Strong Vision, Customer-first Approach, Great Team - werkgeversreview Software Engineer bij Forte Research Systems

The benefits are great for a company and all of the positive things written in the other reviews are 100% accurate. I've been here a long time and can say that I'm happy with the way the company has grown over the years. It has matured out of a lot of the behaviors that caused the bad reviews that have shown up on GlassDoor. I want to add that it hasn't been a "bed of roses" by any means. I've had highs, lows, and extreme frustration which led to considering leaving at some points. At the end of the day I really enjoy the people I work with and decided to stay (having stable, friendly, and intelligent co-workers isn't to be underrated) and these days I'm glad that I stuck it out.

I want to point out that a number of the bad reviews are from the India office which had struggled in the past. That said, Forte US has had a number of bumps along the way as well (as indicated by other negative reviews). Despite this, the company has been successful and continues to be successful regardless of what anyone else is putting on here. With that success however it has struggled at times with finding the appropriate balance of autonomy and agency for its employees. (This has varied from department to department.) There has, in the past, been a perception of the mentality, "It worked in getting us this far, why would we change it?" This came across as senior leadership not actually understanding where or why change was needed. Which in turn contributed to feelings of frustration that the concerns of those doing large portions of the "day to day" weren't being taken seriously. Personally, I think a large portion of this has been due to communication breakdowns as the company grew. It's easy to propagate information and decision making when it's 30 people in a room it's much harder to do when there are 200.

Most of the people at Forte are absolutely amazing. They are smart, caring, and fun. Forte has many of the perks you'd expect in a software company including a game room, free snacks, and flexible hours. The volunteer time off policy and the health reimbursements are also fantastic fringe benefits. It's nice that it's located in Middleton and away from the usual traffic of downtown or Epic.

My struggle with Forte is likely somewhat unique to my situation. I just couldn't find my "niche", and after months of poking around to see how to best fit in, I decided my best bet was to look elsewhere. The PTO and bereavement policies seem a bit antiquated, but I have my fingers crossed that enough people have voiced this concern that Forte will alter their policies in the next year or two. I'm not going to focus much on the cons of Forte because overall it was and is a fantastic company, and it remains the best software company that I know of in the Madison area. That being said, there are some elements of truth in other reviewers' negative comments about Forte--particularly in regard to product direction and career progression.