Not what it looks like: Just a brand - Anonymous employee Personio Employee Review

2.0
Jan 26, 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pay was good and many colleagues were great. The job itself was quite nice as it is challenging, there were opportunities to take on new projects, improve processes and so on. I felt I had a lot of autonomy, my manager was great and allowed me to be independent.

Cons

The company seemed to be too focused on only appearance and its brand. They would do/not things just for the brand's sake. A few teams were laid off because of the trends in other organisations, although they were in a good financial situation, and they decided to just let people go (even if they hired them after a few months as expected). One of the leads has to force them to tell us we were being laid off as they'd refuse to own it. When we asked to the CEO and CHRO, if they would announce it, their answer literally was: No, cause that would damage our image. They even would make you sign a clause to agree on that or wouldn't receive your separation package. In general, their leadership team was distant, lacked charisma and thought of themselves as almost celebrities. When you lead such a raising and growing business, you need to have more confidence and ownership which I kissed from the majority of them.

Explore other reviews about Personio

5.0
Oct 14, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My coworkers are wonderful, I feel energized coming to work everyday

Cons

The company has had a lot of churn at Director+ levels, not a clear vision across the company

1.0
Oct 30, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Smart collaborative colleagues at the lower IC levels.

Cons

Personio is a dying company. The over-complexity of the company's technical systems is comical. Every attempt to simplify seems to lead to more complexity as things get half migrated and left to rot. Engineering leadership seems clueless and unable to present a clear plan-of-action to get things on track. Principal engineers force engineering time to be spent on silly projects that don't move the needle long-term. There is an overall aversion to taking the time to learn deeply about systems being used. Personio feels like a combination of all of the negatives of both a startup and a mature tech company, with none of the positives. The tech is half assed and duct taped together, but still somehow everything moves at a glacial pace. There is a mass shared delusion at the company that an IPO is in reach. No investor is going to buy this company's junk shares on the open market.

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