Technical Architect • Former Employee
Pros: 1. Good pay compared to other service-based companies.
2. Free food.
Cons: 1. Culture of Excessive Flattery
The environment appears to reward flattery over merit or delivery. There is a noticeable culture of “boot licking” that undermines genuine talent and performance.
2. Limited Career Growth below Grade 9
Career progression is heavily skewed in favor of Grade 9 and above (Directors and above). For those below this level, opportunities for recognition, advancement, and skill-based growth are minimal, leading to stagnation and growing dissatisfaction.
3. Disconnect at the Top Leadership Level
Senior leadership, especially at the SVP level, seems completely disconnected from ground level realities. Delivery teams are already under pressure, yet leadership continues to pile on more, particularly on customer facing teams, often without any real understanding of the daily operational challenges.
4. Enablement Overload with Misaligned Objectives
Directors frequently push an excessive number of enablements, certifications, and internal initiatives. These are not necessarily intended to uplift teams or improve delivery but seem more focused on creating visibility for themselves. These efforts are often misaligned with actual project requirements and deadlines.
5. High Paid Leadership Lacking Accountability
GDC continues to onboard Directors at high compensation levels. However, many appear to focus more on dashboards and task tracking than on actual delivery. This results in delivery teams being overloaded with work aimed at justifying the Director’s presence rather than delivering customer value.
6. Work Life Balance is Nonexistent
Employees are expected to work more than 12 hours a day, including weekends. This level of workload is unsustainable and is severely affecting physical and mental health across teams.
7. Excessive Non Project Load
Despite most projects being in escalated or red status, delivery teams are still expected to invest an additional 10 to 12 hours per week on enablements, certifications, CTA preparation, and internal presentations. None of this directly improves project delivery.
8. Lack of Engagement or Morale Boosting Initiatives
There are no morale boosting or team building activities. No offsites, no informal get togethers, or parties. This lack of engagement is hurting team cohesion and creating a dull, disconnected work culture.
9. Questionable Role of Directors in Delivery
Directors in GDC are rarely involved in actual delivery, customer escalations, or technical problem solving. Unlike their counterparts in other regions, they do not review solution designs or directly engage with client teams. Their time is largely spent tracking enablement status and presenting slides prepared by others. Many lack basic technical skills. Even a simple SOQL query is escalated to their team members.
Everyone is constantly fighting to take credit for others’ work.
You will end up exhausted, undervalued, and isolated in an environment where politics wins over performance.
10. Outdated and Inadequate Equipment
You will not be given the proper equipment needed to do your work. Most employees are forced to use outdated laptops that are over five years old. These machines freeze during customer meetings, hang during interviews, and crash while working on critical tasks. After weeks of follow ups and escalations, the replacement device, if provided, is often a non-developer laptop, completely unfit for daily technical tasks. This directly impacts productivity and delivery quality.