Gallup reviews

Oh, where to start... I was working for Gallup on the East Coast. There were some awesome co-workers and then some that were honest to goodness "head scratchers." Most of the consultants who succeeded were socially awkward in some way. There was one guy, I'll call him "Goober" who would look at me like I was from Mars when I would greet him with a "Good morning! How's your day?" Looking back, I believe that my manager, or "Go-To", was either really really happy or really really sad. Day-to-day I never knew if he was going to be happy, sad, sarcastic, or something else. Honestly, not meeting with him was better than any face time. All of us would try to keep our heads low and avoid the person if at all possible. From what I heard, after I moved on, Gallup put him through a managerial training course - I hope it helped. The company culture is not direct and recognition was a complete joke. Gallup administers its Q-12 survey internally, but Go-To's don't do anything with the data to actually increase engagement. This is a Gallup's focus on strengths and talent means that there is no mobility within the organization. If you have the talent to be a Client Development Consultant then you will be hired as a Client Development Consultant, live as a Client Development Consultant, and die as a Client Development Consultant. Please be aware that if you decide to go with a job at Gallup there will be: 1). No career progression (unless they've determined you have the "talent" from the tests you take when you apply that, by the way, you will never see the results to and therefore will never know if you have any other talent for other jobs). Also, unless you are related to the Clifton family then forget about actually moving up 2). No pay increase 3). No reward for new ideas or innovation 4). No development As for benefits, they are horrible. Gallup is based out of Nebraska and utilizes Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. This is all well and good, if you live in Nebraska, but if you live anywhere else forget about visiting your PCP who is out of network. Also, Gallup created an independent Credit Union which is "separate" but where all is your HSA money goes to. There is no earned or accrued vacation time. In fact, this was a running joke. If someone planned a vacation or time off 9 times out of 10 they would come back and turn in their notice - because there was no accrued vacation time the only way one could get their pay-out was to take vacation and then come back and turn in their notice. Also, once people (including myself) gave a two week notice we were told to turn in our computer and leave the premises that day. (Really grown up way to foster engagement and practice what you preach, Gallup). After my conversation with my manager on my first day I knew I had made a mistake. I'm convinced that in an alternate universe somewhere he is a used car salesman in Ocean City, Maryland. I spent nearly two years after that just trying to get through. I had other great options when I graduated my MBA program and regret my decision to step into Gallup. Alumni from my MBA program told me what it was like and gave me a heads up, but I ignored them and I regret that. If you want to go into consulting please, please, please aim for a Deloitte, Booze Allen, Accenture, KPMG or other firm. If you have any real talent you will only stagnate at Gallup.

1. Management (particularly client service management): There are two types of management that are causing this issue: 1. senior client service management and 2. all other client service management. 1. Senior Client Service Management: These individuals work on fear and fear alone. If you’re not the favorite, watch out because this will undoubtedly affect the types of projects you work on and ultimately your bonus/salary. The best test to see if you are one of the favorites is what I like to call the Q12 test, meaning, do you work on small Q12 employee engagement projects (which is mainly admin, or implementation as Gallup likes to call it, and data entry)? If you answered yes to this, then you are NOT a favorite. I suggest you quit immediately. 2. All Other Client Service Managers: These individuals are highly inexperienced with three years at most of work experience and many have never worked in the field of the employees that they are currently managing. The majority have also only worked at Gallup which exacerbates their complete unquestionable devotion to a company that is clearly shooting itself in the foot. This unquestionable devotion is obviously one reason why these “managers,” or go-tos as Gallup likes to label them, were given the position. These individuals can be molded, they do not speak out, and they never stick up for their employees, unless said employee is a favorite (see below). In sum, these individuals are puppets. I suggest you smile at all times when in their presence, fill your emails to them with positive “!” and “:)” and most importantly, never trust them. They will betray you at every turn. 2. Culture of Fear: If you are not smiling at all times, or your emails lack “!” or “:),” or your ‘attitude’ reflects anything other than absolute pure enjoyment to be at work that day, then you’re in trouble my friend. Management will quickly label you as “negative” and your career is effectively over at Gallup. Additionally, if you put anything less than 4 out of 5 on your biannual employee engagement surveys, then you should have your resignation ready to go. They say the survey is confidential, but unfortunately that is a massive lie and several people have been let go because they gave low scores. 3. Favoritism: Every company has favoritism, but the disparity and inequality of both client projects and pay structure between those two groups is the largest I have ever experienced or heard of. The favorites are set up for success by being put on larger clients that are generally allocated more resources. This allows them to get high client satisfaction scores which affects their bonus and pay structure. Conversely, the non-favorites are placed on smaller clients, with minimal resources and little assistance that affect their bottom line. As a result, those who are favored keep rising, while all others see little movement. It should be noted that the favorites are not favorites because they have more experience and a greater skillset. The truth is that these individuals actually have a lower skillset and are the least talented in the company. The reason they are promoted is that they never question and do as they are told. This perpetuates the lack of innovation, not only within the company, but also with clients who are ultimately suffering the consequences of Gallup’s underhanded culture. 4. Zero transparency: No company is completely transparent, but Gallup is in a class all its own, particularly given the current lawsuit brought on by the DOJ. On the outside they continue to tell their employees that the company is financially stable and even growing, but that is a lie. Every day you hear about a new client who quit, or another government project that was lost due to the lawsuit. There are even rumblings of a layoff, but you’d never know it with the all the money spent on renting out restaurants to celebrate one new client being brought onto the roster. We’ll see how long this one lasts.