Smile.io Reviews

4.4

86% would recommend to a friend

(59 total reviews)
avatar

Mike Rossi

87% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

Smile.io has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 59 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Smile.io 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

59 reviews
5.0
22 Dec 2020

A dream place to work

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Above all, Smile cares deeply and passionately about the welfare of its workforce. In addition to a genuinely competitive salary, we are supported by an incredible perks & benefits package, including: extremely generous paid time off allowances, mental health days, flexi-time (split shifts are very normal), health & wellness credits, home office budget, and credits to treat ourselves each month. The people ops team frequently try new ways to support the workforce through providing professional mental health guest speakers, wellness workshops, and other fun activities (most recently a virtual escape room!). Upwards feedback is the norm and actively encouraged. This is not a company of sensitive egos, Smile is a company that wants to know where it's not meeting the mark, and will actively do something about that to ensure it remains an incredible place to work. Smile has adapted exceptionally well to becoming a remote-first (not just remote-friendly) company. Even though 50% of the workforce are based in Canada, significant efforts are made to level the playing field in all areas (communication , benefits, personal development, responsibilities, christmas gifts!) and ensure that noone is disadvantaged for working internationally. Despite working 5000km away from HQ, I feel just as included, represented and valued as anyone else at the company. It is a collaborate environment where we celebrate each others' successes and help each other to succeed. During every stage of recruitment, a big emphasis is placed on cultural fit and diversity - which has led to an extremely friendly and well-represented bunch of people to work with. As a new employee / contractor, you will be welcomed and embraced with open arms, and made to feel like part of the family from day #1. The work is varied, challenging and interesting. There's always something new to learn, and never a shortage of people willing to help. Finally, I have found previous GlassDoor reviews on Smile to be emotionally-driven, missing context, and not representative of the company it is today. Suggestions of scaremongering, favouritism and reckless firing are baseless and without merit. Micro-management doesn't exist at Smile in any form. Our co-founder is humble, accessible, and recognises the hard work of everyone in every part of the company. The same is true of all managers at Smile. Joining Smile was the best career decision I've made.

Cons

Recruitment tends to be on the slower side. If you're considering applying to Smile (and you really should!), ensure that you're transparent about any conversations you're having with other companies at the same time.

2.0
10 Apr 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great product. Good office environment.

Cons

Founders leadership skills severely lacking.

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Smile.io Response
6y
I'm always open to feedback like this, including specific areas that you think I can improve on. I'll be the first to admit that this is the first company I've founded & run, and I have a ton of things to learn ahead of me. It's something that I'm 100% committed to improving. We're also looking to bring on experienced leaders in to key areas as we grow - we're totally aligned there. Feel free to reach out to me any time, and I'd love to chat.
1.0
5 Feb 2020

Micromanagement and leading by fear

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Dog Friendly Office -Downtown Kitchener Location

Cons

-C Levels lead by fear rather than trust -CEO is a boss not a leader -Inexperienced leadership that is being led by inexperienced co-founders -The leaders with experience that don't blindly follow the CEO have either been let go, have left or are fighting an upwards battle because they do not have the freedom or trust needed to do the job they were hired to do -Certain people are put pedestals and their word is seen as gold despite lack of experience/knowledge or proven lack of track record of success -Lack of willingness to listen to and validate employee concerns from a culture or product perspective -Lack of product advancement – product has stayed pretty much stagnant over the past year -Huge turnover of employees in the last 12 months

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Smile.io Response
6y
Thanks for your honest feedback here. You’re totally correct that our founding team and some of our leaders here don’t have experience at other companies. This obviously leads to some gaps in perspective as we grow, and is a problem we need to work on. To help with this, we’ve started investing heavily in training for all levels of leaders: external coaching, training sessions, and growth plans. Obviously this is in progress, but it should help everybody here who leads others at Smile. Trust is extremely important for us to be able to grow, so I’d like to address that. We’ve gone from a company size where everybody is hands-on, to one where people have to trust and lead. We haven’t been perfect during that growth and transition, including myself, but we’re always trying to improve - including AMAs, surveys, and way more regular feedback gathering to make sure we make Smile an amazing place to work. If you have specific feedback on how we can improve there, then please let me know - I’d love to hear it. And in general, I’d really like to hear more about your experience, either in person or even anonymously. Please feel free to email me personally and we can chat. I think it’s natural that companies go through growing pains, but I really want to make sure we can learn from your experiences and feedback. Mike
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Glassdoor has 69 Smile.io reviews submitted anonymously by Smile.io employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Smile.io is right for you.