Info-Tech Research Group Employee Reviews about "upper management"

Pros

Great office space, good company culture, good opportunities to learn, and get to work with smart people

Cons

- Everyone except maybe upper management is typically underpaid. Every attempt to bring this up for discussion is pushed under the rug. It's mentioned at every department meeting, but never properly addressed. - On top of this, you are expected to perform like a rock star, including working nights and weekends to deliver on projects. This kills your work life balance. - You are simultaneously expected to perform at a role higher than you to keep your job, and expected to out-perform this standard for a promotion.

Pros

They hire university graduates with little to no experience, so if you can't find work, this is an option considering you interview well. You get paid every two weeks, 10 days for holidays a year and some benefits.

Cons

Massive turnover rate, people get fired, laid off and quit all the time. It appears to happen on almost a daily basis. This is a huge red flag that something internally isn't working. The old CEO left without any warning and they never explained why. They constantly change procedure. They will introduce something new, it fails and they scrap it, people are laid off. This leads to a lot of changes in upper management. If you like consistency and an organized well developed environment, move along because the panic switch is always on.

Pros

Innovative work spaces. Casual. Tries to be forward thinking company. Great product for IT people.

Cons

When I worked there, the floor culture was terrible. Upper management were all hired university friends of the CEO. They had no experience in management. It was a great place to work for about 3 months and then when it gets bad you start to think it's you. It's like being in an abusive relationship. I mean, they keep telling you Infotech is so great so then it must be you right? The high stress sales environment usually equated to high stress relieving activities like drinking and drugs. (some of which were supplied by management) There are a lot healthier places to work. Avoid this one at all costs. You didn't spend all the precious money on a degree to end up here. They will sell you the moon when you get hired. It hasn't changed in 10 years, it won't change anytime soon.

Pros

if you are a recent graduate and by graduate i mean from Western University you will be appreciated and do well. the Toronto office is a nice old historic building.

Cons

lots of graduate hires. any seasoned employee who has their own ideas have been shown the door lately. researchers get an extra week holiday than we do in sales. you want to advance here make friends with upper management fast and be a yes person

Pros

Great potential to make money, good compensation system. Good Base Salary. Great Culture, lots of perks. Young & upbeat culture. Stable company. A lot of potential there if you really want to work hard for success.

Cons

Great place to work, only if you're liked there. It isn't a place for everyone. Quite of a bit of unethical work practices that happens in the upper management or culture overall.

Pros

-A good crowd of coworkers -A cool building with history and characteristics -A short walking distance to TTC (for commuters)

Cons

I was one of new hires - about 20 new hires were employed at the same time with me. I went through a 3 week long training program where the current sales managers provided product training. After the training, I, along with the other 2 new hires, went to work on McLean & Co side while the remainder of the new hires went to Info-Tech. (McLean & Co is a HR research and advisory services division of Info-Tech Research Group) From the first day of placement after the training, there was a strong negative vibe among old employees. They openly discussed their exit strategy and potential job interviews.. This disturbed the new hires as there were no words of encouragement and motivation at all. Because the old employees were very dissatisfied with how the upper management treated them, their sales performance deteriorated. Hence, the upper management started 'after 5PM DETENTION program' for all McLean employees if they didn't meet the number of appointments they were supposed to make with new clients. This, I thought, was absurd. It's a company, not a school. All the employees went to the detention room and read aloud the sales pitch with the VP of sales through a conference call..... 3 months passed by. Shockingly, after all that training, they laid off the new hires because McLean was not doing so well. My director got demoted as well. The funny thing is though, one of the new hires got a call after a couple of days and she was re-hired with the same position for Info-Tech the next week. Laying off a week before and rehiring a week after, this company clearly has no long-term employee management plan. I am happy that I got laid off as I'm very satisfied with my current position. 75% of McLean employees whom I worked with are no longer with McLean and the remainder are still with McLean as they have no other job prospects. In the end, whenever I think about McLean, it is a mere comedy. McLean claims to be the fastest growing HR consulting services provider, yet it is an organization with the worst HR practices and vision.

Pros

-compensation is decent for a starting salary (45k + bonus) -they invest 2 weeks in training you -amazing, friendly people who are very smart and totally overqualified for these positions -pretty relaxed environment, takes a lot for them to fire someone -free drinks, food -great location in Toronto!

Cons

-if you work in sales you are a glorified cold caller, they will sell the job to you as if there is actual growth potential in the sales department -the whole sales team is miserable, people will openly talk about how they want to quit or hate their lives -micromanagement!!! They record and monitor every single conversation you have on the phone and record the minutes you spend on the phones -lots of unethical practices in upper management and some employees - they hire new grads from top university programs to essentially be mindless cold callers, so the majority of the workforce is highly disengaged - 2 weeks vacation, no sick days allowed for the first year as you will be docked pay, also vacation only increases after 5 years ( few can last that long here) -no flexible working schedule, they monitor if you are even a minute late -your success depends on how easy the sales territory you are assigned to is Advice: If you are smart and want to be intellectually stimulated do not take a sales position here. The majority of your time is spent calling people who don't pick up and being hung up on when they do. I do not see any career progression here.

Pros

- I ended up earning over $50,000 in my first full year of work (Mind you, I come from an extensive sales background and I earned more than this at my previous job. The majority of employees from my training class earned just over $30,000) - The building itself is rather stunning - Enjoyable extracurricular activities

Cons

- Call centre atmosphere (Get ready for headsets to smile and dial) - Low compensation package for the average employee - Broken promises from upper management (Originally promised a managerial role upon being hired) - Very little guidance from department managers - An overall lack of professionalism - HORRIBLE location (Info Tech is located in one of the worst areas of London, Ontario. I was originally raised in the GTA and felt more uncomfortable here than in the worst areas of Toronto. I left a position where I achieved a great deal of success to be apart of the ever growing Info Tech Research Group. I only did this based on the recommendation of friends who had great positions with the company. Upon being hired, I was promised a managerial position as I have over 10 years of sales experience on a regional level. Apparently they filled the position and felt I would be a major asset in a business development role. I ended up working along side juvenile and inexperienced workers who lacked any sales experience. Despite putting forth excellent numbers during my first year with the company, I was frankly embarrassed to be apart of Info Tech and was hired by a marketing company in Toronto. Goodbye, call centre.