Expedia Group

Expedia is a great company to work for from the point of view of everything HR: benefits, vacation, quality of life, etc.

No growth unless you are part of the inner circle. It's a well-known fact inside the company that a few individuals have benefited greatly from being part of a tightly knit group within which fast track to promotion is guaranteed, regardless of merit.

As a corollary to the above, independent-minded yet highly capable individuals will be kept at bay from any career progression. This is an untold rule that everyone is aware of, and such individuals, therefore, tend to leave.

The company is currently struggling to keep its place in the highly competitive online travel market and is not able to think creatively. Management is risk-averse and will not commit to daring initiatives that would be necessary if Expedia were to become the market leader once again.

More specifically, as per the previous point: for senior directors and above, the key to survival is to not commit publicly to ambitious initiatives and rather let subordinates make the first step. These managers take credit if an initiative pans out, and distribute the blame if it doesn't.

The move to Bellevue will place the company in a difficult position, as most employees live on the East Side and are quite unhappy about the situation. The "top talent" that management hopes to attract once in Seattle will become disillusioned once realizing the type of management it is confronted with.

Dismantle the cliques.