Hootsuite FAQ

Pros

Flexible working, you can choose how little or how often you go into the office or work fully remote A very lovely and inclusive culture. If you were to read any recent post on LinkedIn regarding the recent changes what comes up most is the people. Hootsuite really understands the human aspect of our lives and definitely places emphasis on work-life balance. Meetings outside of regular office hours are unavoidable but employees are encouraged leave early/start late to make up for it. There is no expectation or pressure to work crazy hours to accommodate other timezones. Great perks such as summer Fridays, health insurance, wellness week, competitive maternity/paternity leave, flex benefits for wellness purchases. Diverse workforce with an emphasis on DE&I. They practice what they preach in terms of DE&I and it doesn't feel performative.

Cons

Complete lack of direction or strategy from senior leadership. Nearly two months after the global restructure many teams are still completely in the dark about planning, roles and responsibilities, and team structures. Extremely poor communication from leadership during the restructure. Peeps in EMEA who were going through the consultation period waited weeks with nearly non existent communication from HR & HQ about if they'd have a role or when their last day of work would be. Very NA-centric organisation. Everything revolves around HQ's timezone and those in NA see better career progression and recognition from leadership than teams in regional offices. Questionable choices when it comes to senior leadership, it's a general sentiment that some senior leaders are in roles they aren't prepared or qualified for leading to a trickle-down effect of direct reports who don't feel supported or trusted in their roles. Very poor career progression, especially since the restrucutre. Teams are being asked to do more with fewer people leading to burnout. Many people are struggling to get better at their roles and progress since they're so stretched. Teams can be very siloed with decisions being made from HQ with no communication to the teams or projects that they might affect. Average compensation compared to market rates Sales-centric organisation with little thought or strategy considered for other functions of the business such as value or customer success. For example, the revenue organisation was given a day off at the EOQ in Q1 to celebrate a successful quarter. This day off excluded many teams such as partners and marketing who had also contributed to the success of the quarter. Very competitive industry and our tool is lagging behind in many ways behind competitors. The massive hiring spree followed by a swift restructure (the second in less than 5 years) has not made us look good to customers or in market. Hootsuite talks about being #customerobsessed but has let go of the majority of teams that actually supported and provided value to our customers in favour of sales reps. Don't be surprised when we see a high level of churn. Morale is at an all-time low. Communication and support from HQ have been essentially non-existent and many teams have been sitting on pause waiting for any semblance of a plan from senior leaders. Leaders are stretched trying to support their teams, many of which are made up of people who were demoted or put in completely new roles. Hiring and promotions have been put on pause until at least Q2 2023. It's creating a poor environment where teams feel like they don't have a purpose or value and it makes it hard to be motivated.

Advice to Management

Hootsuite has cultivated a group of exceptionally talented and nice people who make coming to work a true pleasure but if the lack of strategic direction and no semblance of planning continues I can foresee a mass exodus of the best of the best that are still left in the org. Hootsuite talks a lot about how they care for their 'peeps' but those of us that are left need support, guidance, and tangible plans from leadership to help give us a sense of purpose and something to work towards.

Pros

Great people, nice offices, super flexible work schedule, many benefits, including a ton of paid time off (for North America standards).

Cons

Too many layers of management, blurred lines between product and engineering management, lack of clear direction (seems to be improving after the recent layoffs, though).

Advice to Management

Keep transparency as top of mind and narrow focus, with fewer, and more objective OKRs.

Pros

Great culture, great benefits, half day fridays for the summer quarter and an entire week off for mental health each year

Cons

The company does do major layoffs every couple of years. Seems to be behind its competitors in terms of new features and innovation

Pros

Relatively open and progressive working environment and flat hierarchies in middle management. Free coffee, fruit and tee.

Cons

It seems like the company hasn't quite figured out which direction to go. Constant strategy changes with little transparency from HQ in Vancouver. Big waves of lay-offs every 2-3 years are apparently normal which are followed by a lot of new hires. The company has a very high fluctuation rate. HR and recruitment seem completely overwhelmed. Salary wasn't always accurate. Compensation structure completely out of date for sales. You can wait up to 89 days until you are compensated for a closed deal.

Pros

They are agile and care about their employees. Great CEO and Chief People officer. Teams are friendly and are hard working. There is a lot of flexibility and employee benefits such as RRSP matching, wellness (week off), 1/2 Fridays off in the summer. DE&I initiatives underway. It's global and the work is interesting.

Cons

Sometimes too fast paced and/or expectations re: turnaround times. Resourcing can be tight at times.

Advice to Management

Would like to see more diversity in upper levels of management. It's getting there but similar to other organizations it does take time.