Pros
Groupon’s management is undoubtedly eager and determined to turn the ship around, but unfortunately, they are making all the wrong moves to achieve it. Instead of focusing on strategies that would truly drive long-term success—such as retaining and investing in their experienced, high-performing employees—they continue to prioritize ineffective hiring practices and external management hires that fail to deliver results. The intention may be there, but without the right execution, the company risks sinking further.
Cons
Instead of investing heavily in new hires—of whom fewer than 30% successfully complete training—Groupon should prioritize retaining and valuing its tenured, experienced talent. The current approach results in excessive spending on recruiting, IT onboarding, sales training, and the inevitable learning curve associated with the sales process. Beyond that, the company incurs substantial costs on benefits, insurance, office space, and IT hardware for hires who ultimately fail to deliver a strong return on investment. The reality is that Groupon is attracting lower-tier talent, and given the churn rate, these hires are not justifying the investment. Rather than continuously cycling through new employees, leadership should focus on compensating tenured reps at or above market rate, fostering engagement, and appreciating the expertise they bring. Instead, experienced employees are often left reporting to DSMs who lack an understanding of Groupon’s inner workings. Time and again, external management hires fail to succeed, yet upper leadership continues to follow this ineffective strategy. It’s frustrating to watch the same mistakes repeated when the solution is clear—invest in those who already know how to drive results.