Is Pearson still planning on spending a Million + dollars to send the boys club and spouses to a 5 star resort (with paid excursions) despite laying off hundreds to save costs? It's usually reserved for the boys club executive group and their rep friends vs rewarding consistent top performers. I hope folks know they lost jobs so these folks can have their open bars and rounds of free golf.
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Anyone email the cheerleader to discuss/air out your greviences LOL
Hopefully a lot of spaces will open up for LC after people quit.
She is wrong about compensation. And if being “fair” is coming on here calling people names and getting mad because they have a different opinion than her then we have a difference of opinion. She also being childish, which isn’t surprising.
If you really read her posts she's not wrong. And she's been fair. You guys are really really mad. Move on.
Clearly you were bluffing. Bye bye now.
Why does this person care so much to offer for people to contact them to go over base salaries and bonuses???? We all know what reps make. And it’s not 150k like she’s claiming.
Also- if you use a fake email you still have to reveal who you are to have this coversation. Not sure why you would want to admit you’re the one defending Pearson endlessly on this website. Maybe that’s just me.
"And btw, I will put my money where my mouth is. If any current employee wants to discuss things in person, via email or phone I'm happy to oblige. I'll give you my name and company email off this site and we can see what's what."
LOL and how would we go about doing this?? too fuuny.
I don’t ever post as I left this mess last year but I definitely feel the need to back up what people are saying. If the cheerleader would go to Glassdoor, they would see that everyone there is saying the exact same things that people are writing about here. It’s not a lie or made up, it’s all true.
Also I was a manager. Most reps salaries are in the 60k range. There are SOME outliers. My rep that was there for 25+ years was only making 85. So when someone leaves for a 100k salary (plus commisson) it’s most definitely worth it.
Can reps make an 80k bonus, yes. Does that happen every year? Far from it. It’s a once in a blue moon. And for them to say people don’t cheat the system, please.
Also, how would you propose people get in touch with you. This is an anonymous website 😂
And btw, I will put my money where my mouth is. If any current employee wants to discuss things in person, via email or phone I'm happy to oblige. I'll give you my name and company email off this site and we can see what's what. I'm not a manager but I've been in sales here for well over 10 years and I would never throw someone under the bus. We can see who's telling the truth about income, opportunity and whatnot.
Well then you need to talk to someone about your salary or grow your business enough to get into the 7% and 10% kickers. Making goal is fine, but if you expect to make any good money you've got to hit those percentages past $140k over goal or whatever it is.
Making a really good living, helping customers and students and doing it really well for a long time doesn't make someone a cheerleader. It just makes them really f'ing good at their job.
I was on stage and definitely not making more than 100k. So someone is lying and it’s not me. I’m so glad someone told me about this site. It is spot on! (Except for the cheerleaders) 😂
Sorry you can't handle the truth. There are a few people in this company who know exactly what it takes to exceed goal every single year. And that's exactly what they do. Case in point some of the people on stage Thursday and Friday nights. You clearly aren't one of those - hence your complaining and crying and hurt feelings. Who's the id--t?
I’m not the original poster but to this rah rah Pearson person claiming they make more than double 60k: we all know that is fake news. Sure, there are people with bases more than 60k, although not much more, but to say year over year you’re clearing more than 120k is just a lie. Maybe you did this year because they grossly undercut the goals, which will never happen again. But most years we work insane hours and maybe make 15k in bonus. You’re an id--t and should really quit posting.
I haven't experienced any of that. Sorry. And I make a very good living my friend - more than twice what you mentioned as a sales person. Congrats on your new job and best of luck!
I resigned today 😉. Got a 25k pay raise with a company that pays commission monthly and gives goals within the first 2 weeks of the fiscal year- and can actually prove the numbers. Oh and did i mention they have a post sales support team?? Have fun making your 60k salary, never understanding your numbers, fighting tooth and nail for every penny Pearson tries to screw you out of, working weekends, holidays and being customer support. I’m excited to regain my life back and take my vacations when I please!
Awww. Such bitterness. So miserable. Hilarious to see. Why don't you just quit, honey.
Conspiracy theories?? HAHA. No honey, it's real life. Numbers are changed constantly, "base relief" is total management discretion. Higher goals are given to those they want to push out. When a rep gets DDA installed by someone else putting the deal together and getting it signed, or a brand new bookstore opens up, or they sell $500k to brokers, that's not selling. Some of it is luck and walking into it, yes. But I know for a FACT reps doing things to cheat the system and winning the big time awards because of it. I know a "top perfomer" rep who literally goes to 1 account every few weeks, and spends the rest of their time at home- their child isn't even in full time daycare, mis-uses their expense account, and gloats about it all. Does that person deserve top performer, because they are maybe working 25 hours a week- wasting the companies money. No conspiracy theories here, just straight up facts. But go ahead, keep up the facade and pretend like you're working 50 hours a week when you're really sitting at home 70% of the time, you little top performer.
National Region walked away with awards because they kicked a--. Don't diminish their accomplishments because you're bitter. There are people in the NR who have been in the same job for many years and continue to perform every single year. There are no tricks. Relax with the conspiracy theories.
Ummm have you looked at the upper and executive management ding dong.... because its run by the boys club. The REPS are 10:1 women. Funny how that works, huh.
LC is a joke. Same faces every year. Same tricks moving around 'the favorites' into growth territories to make it. Us left standing doing our jobs never get to even see 'rankings". Demoted excellent specialists & managers who will ALL leave now for more P&C s---ups. Such BS. They know, we know. National/inside walked away w all the awards. Suspicious aF. Stop wasting money.
Your post shows your stupidity. “Boys Club...” have you looked around this company?!! 10:1 female to male ratio, genius.
I like the part where the cheerleader said -- "That said, there used to be a lot of dead weight - people who clearly didn't earn the right to be there. And believe me, they knew it (well those who had an ounce of self awareness dId"... And, yet they still went - awwwe.
This. It's been this way for at least 6 years. I've never seen a company not be able to release numbers or rankings. I asked to see where I ranked and my question was shut down fast. How can you NOT tell a rep where they rank among their peers?! Shady AF.
"If you can’t tell sales people why they did or did not make LC, by showing the numbers, then get rid of it. It isn’t that hard Pearson Execs to share the data. Or is it? Or at least admit you sit around and decide who is going and who isn’t based on your “feelings.”"
When there are more executives, managers, and so called "general managers" than reps in attendance, that is a glaring problem.
On another note, for those who did not get laid off on the sales side and got moved into another position, how do you like your new position? Are you going to ride it or plan to look for another job?
If you can’t tell sales people why they did or did not make LC, by showing the numbers, then get rid of it. It isn’t that hard Pearson Execs to share the data. Or is it? Or at least admit you sit around and decide who is going and who isn’t based on your “feelings.”
Kudos to the poster who said, "The problem is the execs across the pond haven't realized they do not have the team in place in the US to lead Pearson." Hit the nail on the head. Pearson's been letting go of some (not all) of the wrong people, or more accurately, driving away the wrong people.
Risking being labeled a "cheerleader" here, but I will submit that LC is a great reward for those who have earned the trip. I've met the criteria for several years and have been honored to go on the trip many times. It's fun and you get the opportunity to meet people from lines of business that you would never touch otherwise. You can bring one of your kids, spouse or a friend. It's pretty great. That said, there used to be a lot of dead weight - people who clearly didn't earn the right to be there. And believe me, they knew it (well those who had an ounce of self awareness did). I can tell you that they've cleaned that up significantly and added quite a few restrictions in terms of expensing meals and entertainment. The attendee list this year will be much smaller and much more filled with sales staff. Finance is watching this stuff like hawks these days. I'm not saying that it's perfect and I'm not cheerleading - but for anyone who works like a dog, has kids and doesn't have the opportunity to have a few days away - earning this trip is extremely valuable and offers a great incentive to excel every year. We were supposed to hear who made LC last week - yet another broken promise - and the date was changed..again. But i truly think people like RB have the best in mind while preserving this reward for the company's sales team.
Sales management most certainly does have a say in technology investments, are you joking? Not sure what is meant by "plant" investments.
I'm on an editorial team and we all meet every May to decide who gets what monies to invest in our enhancements for our platforms. ES and PC had a TON of to do with REVEL. They truly thought that was the missing piece for HSSL.
The below poster is absolutely right, ES and others had to give forecasts to the execs across the pond. The problem is the execs across the pond haven't realized they do not have the team in place in the US to lead Pearson.
Not sure what part of the company you work for, but you, sir, are misinformed.
Sales doesn't decide on technology investment but you can't say that ES or the sales executive leadership didn't provide forecasting sales data to JF on what investments to make in other areas . In hindsight, most of those decisions have been poor which has lead to Pearson's downfall as an organization.
LC council just isn't what it used to be and has lost a lot of its luster since it was launched in the Prentice Hall days. They should do away with it as well as get rid of the Phollies as well. Morale is already at an all time low--now sales has to sit at these mindless award dinners forced to laugh at ridiculous jokes that they continue to recycle.
This last post makes no sense. Sales doesn’t decide on technology investment. Let alone plant investment. Executives weren’t ware of buying patterns and alternative distribution models? Please. If you are going to point fingers, at least be informed on how this company operates.
Except only MAYBE half of the people that go, meet that criteria.
Arrogance was definitely a big piece to the downfall of Pearson as a company. But ES was certainly a HUGE factor in the downfall of US HigherEd. The second he took over, he promoted all of "his" people (aka PH buddies), whether they were qualified for the position or not. He made HUGE mistakes, the years of massive sell offs in December every year, ending up leading to his demise. He tried to cover up the crumbling foundation with those sell offs, spiffs for selling "a la carte" packages instead of hardbound because he truly thought bookstores wouldn't buy back a three hole punch textbook and that we would get larger orders. He REFUSED to accept that bookstores were not ordering and that OER was picking up steam. We literally had calls with him to explain what was going on, and he didn't want to believe it. Which tells me that info was never relayed to the Executives at Pearson.
He HATED Math & Science - one of the cash cows, highest enrollment courses, pricey books, technology required, and he wanted M&S to fail everyday. But he loved P&C and HSSL. Which P&C does well, but HSSL should have been desolved 5 years ago. Instead he pumped more money into REVEL, which is a complete waste. That money could have been used to actually fix the XL platform that crashes every 8 weeks because its 20+ years old.
Make goal 3/3 or 3/4 years and be in the top 10% in terms of revenue
Or
6/8 years making goal and in the top 25% in terms of revenue + you had to make goal within the last two years
Or
Halterwanger Award winner (just has to make goal that year)
What sales results will get a rep invited?
I agree and disagree with the last post--Pearson's arrogance did lead to the downfall of the company and it was the culture of ES and KS that created the boy's club and Leadership Council for under-deserving reps. I don't take anything away from those solid rep contributors who are consistently successful going to LC. It should be managers and reps who should be eligible to attend. Executive management, marketing, or boys club members should not attend and that's all part of the wasted expenses that this post is about. It's also not a bad idea to suspend LC until the layoffs stop which won't be for several more years. It's just bad for morale.
Amen! Arrogance drove Pearson's desire to control everything from high stakes testing to LMS platforms, to online program management, diluted their focus on serving their core market- Higher Education.
ES wasn't the downfall of Pearson, and neither was KS, or BK before him. I think the downfall was simply arrogance that values the sales force over sound business strategy, quality product development, and the notion that solving real customer problems was secondary to delivering short term numbers. So many platform failures, so many poorly and prematurely released digital products, and so many decisions were made based on short term thinking and chasing good money after bad.. The culture of handsomely rewarding Sales Reps and Managers with large bonus checks (and trips), perpetuated the fallacy that the Pearson Red Army could sell and/or raise prices out of any problem. It worked until it didn't, and when the market pushed back, Pearson reacted with the BS of "Efficacy" which was nothing more than an opaque marketing spin designed to create the impression to customers - who are professional educators- that you need Pearson more than Pearson needs you.
I agree that top talent should be rewarded and recognized- that's what motivates a competitive sales person. HOWEVER, I don't believe that LTS's/LSCs (or whatever they are called now) that hit goal based on ALL SALES of their reps, deserve to go. They don't touch every adoption of every rep they cover, or service every adoption. I also don't think that RMs and other upper management that did NOT hit their goal, deserve to go and take the place of a rep that has hit goal year after year in this difficult market. I don't care if the rep just got to 100% every year, they sure as sh*t deserve to go over an LTS, LSC or upper management.
I know for a fact that people get to go based on their relationships, or the mere fact they have "always" gotten to go, yet they don't meet the criteria. I know of one instance where a rep wasn't on the orginal list, their RM made some calls because "the rep usually goes and may be upset".
That's the problem with Pearson's rewards trip. The selection process is completely flawed/fabricated and everyone knows it. Hence the fact that they NEVER release rep rankings- however, they would send out rep rankings prior to the ES takeover (aka downfall of Pearson) 6 years ago.
@TLJ8VMn-cyxw, respectfully, many of the people recently let go didn't necessarily deserve to lose their jobs either, but they did. How hard they worked or how much time they spent on campus, or how altruistic they think they are didn't factor at all into to decisions about whether they deserve to keep their jobs let alone deserving a boondoggle trip to Costa Rica.
Of course it's good to incentivize top performers, but to say that the way that performance Reps and Sales Management are measured in difficult market conditions isn't largely subjective just would not be honest. It's clear that certain folks are strictly measured against numbers, and others seem to get a pass depending on personal relationships and alliances. Candidly, at times in my career I have been given the benefit of the doubt and felt that I also deserved it. As I advanced in my career, and as I had visability into understanding how/why certain talent decisions were made, the more I understood that the game is indeed rigged.
I believe that you treat people right, with respect and honestly. I also believe in challenging top talent with high goals , holding them accountable and rewarding those who outperform. Just make sure that the playing field is level and fair, and that you truly understand the business and the market deep enough to develop goals that truly measure the value of that employee to organization.
Oh and also, be freaking honest with people.
Great companies that value their employees incentivize and reward top performers in a number of ways, and that is a good thing. What we are reacting to on this thread is that many people people across the organization (and even in the sales force) have lost their jobs and in many cases these are people who also work hard, and care just as much, and even have similar track records of performance.
It just sends a bad message.
Let's be honest here. Leadership Council is a great way to reward top performing sales people who are on campus everyday, work extremely hard, deploy an altruistic attitude to their roles and focus on positive student outcomes every day. Let's not diminish the excellent work that some employees do in the face of uncertain times and a ridiculously volatile market. It's ok to reward those who deserve it.