Pluspunten
• Client portfolio is exceptional. You have the opportunity to work with leading pharmaceutical companies on genuinely interesting projects. The stakeholders are demanding, but the work is rewarding and provides valuable exposure to clinical data science, enterprise consulting, and highly regulated industries.
• Appsilon attracts highly capable talent across Technology, Delivery, and other functions. Many of my colleagues were exceptionally skilled, collaborative, and genuinely enjoyable to work with. Some of the smartest people I have worked with in my career were employed there.
• Remote and asynchronous work are deeply embedded in the company culture.
• Compensation and benefits are generally in line with industry standards.
Minpunten
I rarely leave public reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience working in the Sales department.
First, I want to make it clear that the issue was not the people. The team contained intelligent, hardworking professionals who genuinely wanted to succeed. Many of them were among the most capable colleagues I have worked with. The concerns described below relate to the leadership of the department.
Appsilon publicly promotes values such as transparency, kindness, and non-violent communication. During my time in Sales, I often struggled to reconcile those values with what I observed in practice.
The department operated in an environment of constant pressure, shifting priorities, and intensive oversight. Objectives changed frequently, expectations evolved without much warning, and it was often unclear what would be considered success from one week to the next. Trust appeared to be something employees were expected to earn repeatedly, regardless of previous results.
Working evenings and weekends was not formally required, but it was difficult to avoid the impression that personal time was viewed as a resource available to the business whenever needed. Raising concerns about workload or sustainability did not always lead to productive conversations.
Communication was another recurring issue. Anger, profanity, public criticism, and emotionally charged reactions were not isolated incidents. It was also not uncommon to hear senior leaders from other departments discussed in highly negative terms when disagreements arose. Over time, this created an environment where cross-functional relationships felt unnecessarily adversarial and where people became increasingly cautious about expressing alternative viewpoints. Healthy disagreement is an important part of any successful organization. In this environment, disagreement often carried personal risk.
What concerned me most was not any single incident, but the pattern. The same themes appeared repeatedly: high pressure, high turnover, strained relationships, and talented people leaving after relatively short periods of time.
At some point, it becomes difficult to explain away a continuous stream of departures, conflicts, and complaints as unrelated events. Patterns deserve attention.
The pressure to generate revenue also appeared to encourage behaviour that prioritized short-term commercial outcomes over long-term client relationships. Existing customers were often pushed aggressively despite clear signals regarding stakeholder expectations and decision-making processes. Rather than adapting to how enterprise clients actually operate, the expectation was frequently to push harder.
Turnover within the department was remarkably high. During my tenure, multiple people joined and left within very short periods of time. Given the quality, experience, and commitment of many individuals involved, it was difficult to conclude that performance alone explained the pattern.
My own employment ended under circumstances that I believe did not accurately reflect my performance or contributions. While every company has the right to make staffing decisions, my departure ultimately reinforced concerns that had already been developing for some time.
If you are considering a role reporting directly or indirectly to the current Head of Growth, I would strongly encourage you to speak with both current and former members of the team before making a decision. Their perspective may prove more valuable than any recruitment process.