My experience at SiteMinder was extremely disappointing and far from what you would expect from a modern SaaS company. The leadership in my department lacked strategic thinking and operated with a call-center mentality rather than a technology mindset.
Instead of focusing on customer outcomes, operational improvements, or scalable processes, the main obsession was call volume and time spent on the phone.
What was most surprising was the lack of basic operational structure. Even after a full year, leadership had not implemented a proper system to track core team KPIs. There were no dashboards, no centralized reporting, and no meaningful analytics. Everything was being tracked manually through scattered Excel files. For a company that markets itself as a technology leader, the internal operations felt incredibly outdated.
The culture also feels heavily influenced by telemarketing-style management. Senior leaders seem more concerned about activity metrics than actual business impact or customer value. This creates a stressful and unproductive environment where quantity is valued more than quality.
The HR leadership has also contributed to a difficult work environment. Instead of helping build trust or supporting teams, interactions often feel self-centered and disconnected from the reality employees face day to day. Unsurprisingly, morale has been declining and many strong employees are choosing to leave.
Another concerning trend has been the company reducing roles in established offices like Dallas and Sydney while increasing hiring in lower-cost regions such as India, Mexico, and the Philippines. While global hiring is normal for tech companies, the way it has been executed raises questions about the long-term strategy and investment in experienced talent.
Overall, the company has the potential to be great, but the current leadership culture and operational maturity are holding it back significantly.
