employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Windward Studios

Is this your company?

This is a sinking ship. Get out while it’s still your decision to do so. - Anonymous employee Windward Studios Employee Review

1.0
Jul 25, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule. Free sodas and snacks. Company lunch once a week. Flexible PTO which actually wasn't that flexible. The staff is tremendous at least that was before recent massive layoffs where more than %50 of the company lost their jobs. Most of these fine employees were excellent hard working people who did great jobs and I can say I sincerely enjoyed working with all of them. The occasional company event which was usually fun but only happened maybe two or three times a year.

Cons

Poor compensation. Much lower than market pay. No bonuses, ever. Don’t expect a pay raise unless you want to potentially risk your job and work life to do so. You’ll have to fight tooth and nail and most likely won’t get it anyway. Poor stock options that are now almost worthless as the company recently laid off more than half its full time staff and looks to be in extreme financial crisis. This of course is only a month after the leader of the company told people they "were not allowed to quit". Specific jobs and positions are overtly favored not quality of work both in leniency and pay. Product is old and outdated and way overpriced. Despite the development team being overwhelmed with bug fixes managements main concern seems to be resurrecting old failed product experiments in hopes to turn around years of stagnant sales. Keep in mind they have been doing this for years to no avail. Now resulting in massive lay offs. Poor communication, vision, and leadership from the top position. Despite having a myriad of bad ideas that never paid off nor came to fruition and drove many employees to quit, this person seems determined to not take any advice and do their best to run this company into the ground despite having a good staff and hardworking employees. This person failed to ever communicate a vision or direction for the company which seemed to constantly change by the quarter. Revolving door of employment. DO NOT WORK HERE. Chances are even if you are desperate enough to work here after reading any of the recent reviews you most likely won’t be working here after a few months. The retention rate over the last few years has been atrocious (sometimes less than 50 percent retention and this year less than 35 percent!) Honestly it is fairly likely the company may go under soon despite the massive layoffs of most of their current employees anyway. There is little to no transparency so don't expect any honesty from the top of the company especially when it comes to your actual employment. Good ideas do not bubble up to the top. .Unless you’re a yes man to management don’t expect to achieve what you set out to do. Most departments are overtly devalued and unfairly disrespected. Dishonesty and poor leadership. The leadership time and time again failed to communicate any kind of solid vision and also failed to execute that vision whatever it was. Routinely misinformed their own employees about the status of the company and product future. Finally, the recent massive layoffs appear to be a knee jerk, and more importantly unforeseen action. This demonstrates the disconnect between the leaders of the company and the company itself. Honest bottom line...Incompetent leader and sheer failure in communication, direction, and top level management. Period.

avatar
Windward Studios Response
7y
We unfortunately had to do layoffs and that sucked. Understandably some people are very angry that we had to do so. With that said, much of what is said here is inaccurate. Most of the above is someone very angry spewing out that the company did not do what they thought it should do, did not appreciate their efforts, and was poorly led. It's an understandable response. So a question - if the place was so awful, why did this employee stay? And why are they angry at being laid off instead of relieved. I also want to speak to a number of falsehoods above: Below market pay - we constantly adjusted pay based on the rate in the market. We may have been off at times, sometimes lower sometime higher, but always within the market range. No pay raise - incorrect. Everyone at Windward received yearly raises. Generally at a rate greater than the average for the area. We also did raises outside of the yearly when appropriate due to additional responsibilities. Product is old & outdated - actually it's viewed by our customers and most new prospects as the best on the market. Resurrecting old failed products - actually we're improving affiliated products that we successfully sold in the past but put aside to focus on our core product.

Explore other reviews about Windward Studios

5.0
May 20, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Employees are eager to welcome you and help you get started -The work can be challenging, not dull nor menial. Makes your work feel meaningful -Generous pay compared to similar opportunities in the area -Very intelligent developers -Outstanding management of COVID-19 Crisis, they quickly changed and adapted practices to accommodate the crisis so onboarding, and development cycles were uninterrupted

Cons

-The documentation and software can be dense, especially since a lot of it was made a while ago. It can make the learning take longer, but things are getting updated constantle, and co-workers are patient and helpful.

5.0
Mar 22, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Flexible working environment -Have increased focus on employee satisfaction -Broad base of responsibilities available -Focus on recruiting and promoting internally rather than external hiring -Everyone that works there currently is extremely kind and willing to help other departments if needed -Collaborative work environment I have worked at Windward for multiple years. Through that time Windward has always offered a very flexible work environment with unlimited PTO and flexible hours. The focus on work/life balance is very much there and is something i have always appreciated. The company is small/mid sized and has given me the opportunity to gain a wide variety of work experience that i dont believe i would see at a larger company. I have also seen Windward offer promotions to employees rather than look for an outside hire so the ability to advance your career is there as well. The culture is really great as everyone is super nice and have no issues helping each other out. There are free lunches every week and a kitchen regularly stocked full of food. We have also started having monthly staff activities such as going bowling etc.

Cons

There were layoffs last year which was a sad time as a lot of really great people had to leave. The owners were very transparent regarding the reasoning though in that it wasn't a reflection of the quality of employees at Windward but a strategic change to prevent any future issues and in retrospect it seems like it was the right move. The company has come out of it in a lot stronger position however it was definitely hard losing some great people.

avatar
Windward Studios Response
7y
Thank you for the very nice words. I agree, it sucked to have to let people go. People who were doing a good job. But it unfortunately was necessary.
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All