|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Oct 7th, 2020 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
Software Engineer
|
Dublin, OH
|
|
Mediocre work environment
|
|
Scope for learning things quickly
Exposure on multiple projects
|
Stressful and not enough resources to manage workload
Very poor work-life balance
Micro-management
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
|
|
0.0
|
3.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
4.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
2.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Apr 3rd, 2019 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
QA Analyst
|
Dublin, OH
|
|
Excellent organization, on the cutting edge of cloud Identity
|
|
Very challenging work with the latest technology (microservices, docker, AI)
Good co-workers
Flexible management
Rapid growth has created a lot of advancement opportunities, good about conducting reviews
|
Run out of my favorite flavor of coffee pods frequently
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
|
|
0.0
|
5.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
2.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Nov 17th, 2017 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
Interesting work, smart people, bad leadership
|
|
- Identity Management is an interesting space to develop software
- The compensation is average for the industry
- Hardware and software provided are good
|
- Benefits are very poor.
- Management does not know how to manage a software company.
- Constantly fighting fires and reacting to problems.
- Suggestions are accepted with a smile and then ignored or thrown out.
- They have been bleeding talent for years.
- No one would ever recommend anyone work there.
- Working outside of work hours is expected
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
7.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
3.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
Good luck trying to get this company to succeed.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
No
|
|
1.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Apr 25th, 2017 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
Software Test Engineer
|
|
Open minded and innovative at approach
|
I did not find any during my stint
|
1.0
|
POSITIVE
|
|
|
|
|
0.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
3.0
|
5.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
No
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Jan 24th, 2017 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
|
United States
|
USA
|
Really smart people and really bad leadership.
|
|
- The people that make things go are some of the best and brightest I have worked with.
- Interesting market to be a part of as security is only getting tighter.
- Many different technical areas to learn and grow as a technology professional.
|
- Absolutely no, and I can't convey this enough, transparency from leadership. You can be there for years and have no idea what the strategic vision for the company is, how it is doing financially, or any other information that would be of benefit to someone who is trying to plan for their own future.
- Take great care in offering feedback on any idea that is offered by any level of leadership. This is taken as a personal affront and is met with adolescent, to the point of vengeful, behavior.
- Any suggestion made that could be seen as an improvement will be dismissed out-of hand only to be implemented some time later with attribution being given to the leadership team instead.
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
9.0
|
1.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
I wouldn't even know where to begin as the issues are systemic and likely will not be fixed. It should be telling that the positive reviews on here all (yep, every one of them) were written by the group of people that are creating the environment that the rest of the reviews are complaining about.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
No
|
|
0.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Oct 29th, 2016 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
Senior Solutions Architect
|
United States
|
USA
|
CEO Patrick Parker’s EmpowerID in ruins after 12 years of trying and 5 years in decline
|
|
--Exposure to development
EmpowerID can be a good place to begin learning .NET, ASP.NET MVC, and SQL Server development. There is always work to do and the pay can be higher than other places, too. However, the work and pace becomes monotonous and hectic after a year or two and you may want to pursue another job to expand your knowledge beyond pure development, where you can be exposed to a more polished SDLC and more technical management.
--Exposure to worldwide clientele
EmpowerID manages to capture clients in various English-speaking countries throughout the world and also a few European countries. While supporting these clients, you’ll be exposed to a wide variety of business models and approaches to problem solving.
--Exposure to Identity Management (IDM)
Many employees at EmpowerID have been here for more than 7 years and have had a great deal of exposure to IDM in a number of industries. If IDM experience is something you’re interested in, you’ll surely learn a lot of relevant information at EmpowerID.
|
--EmpowerID incapable of growth under CEO Patrick Parker
EmpowerID was started 12 years ago, and for the first 6 years there was almost no growth. Not until years 6 and 7 was there substantial hiring and the total company size had peaked at around 30-35 employees, with the development team size at its largest as well at 12. This was the most promising time for EmpowerID. However, the software itself reached a turning point which saw the final product become more and more unstable. The cause: poor decision-making by non-technical managers who were not accepting of feedback from the experienced technical team. Also, the company was financially stressed as, although we were gaining clients, we were losing them, too, due to the instability of the product. I believe that as the development team reached its max size, management was too ambitious with the output that the team should produce. Management always wanted the fastest possible solution from developers. With the team larger than ever, the software suffered more than ever as well with this short-term decision making. Since EmpowerID’s heyday, half of these developers have left the shrinking company. Many clients have left as well. To this day, the company has not yet been able to hire another experienced developer, as they cannot even fool anyone in interviews that they run a decent SDLC or produce high-quality software. Also, if your recruiter doesn’t steer you away from EmpowerID, then he/she is obviously out of touch with most other recruiters in the Columbus area. This is EmpowerID’s least promising time.
--Deceitful sales-like culture set by CEO Patrick Parker
Today, if you interview with this company, you will quickly recognize that their information about the company sounds more like a sales pitch. Listen for the exaggerations and over-the-top descriptions of the company’s abilities and successes. You will be told that there is a bright, promising future right around the corner. You may even be told that your responsibilities will be X, only to find out after making a career change to join EmpowerID that you will actually be doing Y. Unfortunately, this kind of deceit is present in almost all daily interactions with management. The constant misdirections and non-answers provided by management, coupled with the exaggerations of greatness and hostility toward anything else, have led a few employees to describe the company as cult-like.
--Unmaintainable code, unmaintainable promise of use of latest technologies
You will also be told if you interview here that you will be able to use or introduce the latest technologies. This is very far from the truth. Remember that this company is in desperation mode at all times, and you will struggle with the other employees on a day-to-day basis to keep the company afloat. This means you will be spending almost all of your time fixing bugs and on support calls with clients who are angry that the software is unstable. As far as technologies go, the product is stuck using a sluggish app built by EmpowerID to manage workflows. This workflow code is stored in a manner that makes it only visible and compilable using this app. Therefore, using this limited and custom programming toolset you cannot search the code, you cannot refactor it, and quite simply you cannot maintain it.
--Context switching and low productivity
A major distraction for developers is that they are the only ones left that can support the product, and thus spend half or more of their time supporting clients on the phone. There are no project managers or experienced support personnel. Project managers leave after a year or two in this company because they cannot quite rid themselves of all of their integrity to work as expected. All of the experienced support staff has now quit, as the product has become too buggy to keep up with and the company’s future looks bleak and short. What’s left is no barrier between the clients and the developers.
--CEO Patrick Parker doesn’t want to be here, why should you?
EmpowerID has been able to barely hang on for a dozen years. However, this is not the desirable state of a company for anyone. Judging by CEO Patrick Parker’s short-term decision making and the complete absence of good long term decisions, it is rather obvious to all that CEO Patrick Parker wants out of this business as quickly as possible. The company seems to be run to grab the next large client so that hopefully EmpowerID is acquired by a larger company, opening CEO Patrick Parker’s exit door to retirement and an easier life. Would you want to work building a product for a company that is racing to be acquired and being managed in a manner that indicates that it does not want to be responsible for maintaining the product in the future? As the bad decisions over the years in building the product have accumulated, the product has become more unstable, and CEO Patrick Parker has grown more desperate to sell and get away from what is an increasingly difficult product to build upon and maintain.
--What you won’t find at EmpowerID
Happy clients - Most client relationships are strained due to the instabilities in the product which have accumulated over the years of management’s short-term decision making. EmpowerID struggles to produce a new build in a timely fashion that addresses these issues, and when they do, a new slew of bugs is introduced. This is the single biggest point of frustration for clients.
Greenfield development and newer technologies - There is no surplus of time after supporting clients and trying to produce builds without showstopper bugs.
Work life balance - 40-hour work weeks are shunned. Vacations and weekends aren’t always respected.
Working for a respected employer in Columbus - Most experienced technical people don’t even apply here anymore.
A company likely to succeed.
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
13.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
3.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
You must change your ways and make your plans for the company transparent. These plans must include the few remaining experienced employees and any potential new ones. Then, you must allow your employees to shape the company’s processes to accomplish your shared goals.
Best of luck!
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
9.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Oct 22nd, 2016 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
Senior Architect
|
United States
|
USA
|
Company remains small and is impeded by poor leadership, immature SDLC, low integrity, and inability to accept feedback
|
|
Little bureaucracy in the company due to its small size
Management is easily accessible as it is comprised of only the CEO and another manager
Travel to worldwide client sites is possible for experienced and interested employees
A great deal of experience and knowledge among senior employees
Pay can be higher for some employees compared to that of similar roles in other companies
The product has many features providing employees numerous learning opportunities
Small sales team is able to close large deals
Support works well with developers to address issues in the field
Developers are very talented and wear many hats, including BA, Project Manager, Support, and QA
Casual dress code and regularly scheduled after hours events
Overtime pay is good, with surplus of work and encouragement to earn it
Flexible hours for non-support staff
Self-motivated and hard working employees
|
Very little company growth for twelve years
• Remains a single office in Dublin Ohio, with one employee in Canada and three to four remote employees in the US
• Many senior employees have recently left the company, and almost all new hires are inexperienced students from regional universities
• An experienced developer has not been hired in five years
• Support staff recently dropped from three to one in the past two months, and developers have carried the burden
• Project management employees down to zero, and workload falls on developers
• Entire sales department turnover every three years
• UX staff down from one to zero in the past month
• Documentation staff fell from two to one in the past month
• No transparency with financial information
Lack of formal onboarding and career guidance
• No mentor is assigned to new hires
• No guaranteed performance reviews
• New hires feel they would benefit if senior employees had more time for them but the pace is too hectic
CEO and other manager display low integrity and poor leadership
• Support staff, developers and QA find it problematic working under the CEO, who has difficulty accepting feedback, and other manager, who is lacking in technical ability
• Decision making is for the short term - Emphasis on doing the “right now thing”, and not the right thing
• There are recurring instances in which HR has problems with confidentiality
• No company communication for new hires or when employees leave the company
• Management by numbers - Performance is rated by number of source control check-ins, number of hours worked, and number of tickets closed
• CEO and other manager frequently fail to follow up on agreed upon changes
• CEO exhibits egregious use of psychological manipulation and passive aggressive behavior when dealing with conflict
Lack of standard employee benefits
• Only offers six holiday PTO days per year
• No matching 401k, like companies of comparable size
• Poor work/life balance - 40 hour work weeks are shunned
• Some employees work in garage offices with limited climate control
SDLC is immature which limits the integrity of the software, diminishing client confidence in EmpowerID
• Missing CEO and other manager backing for code reviews, coding standards, code refactoring, product iterations, sprints, code freezes, retrospective, and unit and integration tests
• Developer estimates are routinely ignored, or not solicited, before scheduling releases and setting client expectations
• Client demos are performed on the live development environment used by developers
Software UX, design and architecture could be improved but CEO and other manager deny requested time for remedies
• Developers spend more than 75% of their development efforts fixing bugs
• Little use of software design patterns, such as those detailed by GoF
• No time allocated for UX
• Upgrades offer no way to carry customizations forward without developer intervention, and need to be redone after every upgrade
• Designs have insufficient separation of concerns. This adversely affects development efforts for enhancements needed to meet rapidly changing market demands.
• Product has not matured and its stability remains a strong concern among clients
Many anti-patterns in the application code with no time allowed for improvements
• Magic numbers and strings throughout database and application code cause upgrade problems for support, and maintenance issues for developers
• Code comments are scarce making it difficult for new hires to learn and work with existing code
• CEO copy and pastes code in web application causing maintenance and stability issues
Very high-stress work environment
• Some employees can expect to receive emails and phone calls after work hours and be contacted during vacations
• CEO and other manager do not communicate well with each other before assigning tasks to employees and promising work to clients
• Lack of product version tracking for clients. This causes very stressful client interactions for support and developers when applying patches and installing upgrades.
• Many patches are applied by directly modifying files on the clients’ live production servers, as directed by CEO and other manager. This causes unnecessary downtime and strained client relationships.
Financial stress translates to intense employee stress
• The company operates in a permanent crisis mode, where employees frantically rush to satisfy promises to clients made to close every deal
• EmpowerID is not selective with its clients, allowing toxic business relationships to form
• Though EmpowerID is not financially transparent with its employees, they assume the company is struggling based on the chaotic work culture set forth by the CEO and other manager. The additional lack of transparency of company direction and vision only exacerbates the uncertainty and stress.
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
11.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
EmpowerID has the potential to become a great company, but the CEO, other manager and HR have issues which hinder its full potential. There is a need for improvement in effective software development practices, the handling of conflict, employee feedback, and confidentiality. Engaging in agile development training can aid in finding a smoother and more productive product SDLC catered towards the company structure and goals. Predictable and stable release cycles can reduce employee and management stress, while improving client relationships. Finally, training in emotional intelligence can help with self-awareness and regulation, as well as empathy. Improvements in these areas can help foster healthy relationships with employees, and create a better work culture that encourages and promotes collaboration, creativity and innovation.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
|
No
|
No
|
|
4.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Oct 20th, 2016 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
Senior Support Specialist
|
United States
|
USA
|
Great employees, but management has difficulties with honest communication, manipulation and accepting feedback
|
|
• Very technical and hard working development, QA and support team
• Not impeded by the rigidity of long term planning and structured processes and can quickly adapt to rapid changes in market demands
• Flexible IdM system can be customized for many different business processes used by a wide range of international clients
• Small company environment enables employees to be exposed to a wide range of work
• Solutions are quickly implemented enabling the sales of features prior to completion
|
• No retrospective self-reflection in work culture prevents EmpowerID from being a self-correcting team
• Short sighted decision making causes many technical and financial challenges
• Unstable product due to lack of planning. This results in a high stress work environment and an overrun support, QA, and development team
• Very small overall company growth and many long term employees have left EmpowerID due to negative work culture
• Management relies on manipulation and intimidation tactics when dealing with personnel conflict
• Deceptive hiring process. Many new employees do not work in job they were hired for and instead are put on work for positions management has a difficult time filling
• Management is reactionary to feedback and honest open communication is absent in work culture
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
12.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
Management should focus on building a work culture that encourages feedback and honest communication, and not rely on manipulation and intimidation tactics when dealing with personnel conflict.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
No
|
|
6.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Sep 22nd, 2016 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
Senior Software Engineer
|
Dublin, OH
|
|
Upbeat CEO Patrick Parker steers EmpowerID into a downturn
|
|
What CEO Patrick Parker’s company lacks in size, it makes up with Ambition.
What the company lacks in details, it makes up with glitz and Distraction.
What the company lacks in organization, it makes up with Hard work.
What the company lacks in planning, it makes up with Dedication.
|
What the company lacks in success, it makes up with stubbornness.
What the company lacks in professionalism, it makes up with ignorance.
What the company lacks in employee retention, it makes up with frequent firings so the leader feels EmpowerEd.
What the company lacks in respect for its leaders, it makes up with harshness.
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
12.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
2.0
|
1.0
|
4.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
We want less smoke and more mirrors. CEO Patrick Parker, look at yourself. Ask yourself, “How will we grow if we’re stuck in our ways that didn’t produce growth?” Shall we continue building this company with no planning, no honesty, and no sleep? Wake up! It’s great to dream big, but stay rooted and connected with the people you work with. After watching your downfall over the past five years, and with the company now at an all time low, I feel very bad for you and the people that still follow you. Things won’t change until you change them!
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
6.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|
|
private:empowerid
|
https://www.glassdoor.com?employer_id=1303123
|
Sep 18th, 2016 12:00AM
|
Open
|
Open
|
EmpowerID
|
Developer Manager
|
Dublin, OH
|
|
Top-notch Swiss chocolate is just out of reach!
|
|
Very charming and visionary CEO Patrick Parker promises a rich and decadent future to those that believe in him.
EmpowerID has successfully fermented for twelve years now.
EmpowerID attracts large clients for potentially sweet deals.
Genuine Swiss chocolate abounds, thanks to interactions with a (former) potential client.
EmpowerID can probably survive indefinitely thanks to the cocoa and coffee beans that fuel the daily grind.
|
Very charming and innovative CEO has only provided a bitter state of existence so far.
Twelve years is a long time to not have germinated into a larger company.
EmpowerID doesn’t end up passing the taste test for clients with the largest potential.
The Swiss chocolate now only serves as a reminder of a client that could have been and a better future that may never come.
The company has survived, maintaining the presence of its poor quality beans in the market and stringing along a few workers who remain in denial.
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
-1.0
|
NEGATIVE
|
|
|
11.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
1.0
|
3.0
|
1.0
|
|
1303123
|
Open
|
CEO Patrick Parker, you don’t realize how crucial honesty and open communication are for a team to meet their potential, and also for a leader to be effective. Keep the manipulation and misdirections for potential clients in your sales work. Until you learn these things, you’ll only have a company comparable to a common Hershey’s candy bar.
|
0.0
|
[]
|
REGULAR
|
No
|
Yes
|
|
6.0
|
|
|
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
Jan 31st, 2021 06:52AM
|
EmpowerID
|
|
|