Ancestry reviews

3.5

52% would recommend to a friend

(785 total reviews)
avatar

Howard Hochhauser

80% approve of CEO

54% positive business outlook

Ancestry has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 785 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Ancestry employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

785 reviews
3.0
Aug 15, 2023

No career progression

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay, fun social events

Cons

No career progression. Constant micromanagement.

1.0
Aug 14, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My direct managers were great at helping me find my footing in the company and encouraging my growth. I had a blast working alongside my teammates.

Cons

I have not worked at Ancestry for over 8 years now. so take this with a grain of salt. However, after speaking with some friends who were thinking of applying here, I decided to share my experience. This was while they were still based in Provo, UT. Middle-management cannot see past a spreadsheet and are about as useful as sun-tan lotion to a drowning man. The team I worked for was dedicated to double checking the work of volunteers. We had to be familiar with probates for each state as well as read cursive from the 1800s. Needless to say, you needed to be a fluent English speaker to do the job. Middle management decided it would be best to outsource nearly our entire team to the Philippines. A job that required a fluent level of knowledge in English outsourced to the Philippines. That's the level of boneheadedness we got from middle management at Ancestry. To make matters worse, the people they decided to get rid of first were the people who had clocked the least amount of work in the tool we used to double-check the volunteer's work. It wasn't a bad idea, if you can't see past a spreadsheet. I was so good at my job that I got pulled into doing special projects all day, every day. But that meant I had 0 usage of the main tool. I was in the first batch let go. I could see it as being a mistake, but four of us got pulled into that first meeting. Out of the four, three of us, myself included, were doing special projects for our entire shift, so we didn't have any time at all clocked in the regular tool. That isn't a mistake, that's flat out incompetence on the part of middle management who couldn't understand anything that wasn't laid out in columns and rows. There was also no point in explaining anything to them, because they didn't understand the world outside of their spreadsheets. It didn't matter that we were so good at our job that we were the ones made to check on everything before it went out to the volunteers. The only thing that mattered to middle management was our bad numbers in the spreadsheets.

3.0
Aug 9, 2023

Low growth company

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I have had the pleasure of working at ancestry for the past few years, and I must say that it is one of the most stable environments I have ever been a part of. The leadership consistently prioritizes long-term success, ensuring not only the growth of the company but also the well-being and job security of its employees. The robust business model and prudent decision-making by the management have created an atmosphere where employees can focus on their personal and professional growth without the constant fear of instability. Opportunities for skill development and clear communication channels further enhance the sense of security within the company. I wholeheartedly recommend ancestry.com to anyone seeking a challenging yet secure career path. The support and stability provided here are not only commendable but have played a crucial role in shaping my career positively.

Cons

However, one area where I feel ancestry could improve is in providing opportunities for career growth. The company's focus on stability sometimes leads to a slower pace of advancement, making it challenging for ambitious individuals seeking rapid career progression.

Viewing 151 - 153 of 785 Reviews

Glassdoor has 909 Ancestry reviews submitted anonymously by Ancestry employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Ancestry is right for you.