Despite what SiteMinder does well, there are so many opportunities it has to address. It is a 15yo publicly listed company but it doesn’t act like one. There are a ton of hangovers from its start-up days and unless there is major change across its leadership, culture, strategy, tech, etc then its challenges are only going to get worse. SiteMinder’s best talent will eventually tire of being in the hamster wheel and they will abandon in droves. C-level and VP leadership is largely stuck in its ways and generally resistant to any new ideas on how to improve products or customer experience that would allow for efficiency, scale and reduced friction. The CEO is largely distracted by quick-fix growth Sales pathways but the post-Sales customer journey could be so much better. There’s a desperation to report ‘green’ results when the reality is far different - processes are incredibly inefficient and performance is measured on volume metrics rather than qualitative outcomes. Much of the tenured middle management has been promoted not on the basis of their talent, but because of their product knowledge (little of which has been documented anywhere accessible or understandable). As a result they are underdeveloped as people leaders and out of their depth, and given little growth and support. Division heads run their departments like cottage industries and will protect their patch at all costs. Silos abound, gossip and gaslighting is rampant, and any constructive criticism is generally weaponised against those who seek to drive change - dissenting voices are openly bullied. I personally found the culture absolutely toxic. My mental health completely deteriorated and I wanted to leave within a year of joining - which should highlight the systemic problems in the company’s culture and upper leadership. There’s a ton of smaller, quick-win opportunities too. Different teams run on different performance appraisal models and pay review cycles. The internal platforms are a multitude and a mess - as one example there were seven (!) HR systems alone, each used for a different thing. We shifted performance review platforms three times in under 12 months with zero consultation. I had unnecessary battles to get approval to backfill and then appoint talent into my team. Then I had to wage a further battle to get the newcomers paid a remotely appropriate salary (well below market rate, I will add) because of the “optics” this would create for their former peers who didn’t apply for these promotions. Everything I have listed is fixable but there’s little will right now to acknowledge the systemic opportunities and make lasting structural change. The plane will continue to be built as they fly it, and patched with band-aids, chewing gum and blind luck. The shame is that there some brilliant people working there. I had a wonderful immediate manager and crew; being able to lead and develop my directs autonomously was a privilege. It’s such a shame the rest of it was so broken. In the end I was made redundant before I could resign - and it was such a relief.
