COVID-19 response has been mediocre. We shifted to remote work quickly, but there's been a premature focus on returning to office since basically day 1 of the pandemic. Recently, they've started to ask VPs and above to come back to office. This is clearly not a science-based decision as cases are just as bad as ever. I'm concerned that we will see strong pressure at all levels to return. Moreover, executive leadership frequently hosts in-person meetings where they remove their masks to speak. These are the role models of the company, and by not following the recommended mask+social distancing precautions, they are exhibiting poor leadership. Steps have been taken to reduce exposure (sanitization, RTO guide, etc.), but when the CEO and others are frequently foregoing mask usage, how can you expect others to? Very disappointing. That said, the technology group have been above-and-beyond supportive of WFH for as long as we're comfortable and productive doing it.
Small gripe, but I've noticed executives have been able to hire family members to positions within their org, which reeks of nepotism. I can't speak to their qualifications, but it looks really bad if nothing else.
As a public company, we should be more diligent about potential conflicts of interests. Right now, QTS still has financial entanglements with Chad's other companies (most prominently, QGC) that direct benefit him as the sole owner. While it's likely that the negotiations are at "arms-length", it looks really bad and concerns me as a shareholder. On a similar note, building fancy corner CEO offices in new buildings that literally get used once/year is NOT financial stewardship.
On communication: the company is aware that "communication" is an issue, but has difficulty identifying the root causes. One of the biggest issues (and you see it here in responses) is the "corporate speak" - very formal, overly positive, and definitely outdated approach to employee/marketing communication.
Data across the company is in bad shape, but that's a known issue and probably a natural growing pain with any company of this size. We're clearly moving in the right direction.
There's a TON of middle management, and staff sizing cuts are generally (not always) focused at the ground level. End result is that middle management spends a ton of time discussing and figuring out excellent conceptual solutions, but we really lag on execution.
Ironically, for a company that brands itself as "patriotic," we outsource most of our product development work to a... country that's known to meddle in our elections, which is absolutely mind-boggling. Several people that I've talked to about this are very uncomfortable with this decision.
Health coverage is OK, nothing special, but we lose star employees to big tech competitors (Facebook, etc.), and I think that having FULL health coverage would go a long way toward our core values and employee well-being & happiness.
Last item: the company has a strong conservative Christian base. Chad will frequently include prayers in his meetings. I have not been explicitly mandated or encouraged to participate, but it is certainly awkward and uncomfortable to be around. That said, it is his prerogative to conduct meetings as he wishes, so long as employees are not required to participate. However, I am concerned that my lack of faith may cause issues if noticed.
