Gallup reviews

I recently had the chance to hear a speech regarding the power of culture from one of the original authors of First Break all the Rules. He made a statement that hit me between the eyes. He said "brand is how others see us, and culture is how we see ourselves." He also went on to say that if these become disconnected, significant consequences will prevail. Those two comments helped me to understand just what is happening within this once fine company. We are seeing the "peter principle" at the leadership level and worse yet a complete unwillingness to look at themselves for the recent: -angry clients -clients not renewing because of "consultants who are young, but think they are wise" -arrogance with no basis -no new thought leaders to replace those who have been chased out -decreasing revenues -margin deterioration (which is hurting all employees, as both is how we are paid) -lowest morale and engagement amongst employees at all levels Most importantly, the family and other sycophant leaders (of which you must be to or be "cast out"). They have become completely blinded by their own control, ego and wealth. Their reputation (brand) has become widely known as arrogant, incompetent and destroyers of the once great brand. Internally (culture) leaders are laughed at (behind the scenes of course) and all respect for them has vanished.

The Gallup name is synonymous with polling and survey research. Since the company is trying to re-brand itself as an elite management consulting firm having such strong brand awareness is a big problem. Potential customers are often shocked to learn Gallup is a 'consulting' firm. In truth, the actual consulting work is limited, most engagements are Gallup's proprietary survey research products. Given all this there is something of an identity crisis and lack of strategic direction at the firm. I would hesitate to recommend anyone accept a job there until those problems are worked out. Management is poor to non-existent. Gallup is an every-man-for-himself environment in the worst possible way. The firm doesn't do a good job of supporting its employees professionally. No smart-phones, no professional memberships, very limited outside training. Good luck even getting a copy of a book about some cutting edge management techniques. Projects are not sold very effectively. My billing rate at me new firm is 3x what is was at Gallup for the same work. For my projects alone the firm was leaving lots of money on the table. The pay is low and benefits are very poor. The hours requirement is high at 2300 minimum per year. The vacation policy is very strict and generally inflexible. Vacation does not increase with tenure. No federal holidays are given, you need to use your own vacation time if you want Christmas or Thanksgiving off. It can be very hard to increase your pay. The old bonus system encouraged people to take on more work and paid them for it. Now, raises are hard to come by and promotions are difficult to get.