Reviews van Guardsquare

- Don't listen to the positive reviews. They're likely written by upper management or HR. - Micromanagement from senior leadership is at an all-time high. - No clear strategy, or strategy that changes constantly so work gets thrown away. - Favouritism. Promotions and opportunities going to a clique rather than on merit. - There are a lot of egos in upper management who think very highly of themselves (starting right at the top) - You won't get a fair salary at this company. Pay is below market average. - I've witnessed the CEO shout at people and try to belittle them over small mistakes, or even just a difference of opinion. Being a CEO does not give you license to talk down to people and generally be a mean person. You wouldn't do it to a stranger in the street, would you? - I've seen first-hand how people have been treated awfully, leading to burnout and, ultimately, their leaving. Bullying is not uncommon at this company. - Poor work-life balance, expectations to be available outside hours. Profit before people at this company 100%. Avoid at all costs.

A generational gap separates mostly recent-grad employees from a C-suite that shapes every aspect of how the company operates. Leadership is directive and patronizing, offering little room for independent growth outside of full alignment with executive vision. The culture of openness is surface-level. In practice, no one challenges leadership. For instance, the CEO's monthly all-hands meetings see questions as the exception, and a quiet fear to ask pervades those meetings. An engineer-first mindset bleeds into other departments, reducing sales to a call center and marketing to a website and blog factory. Turnover is high and retention poor. Raise requests are routinely met with replacement rather than reward. HR is largely administrative, career planning is nonexistent, and professional development rarely extends beyond the occasional presentation skills session.