Basis Technologies reviews about "layoff"

- Not fully transparent - the company had large layoffs recently and the leadership team had always advised that layoffs wouldn't occur.

Huge lack of work/life balance. Expect to work on the weekends and into the night. Mass layoffs occurred after the company kept promising everything was good, and not one month later the company was hiring again. Lots of cliques in the work place and the company spend more money on fancy holiday parties then saving their own employees. Sales people only care about themselves and will drag you down just for their commission. Lack of help between teams everyone is super siloed. I was laid off by someone who ended up crying and never even worked with me. Was not even given the decency of a discussion with my boss. Pretty big slap in the face.

They love to win their "Best Place to Work" awards to hide what's really going on there. They have done three rounds of layoffs in the last year, laying off women on maternity leave, pregnant women, and people that have been there for 10+ years with no notice or explanation. They tout "family values" but have no issue cutting ties with even the best employees in the blink of an eye. They were nowhere near goal last year but put on the front that they're the best in the business. The automation software failed to take off and they're scrambling to find ways to keep afloat. The CEO is completely checked out, too busy ranting on Facebook and Twitter about politics. The executives are all homegrown with no outside experience, leaving them incredibly limited in their skills and strategy. They reorg over and over again to no avail. The lack of revenue speaks for itself.

Interview process - I had 7 rounds, which only shows me there's a lack of direction and clear path for the role because if you can't see what you're looking for after 3 rounds, you have no idea what you're doing. Company Revenue - Company has been in the red for a while, is not hitting revenue goals, and has had at least 3 layoffs last year and cited them as reorgs/restructuring. Would not be surprised if more layoffs happen this year, which is why I left for more secured pastures. Micromanagement - My manager was notoriously bad at this, and it did not get better. If you hired me, clearly you think I can do the job, so how about you let me do it? work / life balance was okay, but the half day fridays didn't really mean you can shut your computer off and enjoy your friday afternoon. You still had to be available and / or complete any work that wasn't finished. Unlimited PTO but I got PTO requests denied occasionally as well which sucked, DEI - mainly team led instead of Company led. If your manager / dept head didn't care to go the extra mile and have team discussions around it, then it wasn't happening. ERGs are also available, but based on one's workload, it might not be a real option to participate. Benefits took major cuts in the beginning of 2024 (right after several layoffs in 2023) so employees are being punished (smaller bonuses, no more wellness stipends, no holiday parties, postponed merit increases, etc.) which goes back to the company revenue point. They're losing money, and as an employee you will too. Lack of opportunity for promotion / growth. In my tenure I haven't seen much upward mobility within the org. and it seems like managers are incentivized to not give high ratings on PAD assessments (employee reviews) so that there's an excuse not to give more money / promotions.

Culture: The company preaches about having a great culture, and as someone else here mentioned, they love their best workplace awards. However, a great workplace is not the reality for a lot of people. Many experience intense micromanagement, unreasonable workloads, and favoritism. Basis cares more about following processes than producing results for their clients, making it a challenge to manage clients while keeping your boss happy. You'll see many reviews mention a "honeymoon phase" with Basis. It seems like that is just the time it takes for employees to realize that what they're being told by leadership differs from what they're actually experiencing. “4.5-Day Work Week”: You’ll notice that Basis has really been pushing a puff piece about their adoption of a 4.5-day workweek. What they’re not as open about is the fact that employees are still expected to work during the 0.5 day they are given "off". In the Summer of 2023, Basis rolled out "Flex Fridays". Every other Friday, Basis would have a full-day Flex Friday, and in between, employees were given half-day Flex Fridays. Flex time is positioned as time for Basis employees to rest or take care of things they wouldn’t normally be able to do during work hours. What is important to know here is that flex time isn’t time off. You are 100% expected to respond to clients if it’s something emergent (which managers will have you think is 95% of requests) or work if you haven’t completed everything that was on your plate that week. Most individual contributors end up having to work during this time, often with less support. Layoffs & Lack of Transparency: There have been 3 rounds of layoffs since last spring, which they keep calling “restructures”. Re-branding layoffs as restructures feels a lot like an attempt to save face and prevent their employees from looking for jobs at organizations that are more stable. Basis claims to be a great place to work for parents, but they’ve laid off employees on mat leave and others who were pregnant. They also laid off employees who had been with the company for over 10 years without notice. They couldn’t even be bothered to schedule an all-hands call about the second round of layoffs and instead sent a pre-recorded video the day after layoffs occurred, delivering the news to employees. They didn’t meet sales goals last year, which isn’t shocking considering the chaotically rolled-out restructuring of the org in Q1 of ‘23. Instead of taking accountability, leadership seems happy to blame lower-level employees who, at the drop of a dime, were expected to learn entirely new job descriptions and processes that had many holes. Compensation: Very little to say here; compensation was disappointing. They determine your pay based on the city you live in as opposed to experience or value you’re bringing. You’ll be lucky to get a meager 3% “merit raise” once a year if your boss doesn’t tank your PAD review. Managerial Experience: I encountered significant levels of micromanagement that reached the extent of bullying at points during my time at Basis Technologies. While I had a manager that was notorious for micromanagement and being difficult to work for, I believe that the director position is inherently problematic because they are incentivized to micromanage. With limited involvement in client responsibilities, directors often seek recognition by overly supervising their subordinates. Diversity: Claims to foster an inclusive environment, but what that means is they offer the opportunity to join an employee resource group. The groups are run by employees that either identify with a marginalized group or have a common interest. Employees who choose to participate are expected to complete projects related to these groups outside of working hours, increasing the burden on employees from said marginalized groups. The people that join these groups are usually fantastic and have their heart in the right place, but what’s being asked of them is neither fair, nor effective. Clients: Because Basis is having a hard time meeting financial goals, they are unwilling to say no to clients, contributing to sinking morale. Because of this, there are times where individual contributors are expected to do things like log in on holidays to complete unreasonable requests. Also: if you have a problematic client, don’t expect your manager or leadership to do anything about it if dollars are on the table.