Scribd Inc. Reviews

I'm not quite sure where to begin with this, but during my time at Scribd, there have been some significant changes within the eStaff team. These changes have had a noticeable impact on the overall character of the company. It used to be this enjoyable, relaxed environment where hard work was appreciated and rewarded. However, it has morphed into an atmosphere rife with internal politics, where everyone seems more focused on their individual accomplishments rather than the collective success of the company. It's like our priorities are constantly shifting, like a distracted pigeon fixated on the shiniest new thing. NFTs? Let's explore that! Advertising on our content? Sounds like a savior for the company! AI is trending? Time to develop an AI strategy! People don't resonate with our brand? Let's overhaul it! Regarding priorities, it often feels like the eStaff's primary concern is making a quick cashout rather than building a stable, sustainable organization. Consequently, every short-term "money-making" scheme is disguised as a strategy rather than a genuine, long-term plan. This means we regularly ignore actual product deficiencies rather than painting over them with other distractions. This leads to a team that is actively working to find customers who don't really engage with the product but continue to pay for it. It seems that's the company's main goal. Offer content people can't read while finding consumers that are forgetful enough that $12 a month for not being able to access content doesn't matter. Unfortunately, with so many competing ideas clamoring for attention, it becomes nearly impossible to execute any meaningful work. Additionally, the incessant disagreements and finger-pointing among different teams only exacerbate the lack of progress. And then there are those discreet "layoffs" or should I say "restructurings." I've counted a total of four in 2023 alone. I can't speak to whether these individuals were effective in their roles or not, but it's disconcerting to claim you don't engage in layoffs while constantly doing so. What's even more concerning is how these restructurings seem to disproportionately affect women and BiPOC individuals in the engineering team compared to their white male counterparts. It certainly doesn't align with the company's professed commitment to inclusivity. Lastly, let's talk about the Pulse survey scores. They've been on a steady decline, and instead of addressing the root issues (cough eStaff cough), eStaff conveniently pins the blame on middle management. In a company of around 300 people, Pulse surveys should serve as a reflection of upper management, not middle management.

• Industry-low wages - it just is what it is. They talk a lot about doing compensation analyses but that isn't apparent or reflected in salaries. They also took bonuses away from the hourly employees a couple of years ago so don't expect anything above and beyond your hourly wage if you're not salaried unless you buy your stock options (which, at this point, are likely unaffordable to hourly employees) • Outlook isn't great - general finances look more dismal by the month no matter how fluffed up they make other things look and the apparent need to mention to the masses that you aren't considering layoffs as a result is disconcerting. I get it, but it isn't reassuring • Little to no opportunity to learn OR grow and if your wages don't offset the stagnance then what's the point? • Lack of challenging or meaningful work • The transparency seems inconsistent. There is a lot of talk about what is going well and what actions are taken in terms of social responsibilities but the secrecy about higher-level (or not) resignations is weird • Turnover is CRAZY. This is a rough estimate but based on what we're privy to and what information we're able to see, turnover looks to be somewhere in the 20-25%/year range. People are leaving in droves and for a company with a headcount that hovers somewhere around 320-330, it's a large chunk of people and it becomes really rocky • Management with longevity gets away with anything and everything. HR does NOT rock the boat and the general consensus among employees that have attempted to rectify something through HR is that they just don't care about employee hardships or mistreatments. Depending on who you end up working under, it ranges from favoritism to full-on public beratement