And that sums up how the company acts about everything in a nutshell. They show you this awesome world of free happy hours and community service and their core values. They tell you how they want to change the way business is done in the world. You think to yourself that this is a company that really stands for something. Then you peek behind the curtains and see what's really going on. Those "values" they love are just another way for the company to control everybody. I can't tell you how many times legitimate concerns were stifled by being threatened with punishment for not obeying the core values.
Control is the name of the game here. The mandatory office hours. The "optional" company socials. The two hour sessions where we practice word for word how to answer questions from customers and are tested on it. Emails are relentlessly scrutinized to the point where you are scolded for not having a formal opening and closing, even for casual emails to co-workers. Even product demos follow an exact script with no deviations allowed.
I've been actively encouraged to stop associating with former employees who quit or were let go because they are afraid they would somehow poison the rest of us. I've been scolded for still being Linkedin or Facebook connected to former colleagues who genuinely became my friends. My loyalty was questioned because I didn't come to their company picnic and I had to explain why I couldn't make it. No company should have that type of control over anybody. Free happy hour or not.
You would think that a company that wants to change the way business is done would put customers above everyone else. But lately my team has been virtually working fulltime for outside partners. kCura makes more money from a handful of partners and resellers than all of their direct customers combined, and the customers are starting to feel marginalized for it. When one partner buys licenses by the thousands and one little law firm buys a couple of dozen licenses, who do you think has more influence? The entire development team is furious about this power shift.
Like any cult worth its salt, some people are going to buy fully into what they're selling and love it, and the rest won't last long. The reviews prove that. For me, I realized it's time to move on the day my manager told me that I needed to let go of my old way of thinking about things and be "kCured".
"kCured"?
No thanks!
