Future reviews

3.2

44% would recommend to a friend

(713 total reviews)

Kevin Li Ying

60% approve of CEO

36% positive business outlook

Future has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 713 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Future 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

713 reviews
1.0
Aug 16, 2015

How many layoffs till no one is left?

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Quality health and 401K benefits Some good folks Relaxed atmosphere Free bagel Fridays The ambitious can get a lot out of it - provided they leave soon enough

Cons

(Warning: Don't place too much trust in reviews from 2015 onward, as managers literally begged employees to write nice things on Glassdoor, in attempt to improve a rightfully damaged online rep) - Real decisions made in UK, leaving US employees relatively powerless - Consistent year to year layoffs, forced vacations and furloughs as outdated business model tanks - You're often worried you'll get laid off next OR your team will shrink, adding more responsibilities to already overburdened workers - Not much room for advancement thanks to many crucial US roles shifted to UK employees - A print company that recognized power of online market far, FAR too late. Trying to slooooooooooowly fix this has lost them tens of millions over the years - No consistent vision, as CEOs and VPs rarely last two years - Vacant senior positions often transform into junior ones, leading to a massive drain of talent and ability - Despite being in a creative field, content is meaningless to most decision makers. Written words, video, and art are supremely undervalued, with SEO and sponsored content vastly preferred - Ad team gets bulk of praise at company meetings, as everyone else is bored to tears hearing just how many deals person X booked last quarter. All the praise is doubly confusing when Future U.S. so rarely has any profits to speak of - Management quite gullible to fads, snake oil salesmen, and overspending on flashy (but mediocre) folks who they hope will fix Future overnight. Management is shocked by lack of immediate turn around, then runs off in search of its next possible savior - Long tenures and loyalty often a liability. Future is much more likely to hire outside than promote within - or they'll just put a UK employee in that slot

3.0
Aug 3, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Did a decent job taking care of folks during the pandemic -- hardship fund, covering home equipment costs, etc. Better to be acquired by Future than some vulture PE firm, in most cases. Seem to believe in content and the need for a good tech stack. Initial attempts to address pay disparities/low pay. Work-life balance was OK.

Cons

Chose the worst of remote/hybrid -- letting many employees become remote while arbitrarily making others come into an office. Opened an office in Atlanta and pressured people to relocate, then closed that office and the DC one abruptly. No real system for manager-employee conversations, performance reviews, career pathing or anything other than base-level salary increases. Seemingly little assessment of acquired companies for why they needed to be acquired -- i.e. bad, overwhelmed or toxic leaders who need to be removed. The previous CEO was great personally, but mistook her considerable presence for a corporate culture. Combine that with suppressing acquired company culture (good or bad), and it's easy to feel like you work with strangers. I hear they're trying to fix this, which is a start. Constant turnover among ELTs and HR. Hard to know who to go to or to keep momentum going. No offboarding process. I had to make multiple requests of HR and payroll to get things done, instead of the other way around, often correcting their mistakes.

avatar
Future Response
2y
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We appreciate the honest feedback surrounding your offboarding experience and company culture; your review will help us to understand where there is need for improvement.
3.0
Nov 18, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Large network of clients and offices around the world

Cons

Horrible sense of company culture, terrible leadership from C-Suite. Negative attitudes all around. Alarming notes from the CEO every week - no budget for team bonding or fun company activities. Really unhappy with the overall parent company of Future and no one wants to listen to everyone's opinions and change things. Really disappointing.

avatar
Future Response
3y
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. We've been working hard on giving everyone opportunities to give us feedback and listening to everyone's concerns so we can make positive improvements on things that are important to our colleagues and we're sorry you feel that hasn't happened. We'll be sending out a survey soon so please feel free to share your thoughts with us then or contact us directly with suggestions.
Viewing 13 - 15 of 713 Reviews

Glassdoor has 787 Future reviews submitted anonymously by Future employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Future is right for you.