5 Director of Financial Operations Reviews

Director of Financial Operations at SecureNet Payment Systems

What do you like about working at SecureNet Payment Systems?

"As the company was under 100 employees, there was a significant amount of opportunity to work with other departments/areas of the company and to broaden my individual roles and responsibilities. The people (below management level) were extremely nice and created an atmosphere that made you feel like everyone was family. Employee initiated lunches, friendly/competitive bake offs, small group outings (hiking, after work drinks) - the people made the company."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"Know your reasons for joining. If you're looking for support in your role and opportunities to excel in a career, you're going to have a very difficult time doing it at SecureNet. However, if you're looking for experience in how the technology in the payment system works (and you're in the lower ranks - i.e. 1 to 2 years out of school), it's a great industry to be part of. The small company feel and the relationship of the employees (despite all the other management crap) is worth experiencing. You can't get this type of exposure to work/products or peers like this at a big company. Everyone knows your name (though likely all your business too so stay clear of the rumor mill)"

What don't you like about working at SecureNet Payment Systems?

"Lack of direction, leadership and communication. It was difficult if not impossible to get anything accomplished and when you did, there was little to no reward. It was not uncommon to have to fight for recognition (including in the form of compensation - bonuses or annual increases) which caused as very awkward and exhausting relationship with managers. There were no annual reviews and HR was essentially powerless so there was no employee advocate. Any monetary benefits flowed to management and that was all. Additionally the lack of direction and communication about who was in charge created an highly inefficient environment and created frustration where after a while, no one wanted to do anything other than blame someone else for failures. There was very little opportunity for success and after enough time you have to just call it quits and find another opportunity to participate and be part of a good company."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"The introduction of a new management team and their contribution to the already non-existent communication to employees below the management level was infuriating. When the decision was made to relocate most/all operations out of Rockville, MD - employees were informed via the rumor mill. This type of communication was a double edged sword in that management didn't trust employees with information (due to all the gossip) yet it was the only way employees found out anything. I would foster the already great environment and bond the employees had cultivated over the years (as the company was growing through the business life cycle) and make the environment more collaborative. A place where people participate and knew their actions and contribution had a direct impact on the overall direction/success of the organization. I would also reward people for good work done (monetarily and with intangibles like company recognition for a job well done) and communicate shortfalls so that people could grow/improve professionally. Additionally I would fix the real problems at the company (the bowl of spaghettI considered the core technological product) and remove new hires who's opinion was obviously stated (verbally and non verbally) that the problem was current/legacy employees were stupid. That most definitely is not the case and I was brought in during the first wave of post private equity investment (by the PE firm); I know what the company's challenges are - from an outside and inside perspective."

Director of Financial Operations at D'Addario

Please give us a one liner to describe this review.

"Great company to work for with opportunities to automate processes to improve profitability."

What do you like about working at D'Addario?

"Good opportunities for advancment. I had many opportunities to save costs and improve profits.I progressed from Director of Finance to Director of Operations."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"Be innovative and seek ways to improve profitability."

What don't you like about working at D'Addario?

"Transfer of Finance functions to New York."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"Continue to improve automation of processes to reduce costs and improve product quality."