Great Culture is no longer a tradeoff for Low Pay - Anonymous employee BambooHR Employee Review

3.0
21 Mar 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

During my time at Bamboo I grew immensely as a professional. I was trusted with high-impact initiatives, given exposure to executive leadership, and learned much about the inner workings of the business. I was surrounded by phenomenal colleagues who were sharp, driven, and humble. All-around wonderful humans who made my day-to-day work a joy. Bamboo felt like a values-driven organization, and I saw the company values used to make decisions large and small. Work-life balance was prioritized, and I felt like I was empowered to do the right things, the right way. Benefits like 401k match, low healthcare premiums, a decent PTO plan, and paid-paid vacation were all nice elements in the total compensation package.

Cons

Unfortunately, Bamboo’s approach to base compensation is struggling to compete with market norms. Their comp strategy is based on a workplace climate about a decade old — where people were leaving toxic jobs and taking pay cuts in favor of a positive culture. But the market has changed. Bamboo’s positive culture is no longer rare, especially with tech companies touting unmatched culture exploding across Silicon Slopes. People don’t just want it all; they can go get it all — the values-driven work, the positive culture, the fantastic coworkers/management, AND a competitive salary. Especially as the future of remote work evolves, Bamboo must learn to compete with national and global companies. The company is seeing increased rates of turnover, all citing low pay as their reason for leaving. Some real comp data to illustrate my point: Software Engineer (BambooHR > new company, same job duties/title) ~$110k to ~$160k Systems Admin (BambooHR > new company, same job duties, different title) ~$65k to ~ $120k Operations Manager (BambooHR > new company, same job duties/title) ~$90k to ~$120k Project Manager (BambooHR > new company, same job duties, Senior title) ~$85k to ~$115k I’ve seen comments from industry experts in this extremely hot job market stating “if you’re basing your comp strategy on available data sources, you’re already pricing yourself out of the market. Inflation and salaries are increasing at a rate that available data can’t accurately reflect.” In addition to comp structure, Bamboo didn’t invest early enough in critical infrastructure like Operations or Data Engineering, and they’re now dealing with major resource constraints in those areas as the company tries to scale. I also saw numerous signs (some from direct interactions with the CEO) that indicated Bamboo was experiencing a cultural shift that treats frontline employees more like numbers than people. Toward the end of my tenure there, I came out of meetings that had me wondering, “do I really want to be part of where Bamboo is going?”

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BambooHR Response
4y
Hi there! Thanks for sharing your feedback. We’re glad you enjoyed your time at Bamboo and felt trusted and given the support to grow professionally. We consistently hear that great co-workers are an immeasurable asset at BambooHR. We agree that compensation is and will always be important. Businesses everywhere are experiencing unprecedented times of market volatility, remote work, and economic disruptions. We won’t speak directly to some of the points you pose but we are confident in how we approach great work, including pay, and we see proof of that as we continue to grow. It’s very rewarding to be part of a company that cares about its people. We recognize that some may choose to pursue other opportunities and we wish them, and you, success in their new professional endeavors. We continue to grow with additional great talent joining our team every day. And …. if you know any great Data Engineers, send them our way. We are continuing to grow that team at BambooHR!

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5.0
10 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

BambooHR is a great place to work with outstanding people.

Cons

BambooHR is focusing heavily on AI, which can come at the expense of jobs.

2.0
25 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

At the end of my tenure, I really have no pros.

Cons

I'm pretty sure I was "quietly laid off", in the effort of sneaky downsizing without having to actually do formal layoffs. This place was a godsend and a great place to work on my small independent team, and I did great. Then they did massive restructuring, added layers of hierarchy, added process, and basically just starting running a creative team like a line of factory workers. I had a horrible time with my manager on so many different levels, and felt validation when others would reflect the same, but I reflect what everyone else says - narcissistic, micro managing leadership that I now understand play manipulation games. I was put on a performance improvement plan and finally quit due to burnout, stress, and the dissolution of a role and a team that I had from before. They constantly push for solutions and deliverables, but I never really saw anything I delivered actually get treated and implemented with respect. Company policies and siloed team policies and procedures stymie actual effectiveness, and it seems like the leadership acts as your strict grade school teacher rather than having your back.

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