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Chronicle Books

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Chronicle Books reviews

3.7

67% would recommend to a friend

(75 total reviews)

Nion McEvoy

98% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Chronicle Books has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 75 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Chronicle Books employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

75 reviews
2.0
Sep 9, 2021

Toxic Environment with Fun People

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are some wonderful people in lower level positions.

Cons

Limited opportunities for advancement, rarely based on performance. Poor pay. The head of HR is a bully. Do not promote a work-life balance. The DEI initiatives fall to the employees with the most burden on the BIPOC employees. Executives are unwilling and/or unable to communicate properly.

avatar
Chronicle Books Response
4y
First, and most importantly, we encourage everyone at Chronicle Books to share this kind of feedback directly with us so that we can take steps to improve and make the company even better. From our Open Door policy to the regular anonymous feedback surveys in our Town Meetings and the anonymous online comment box that is available 24/7, our team has many ways to share direct, actionable feedback to the executives of the company. I strongly encourage this employee to use one of these outlets or to reach out to the president of Chronicle Books who is aware of this review. Regarding opportunities for advancement, we are proud of our commitment to providing opportunities for people at Chronicle Books. This year alone, as of 9/15/21, we have had 35 promotions and job changes in the company which is 20% of our full-time staff. We are a leader in regularly reviewing and increasing compensation in the publishing industry, especially for our junior and mid-level staff, and we participate in an annual publishing compensation survey to make sure we remain competitive. In addition to raising base salaries, we continue to offer a profit share plan to all employees so that everyone can participate in the success of the company. On the DEI front, our work to improve the diversity of our workforce, our publishing partners, and our content is taken very seriously, and we share this work inclusively across the entire organization. Our executive directors are responsible for driving and reporting on the DEI strategy as set by the executives and owner of Chronicle Books, and we are proud to work hand-in-hand with everyone at the company, including our growing and engaged employee resource groups.
2.0
Jan 29, 2024

Great people, parasitic industry

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are some incredibly creative, passionate people at this company. The work is interesting and varied, and can be really fun.

Cons

The pay is low (here and across the publishing industry) and they are super slow to promote. Promotion decisions are made very subjectively, with little transparency. It's not uncommon for people in to go 3+ years without a promotion, if their manager doesn't really advocate for them (and sometimes even then). Management acts like you should be grateful just to work there. There also isn't a lot of diversity, many departments are overwhelmingly white (another publishing-wide issue). The company is also pivoting to a much more top-down approach to creative decisions.

2.0
Feb 14, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The support staff themselves are supportive and will help with any questions you have. The books and games products are beautiful, and design really highlights their talents continuously.

Cons

Management doesn't seem to care about support staff (ie, assistants, coordinators) in sales and marketing, despite the vital role they play with managing processes. Often times leadership will stagnate support staff career growth and overload work for years until they may grant a marginal raise or promotion (that's rarely the case, unfortunately, as I mentioned before - high turnover!). With the laughable wages they grant support staff, there's burnout and division between leadership expectations and support work reality. Furthermore, the leadership is pretty poor overall. With high turnover, there's a lack of cohesion and purpose within the company. The office atmosphere seems to mimic this void of direction with the library-like silence on the floors and complete segmentation between other teams. If they tell you they're like a family, they are not telling the truth.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 75 Reviews

Glassdoor has 86 Chronicle Books reviews submitted anonymously by Chronicle Books employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Chronicle Books is right for you.