Skip to contentSkip to footer
employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Sama

Is this your company?

Sama reviews

3.5

82% would recommend to a friend

(480 total reviews)
avatar

Wendy Gonzalez

71% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.6

Culture & values

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.3

Career opportunities

3.0

Compensation and benefits

2.9

Senior management

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).

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

480 reviews
2.0
Apr 5, 2012

Inspiring Vision but arrogant and inconsiderate leadership to the point of driving employees away within months of hire

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Microwork is a novel and incredible idea Chance to work in downtown SF in SOMA Samasource is a high- profile and inspiring nonprofit chance to work in a small, diverse, energetic team Everyone at the company is very intelligent, talented, and hard- working brilliant board of Directors chance to wear many different hats Chance to "give work" to people living in impoverished areas in the world. You go to work everyday, knowing that you're helping thousands of workers in other countries.

Cons

Disrespect for entry- level employees. examples: an intern was told by management that he was "low on the pole", the entry- level employees are typically given seats facing the wall and in the corners, interns shared desks Management bandwidth is limited. This resulted in very little guidance and direction from your direct manager. Tiny office space; people can easily disrupt others simply because of the crowded space Extreme hours and demands for low- income salary (Most people do not leave the office before 7 pm) High turn-over rate (about 50% turnoever every few months) the CEO, while inspiring, brilliant, and driven, was extremely hard to work with. She barked out people's names and orders, criticized harshly to the point of making employees cry, and rarely praised anybody's hard work. lack of communication between management and employees. In such a small team and space, employees are hesitant to voice concerns to superiors (ie, about their hours, treatment by the management, compensation). Management withholds important information from employees. General feeling of unhappiness and tension within the office, coworkers are not friends outside the office. Office happy hours feel unnatural

2.0
May 28, 2013

Lots of Promise, But Ultimately a Disappointment

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Located in SF - Smart, talented, dedicated, fun staff - Social mission - Genuine respect between most employees - Great outward facing company image - Excellent at framing/storytelling - Hiring a COO is a step in the right direction but she needs full control to be successful

Cons

- Extremely high turnover: out of a 30 person office, in the last 12 months 18 FTEs have quit, 3 have been let go - Highly inexperienced, micromanaging senior leadership (CEO, VP Operations) - CEO is arguably the biggest reason for people leaving (difficult personality, lack of true business experience, egotistical behavior) - Unstable business model -- missteps on the business side are gravely hurting the social mission - Serious lack of focus and direction, major decisions and opinions change daily - No alignment between Sales-Delivery-Marketing-Development team goals and direction - Poor HR practices (no escalation process, no formal HR, no managerial oversight) - HR and Finance are run uprofessionally by people without any experience - Sensitive information (i.e. HR, pay, role changes) are handled without professionalism and stored in public folders - Very tense/awkward office environment (negative culture) - Little to no financial transparency - No career path - Arbitrary promotions and raises (not based on tenure, merit, or path) - Not family friendly (long hours, no PTO for working or expectant parents) - Lack of work-life balance is what is valued, not performance - Favoritism (those “close” to upper management are out of the office 40% of the time) - Acts like a start up when it’s convenient and a nonprofit when it’s convenient - Wasteful with resources

1.0
Oct 17, 2016

Samasource is a great brand and therefore stepping-stone to launch your career

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I am sharing my experience at Samasource after having left the company more than 3 years ago. (I am writing this in the Fall of 2016, and I resigned of my own accord in mid-2013. I didn't depart to join another company; I left Sama to take some much-needed time off and gain some perspective.) Within 3 months of my departure, 7 staff people (2 of which were on the management team) and 2 board members also severed their ties with Samasource, perhaps for some of the same reasons that I left. Perhaps for other reasons. After having had 3 years to think deeply about my Samasource experience, I must say that Samasource hires the best-in-class, mission-driven talent in Silicon Valley. That is its biggest Pro. You will get to work with some sharpest and coolest folks in the Valley and build your network unbelievably fast because of it.

Cons

Back in 2013, Samasource was a sinking ship. However, to Leila's credit she rebuilt the team from the ground up, and in 2014 reset the management structure entirely. And, importantly, she reset the Board. Nevertheless, I still hear of regrettable attrition and there is even a closed / secret Facebook group of ex-Samasourcers, seeking counseling and support, after their negative experiences. However the biggest con that I see is with the business model itself, which is fundamentally flawed. Impact Sourcing and the Samasource value model is better advanced within the for-profit world, not a non-profit. In fact there are for-profit competitors (that are hiring by the way) that are able to achieve higher impact scores by utilizing a for-profit model, rather than a non-profit one. Samasource will always be limited in its impact by its non-profit status. Therefore, be sure to learn as much as you can from Samasource, and then go enter the real world of business, and see how much more impact you can have therein. I think anyone who has worked, currently works, or is considering working at Samasource owes it to themselves to really ask how much impact they could have on the world, if the business model were different.

avatar
Sama Response
9y
Hi there, I think a lot has changed in over four years since you left Samasource. Thank you very much for sharing this feedback, and trust that we've listened to it and implemented a ton of the suggestions we heard from staff. We have an awesome board, management team, and staff with very low attrition and, I'm proud to say, some of the very best people I've ever met in Silicon Valley. Regarding our business model and nonprofit status, I hear you. It's something that I struggled with for years after our founding, because at that time "B Corporations" had only just started, and the idea of impact investing was nascent -- we went the 501(c)(3) route because it was the only way I could raise capital with our stated mission of measurably reducing poverty. Now, times have changed and we are always open to understanding the best possible way to advance our mission of ending poverty permanently for as many people as possible with a sustainable, technology-driven business model. I encourage you to stay in touch with us as the company grows and develops :)
Viewing 4 - 6 of 480 Reviews
Related searches: Sama jobs | Sama salaries | Sama benefits | Sama interviews
ReviewsSama reviews

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.