Thread regarding Pearson PLC layoffs

Cons:

*Really bad upper management. I mean really bad. An SVP was recently asked about our group's mobile strategy and had no answer.

*In my group, no one in upper management, expect maybe the Managing Director, seems to have any quantitative aptitude. Also, no one knows what they actually do.

  • We're told to outsource, but no one has given us a good reason why. The quality of the outsourced work is usually poorer, especially with the larger vendors, and outsourcing often costs MORE money than doing the work in-house.

*Dinosaurs galore. To be clear, there are plenty of talented employees of all ages, but simply too many whose skills sets have become obsolete and who refuse to adapt. The dinos are often promoted for political reasons, though, and then...can't do the job well...

  • Not many people understand what goes into making quality products.

  • Too many initiatives that go nowhere. You can literally sign up to be "Champion" for just about anything.

  • Despite our size, we somehow don't have enough data.

  • Salaries are not great, and raises this year were 1%, although a few people did get larger, merit-based bumps.

*Constant reorgs have made projects hard to finish, job responsibilities unclear, and have lowered staff productivity and morale.

  • Also thanks to the re-orgs, some people have washed up in positions for which they're not qualified. This puts additional strain on those of us can actually do the work well.

  • The skills you'll gain/use working on projects may not be desirable, or even relevant, on the open market. In some ways, this is the worst point of all, as your skills will not be transferable and you may have a hard time getting another job.

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| 2241 views | | 6 replies (last December 14, 2016) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+JbITZJh

6 replies (most recent on top)

Your final point is the most troubling: The skills you'll gain...

Pearson skill sets develop and foster essentially over-qualified, and exceptionally talented copy-paste technicians and administrative button pushers-I know, I am one now.

Then what to put on our resume's as we search for new jobs while working for Pearson? Back-watered! One year in a high-tech eddy very quickly results in career death. Get out asap if you find yourself in this situation, but not without first studying, training, and towing the line and enduring the endless line of rah-rah crap and cycle of "re-(dis)organisation" as long as you can...THEN run.

What I do now? Want dental work at a discount? Pearson made me a dentist and didn't even increase my salary! Say what? In effect, I was shoved into a role I am not trained for, outside of my career path, and browbeaten as I under-perform. But, hey, what am I complaining about? I have a pay-check! Yes, but this is not enough to sustain morale and enthusiasm in an atmosphere of fear and disorganisation, that creates unnecessary stress and infinite inefficiencies. Reason to stay? NOT! The plane is on fire, eject!

Think I'm a whiner? Maybe, but I came from (and transferred to a new role with) a highly-skilled and talented group where a high percentage of the work crossed my desk, with on time deliverables close to 100%, and all of us reached beyond our roles in assisting external groups consistently. Oh, and along with that, our "bonuses" were a big fat 0, after achieving personal and collective goals three years running.

Want a laugh? (of course you do). Read this: https://www.pearson.com/careers/why-join-us.html. This is essentially propagandist jibberish. My, how companies will say anything to seduce you. Don't buy it.

Will Work for Check. Very satisfying...and the only reason I'm staying until I get a real job.

Thanks Pearson,

Backwater Eddy

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Post ID: @1Ffwr+JbITZJh

cough hoboken cough

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Post ID: @7kzv+JbITZJh

Sounds like Boston 501

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Post ID: @3ijt+JbITZJh

This is lifted from Glassdoor https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Pearson-RVW11718942.htm

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Post ID: @ptu+JbITZJh

Definitely accurate of US HigherEd.

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Post ID: @szf+JbITZJh

Accurate.

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Post ID: @svm+JbITZJh

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