Big A** Fans - Canadian Office
Pros
This is a more relaxed non-corporate environment. Dress code is casual Monday-Friday. Canadian management is very understanding of work/life balance. Leaving early or coming in late occasionally is okay, they just expect you to make up the missed time later. The people who work here are great. A lot of friendships extend outside of the workplace. Everyone is pleasant and gets along. It is a small office and has that family vibe. The mood is constantly kept light and positive with breaks for jokes and laughter. Once you are with the company long enough you are given a lot of freedom to how you structure your own day. As long as you are getting your work done (hitting metrics such as: sales targets and/or number of calls/emails made) there are usually no issues. It is a great first job for many entering the workplace. They look to acquire and attract recent graduates. Because of the small office you get thrown into many different roles and I believe gain more experience, sooner. It is a younger office, with most people in their 20's or 30's. They start you off with 3 weeks vacation, and the health+dental benefits are quite good. Small little perks like having a games room and a beer fridge are added bonuses that are nice to have. Group outings are quarterly and great for team building. The company seems to be on pace to have a successful and lucrative year. I think they have learned from their mistakes and will grow in number of employees this year as well.
Cons
Long days, 8am-5pm start is standard for most employees. Starting salaries tends to be a little below industry average for most positions. However, performance reviews are given annually, and they do give raises to those who earn 'sweat' equity with the company. The bonus structure needs to be rethought. Those who work in operations receive an annual bonus but forego the opportunity to receive monthly bonus like the sales team. The problem with the bonus for the sales team, is that it is team based NOT individual. It is not as lucrative as the industry average. Outstanding sales talent are not properly compensated for their efforts. I was part of the sales team, however during my tenure we only hit monthly bonus 20% of the time. During my interview process it was conveyed that bonus was met more often than not. Our monthly targets were often not attainable and poorly forecasted. The blame for this is mostly on the US Management. Roles are not always clearly defined and they move people around sometimes whether they like it or not. For example when an employee leaves or is terminated, they do a quick fix by using the staff they have rather than accrue new talent. The Canadian office is a subsidiary and is not treated with the same priority as the US Headquarters. The marketing efforts are poor and they need to focus on hiring new talent as well as retaining the talent they have. During my tenure the number of Canadian employees has dropped, even though the company has been profitable. There was a stretch of several months where no new hires were made. It is concerning as they currently have a 'barebones' crew, with many doing hybrid roles.
