Layoffs - Editor atolls Employee Review

1.0
Mar 18, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work from home and used to be a great place to work.

Cons

Think twice before joining. The company recently went through mass layoffs, affecting multiple locations and teams. While the economic struggles had been communicated for some time, the layoffs still came as a surprise to many employees. Since the rebranding, the workload has increased significantly, leading to conflicts between teams and locations. The once-positive work atmosphere from two years ago has completely disappeared, replaced by internal struggles and a lack of clear direction. Salaries are very low compared to industry standards. Despite the company frequently stating that employee development is a priority, in reality, no real effort is made to support growth or career progression. Promises of training and career opportunities remain largely unfulfilled. Transparency is key—employees deserve clear communication about the company’s direction and stability. Investing in the workforce through better pay and real development opportunities would go a long way in retaining talent. While some great colleagues and passionate people still try to make a difference, the overall experience at the company has declined significantly.

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atolls Response
1y
Hi, Thank you for sharing your reflections. We truly appreciate your honesty and the dedication you’ve shown to the company over the years. We're deeply sorry to hear that you no longer see Atolls as a great place to work. Please know that we are continuously striving to create the best possible experience for our employees. Being part of the organization for a long time provides a deep understanding of how the business operates and the challenges faced last year, especially the impact of Google’s changes. These changes directly affected a third of our company, leading us to a very painful decision to reduce the size of some teams last year, in total 5% of the employees' population of the company. Even if the impact was significant on the business, we did our best to guarantee job security to as many employees as possible. It's important not to forget that we had to run through that reduction to ensure future financial stability through these challenging times, and needed to secure jobs for 95% of our remaining employees. We fully recognize how difficult the recent changes have been, particularly the impact of layoffs. While we did our best to communicate the impact of external changes and financial pressures in advance during our regular Company All Hands, we understand that the actual decisions and timing created uncertainty and disappointment. We’re truly sorry for the disruption this caused to you. Your feedback on workload, cross-team alignment, and morale is especially valuable. As we continue evolving post-rebrand, we strongly believe that clear communication, cultural consistency, and strong team support need to remain top priorities. We continue to reduce any existing salary gaps across teams that appeared in the past due to the mergers and acquisitions, and a lack of consistent job architecture and one global Grading approach. While there’s still some work to be done, we are committed to filling the remaining gaps as soon as possible. In the last two years, we have invested a lot of time in establishing the key enablers to support our employees in their career growth. To name a few, we have launched a company-wide personal development budget, introduced an internal mobility program, and just recently launched the Atollian Mentorship Program. At Atolls, we believe in growing and succeeding together. We are doing our best to foster transparency through Q&A sessions, sharing company financial status in All Hands meetings, and shared messages in Slack channels where employees can voice concerns and ask questions. We recognize there’s always room to improve, and we take your concerns seriously. If you’re open to it, we’d love to continue the conversation. Please feel free to reach out to our Talent Attraction and Engagement team at tae.team@atolls.com to share more insights or suggestions. Thank you again for your time and feedback. Your P&C Team.

Explore other reviews about atolls

5.0
Dec 6, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Atolls has an incredibly caring management team. They do not shy away from motivating their teams to work hard and achieve lofty goals, but they offer ample support, frequent pulse checks, and actively encourage a healthy work-life balance, motivating employees to maximize their work hours. If you're looking for a workplace devoid of toxicity and who supports your overall career aspirations, this is the place.

Cons

The work here can become rather repetitive. While you have an incredibly large array of client sites to work with, most of your day-to-day duties will look the same. There are still plenty of opportunities for you to take on new projects and mix things up, but your core schedule is very similar day to day.

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atolls Response
1y
Hi, Thank you for sharing your experience as a freelancer with Atolls over the past six years. It’s heartening to hear that you’ve felt supported by our management team and appreciated the motivation, pulse checks, and encouragement for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Creating a positive and supportive environment, even for our freelance team members, is something we strive for every day. We understand that the nature of the work can sometimes feel repetitive, despite the variety of client sites. While there are opportunities to take on new projects, we recognize the importance of keeping daily tasks engaging and will continue exploring ways to enhance the freelance experience. At Atolls, we believe in #StrongerTogether, fostering a culture where every team member, whether full-time or freelance, feels valued and supported in their professional journey. Thank you again for your contributions, and if you’d like to share more, please reach out to our Talent Attraction and Engagement team at tae.team@joingsg.com. Your P&C Team.
5.0
Oct 10, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I have sincere confidence and respect in leadership - Gerhard, in particular, is smart, charismatic, deliberate and compassionate. It's easy to believe in him and his vision because he seems very sincere. I've found this to generally trickle down throughout the organization. While not necessarily true of all leaders I've had during the course of my tenure at the company, my current direct manager is pragmatic while still managing business goals, and has respect for a healthy work/life balance. The company leans into a policy of being open, honest and direct. I generally find leadership to be quite transparent - if you're paying attention, you'll know the temperature of the business at any given time, and have a sense of where the company is heading. There are no big secrets (or if there are, they've done such a good at hiding them I'm oblivious). This is one of the rare companies where the people I come into regular contact are good people, supportive of one another, and genuinely working towards common success.

Cons

Look, no company is perfect. Atolls/GSG can sometimes move too slow. And sometimes it can seem to underinvest in what seem like key initiatives. But I believe that leadership is generally self-aware, open to input, and looks to improve in areas of underperformance where it is reasonable and makes sense. Comp is generally aligned to market averages. There are certainly companies that pay more - but will you find the same environment? I'm unsure on career opportunities. It seems like employees in some geos may be better positioned for growth then others.

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atolls Response
1y
Hi, Thank you for sharing your detailed feedback and for your long-term commitment to Atolls. It’s wonderful to hear that you have confidence in our leadership, and that you appreciate the transparency and collaborative spirit within the company. Building trust and a healthy, balanced work environment are essential to us, and it’s gratifying to know that these values resonate with you. We understand your concerns around areas for improvement, such as the pace of change, investment in key initiatives, and career growth opportunities. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we’re actively enhancing our internal growth framework, with specific efforts to increase career mobility across all regions. Additionally, our 2024 initiatives include a refined job architecture and performance review process, designed to make career pathways and development opportunities more transparent and accessible across the organization. At Atolls, our #MoveLearnChange value reflects our commitment to adapting, learning, and growing based on the feedback we receive. We truly appreciate your insights, which help us shape a better experience for everyone. Thank you once again, and please feel free to reach out to our Talent Attraction and Engagement team at tae.team@atolls.com if you’d like to discuss any of these areas further. Your P&C Team
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