Pros
There are a number of reviews about FranConnect, so here's my advice: Throw out the India reviews (unless you're going to be working in India, of course) and like most online reviews, throw out the 1 stars (disgruntled ex-employees) and the 5 star reviews (likely planted by HR or management). The truth will lie somewhere in the middle. I have tried to be fair and balanced in this review, outlining both the good and the bad. There were a number of great things I enjoyed while working at FranConnect. The first was my teammates, who were mostly young, diverse, and fun-loving. There were of course a few "sticks-in-the-mud", but not everyone can be awesome. The snacks in the breakroom and "bagel Wednesdays" were a nice touch as well (although my waistline disagrees.) I also really believe in the new executive team. Last summer (2015) the much maligned founder and CEO handed over the reins to a new CEO and leadership team, which I believe are taking the company in the right direction. Benefits are improving; they are far more transparent on what their goals are and how they will achieve them. Once goals are established, they are taking concrete steps towards achieving those goals with real and measurable results. Progress takes time, but I believe the new executive team (primarily the CEO and CFO) are on the right track. In my opinion they are fair in their dealings with employees and set proper expectations. They host monthly/quarterly all-hands meetings where they review the progress and discuss new initiatives. They are also much more open to feedback, suggestions, and criticisms from the ground level than most C-level executives tend to be. Also, if you enjoy working in a dynamic and ever changing environment, this is a good place to be. Every day brings new challenges, and you are expected to be able to go off-script and help out when called upon, even if it is outside of your job description. I suppose this can be a pro or a con, depending on your personality type. I found this kept work a little more exciting. This can also enable you to gain a wide variety of experience, and to tailor your role in ways you might not expect when you first read your job description. Due to the potential variety of activities, and evolving responsibilities, you may have a chance to grow and cater your career to your strengths and preferences. I was lucky in this regard.
Cons
Like any situation, there are a number of cons. My first would be the middle-management and "legacy" employees. There are a number of managers who seem to only be in that role because they have outlasted everyone else. This stems from the old executive team, and seems to be a problem that will be phased out over time, but there are more than one "manager" who are not up to the task - they micro-manage their employees and then throw them under the bus to upper-management when anything goes wrong. Others managers are just plain disagreeable, or come off as untrustworthy and underhanded. However, there are good ones too, so make sure you feel out your individual manager before accepting a position to make sure they are someone you think you can rely on when times get tough. Another issue that comes up is underpaying employees. When I started, and as I continued my employment, I found that the salaries were not up to industry standards. Recruiting from a talent pool that is willing to be underpaid leads to 2 things: First, they tend to get employees I refer to as "bruised produce" - still perfectly edible, but maybe not as shiny. This doesn't mean bad people, it means people who have added motivation to accept sub-standard pay: career switchers, people coming back from extended absences from the workforce, people who have recently relocated, etc.. This is not inherently bad, but it leads to the second issue, which is turnover. Because people take the job knowing they're being underpaid, they tend to hold onto their jobs just long enough to gain needed experience and/or find a position with pay more suited to the value they bring. I count myself among these people. With constant turnover it is hard to have a coherent team and a stable relationship with clients. This may or may not be improving with the new management team - let your offer sheet be the judge. Finally, the software. FranConnect owns the market they are in, but that is more due to exclusivity than to premium products. The product is often buggy, and this can be incredibly frustrating when working in a support role. Having the development team in India can further frustrate the situation by having a minimum of a 12 hour delay in getting issues resolved. This is frustrating for both employees and clients. The silver-lining of this is it does give you experience in managing issues in a "global" company, which is a skill generally needed when working in the software industry. All this being said, The company is maturing their strategy in software development and moving to a true SaaS model, which I believe, once implemented, will greatly improve reliability in the software and allow for greater and easier support for the clients. The company also really needs to spend some capital on infrastructure in the office. New desk phones, better computers, additional office space. Over-crowding and outdated technology hurts productivity and morale. But, again, this is something I did see improvements with from the new management team during my tenure. Hopefully it continues.
