employees are required to take throughout the year, not much of a change is ever implemented. For example, company maternity leave was 12 weeks unpaid during my employment. The company does not offer sick days but rather rolls your vacation and sick days into a comprehensive bundle that starts at 2 weeks for new employees.
There is absolutely no governance in decision making. Decisions are made solely by the Chajrman/CEO, Mitch who changes his mind by the hour leaving employees confused and scrambling to understand company directive. I cannot describe to you the blanket of anxiety and frustration this puts on a company’s front line not to mention the hours upon hours of lost work/ dollars wasted from not having a clear vision and goals.
Corporate greed. The Permuys own more luxury mansions than I have fingers and their wealth is openly touted in employee meetings.. yet somehow PDI can’t find the money to compensate their employees fairly. The majority of roles don’t offer overtime pay, so be prepared to work 11-12 hour weekdays and many weekends for 0 acknowledgment because that is the standard expectation. The company has been involved in numerous legal suits over the years, including a highly public case in 2024 involving illegally withholding sick leave and payroll taxes from employees, the largest recovery in a workers’ rights enforcement action in D.C. history (do your research).
High employee turnover results in limited seasoned employees. This creates a significant knowledge and training gap company wide. One year they actually gave away a car to a pool of employees that worked for PDI longer than 10 years. The pool of candidates could fit in the first floor conference room.
