Pros
Forrester is still and will continue to be a VERY well known brand around the world. You get that kind of acknowledgement by being first in class for YEARS... and that certainly doesn't happen overnight. Forrester has been doing it for DECADES. We have first in class research being done by hundreds of VERY well respected and incredibly well informed thought leaders in their respective fields all across the globe. Foresters client base is nearly 50% of the Fortune 500. What that means is we are working daily with some of the worlds largest and most influential companies and essentially they are reaching out to FORRESTER for guidance and support. I don't know about you but I find that to be incredibly interesting and enticing to be a part of. From what I have seen in my time here (1 year) there seems to be a good culture. Although, I think like in any organization that all depends on the part of the business you work in and who your immediate leaders are. Everything trickles down from the top so if you have good management in your department then chances are that will make work much more desirable and enjoyable daily then if you don't. But as mentioned, that's typically going to happen anywhere you go. I have great leaders, so personally I am happy. There are DEFINITLEY career opportunities. There are enough departments and parts of the organization here where you can get in and work yourself into a nice career. Granted, it is a little smaller of an organization so that may be more limited then a much bigger company, but that's no ones fault. I also think the pay could be better in some areas but I also don't think we are the worst when it comes to that. Middle of the pack I'd say.
Cons
This is where we run into some issues... As for the lay-offs and paused merit increases.. I don't know, is there really anything anyone can do about that during this time in our history? What is even causing it? I'm at a loss! It's not like Forrester is the only company that has had to lay employees off. Not to mention, I truly do believe they did everything they could to minimize it and cut in other places to do so. Unfortunately, if I was a gambler, I'd say there will be more of those to come. It's a weird time in the world and all we can do is hope we aren't affected next! It seems inevitable at this point. But as mentioned earlier, that's not just Forrester, that's everywhere. Also, I will add... they did still pay us out at 75% of our annual bonus and made sure they moved some things around to do so. Credit should always go where credit is due. As much as I want to be convinced that the executive leadership cares about what it's employees think though, they are making it kind of difficult to actually believe that. Reason being.. if you change a VERY popular policy (Work From Anywhere) at a moments notice and then on top of that give people 2 weeks to uproot their lives as they have known them to get back to an office 2 days a week... I'm sorry, as a rationale thinking human being I can't see how that would make any sense. On top of that, the message has CLEARLY been sent and heard (all I had to do was look at Glassdoor to confirm that) and there has been absolutely nothing said from leadership on those negative reactions. I thought for a second when I heard a survey would be sent out in March that they had gotten the message and wanted to double check, make sure they got the full picture before they changed anything. The problem is, it's now March 27th and I haven't received any surveys yet. I do hope they come though! Hey listen, I get it! You are probably paying a FORTUNE in leasing or on mortgages on office space around the globe. I am sure that plays a factor. But would you rather have an angry mob of employees roasting you on Glassdoor for the world to see? If it were me, I'd rather downsize the office space and save some money that way before I would want a majority of my work force being un-happy. These days employees want a progressive work place, that's the bottom-line. And a work from anywhere policy is the leader in the club house when it comes to progressive policies that employees are looking for. In my opinion, and remember it's only MY opinion, but happier employees make more productive employees and if I'm running a company, productive employees are at the top of my wish list. I know there are some other cons that have been mentioned in some of these reviews but this is the biggest gripe I can speak on. There certainly could be and I am sure are other areas for improvement, just as there are in pretty much every organization on the planet.
