Sama reviews

3.5

82% would recommend to a friend

(480 total reviews)
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Wendy Gonzalez

71% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Sama has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 480 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sama employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

480 reviews
4.0
Aug 27, 2015

Great Company

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Samasource hires some of the best and brightest people which really adds value to teams and workplace decisions. Flexible working hours, paid time off, health insurance

Cons

Work life balance is had to maintain but not impossible Inflexible finance and admin department who will frustrate you at every turn No visible career growth path

4.0
Aug 17, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I have really appreciated working for a social enterprise that is data-driven, transparent, dynamic, entrepreneurial and hungry for impact. The company moves fast and is not afraid of trying out new projects. The team is young, super smart and very fun and like to hang out together after work. The organization is very flat - it's easy to access management and discuss ideas at all times. There are lots of learning opportunities organized in the form of brown bag trainings and lectures. It's a strong female-led company with very female friendly policies.

Cons

As a West Coast based company, the culture is extremely polite. It can be hard to discuss failure or feedback.

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Sama Response
10y
Thank you for sharing this feedback! We are trying hard to maintain an open company culture and a flat org structure as we grow. Now over 70 people strong, it's tough to do but we've tried to keep communication channels really open with regular skip-levels, anonymous feedback surveys, and monthly all-hands with management Q&A on any issues affecting the company.
3.0
Aug 7, 2015

CEO Holds Company and Mission Back

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Imperfect model that needs improvement, but makes real impact nonetheless - Good people that care about their work - Unique experience

Cons

- CEO Leila Janah does not treat her employees with any semblance of respect, and in return her employees do not respect her and do not see her as an effective leader in any capacity - CEO Leila Janah's bullying and unbalanced nature causes rapid burn out and exits at all levels of the organization - Despite many, many employees' best efforts at "operational professionalization," there has never been consistent focus on any single small or large strategy

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Sama Response
10y
I'm very sorry you feel this way and had a bad experience working at Sama. Many startups experience churn in their early years, and when I started the organization at 25, I had no real management experience outside my first job out of college. I've definitely been rude, impatient, and frustrating to work with, as have many CEOs I know who are learning the ropes. It's been a learning curve for all of us, especially as we skew young. We've moved our current management team to a more streamlined structure with clear accountability under two managing directors. I think, based on our retention and weekly meetings with me, that this group believes in our vision, in me as a leader, and in our ability to scale. We've achieved major reductions in turnover on the management team and in key functions by recruiting qualified professionals to run our core teams -- in the last two years, we've brought on an extraordinary CFO and two Managing Directors with substantial experience in their respective fields.
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Glassdoor has 660 Sama reviews submitted anonymously by Sama employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sama is right for you.