While you do learn a lot as an analyst, once you’ve written your first report there is literally no point doing another as you’ll never develop any more skills. You can get involved in consulting projects, although that is about the only decent opportunity available. Day to day life is very boring and mainly involves writing based on secondary research and doing little to no analysis at all. It gets very dull, very quickly and in all honesty it’s a very easy job. The role is so mundane you can basically switch your brain off all day. There is no pressure on you at all which means people become stagnant and productivity is really poor. Most analysts will do one report in six months or more but in reality these timelines could he halved if anyone actually cared about their job enough to work properly. Ultimately, the job role as an analyst is just not stimulating at all.
The lack of communication throughout the company is astonishing. Senior management are terrible at checking in on analysts and communicating the most basic of things. It feels like from day 1 analysts are hung out to dry with zero support from anyone senior, and you can genuinely sit at your desk all day and not do a single bit of work and no one even notices. This should not be allowed to happen, and it wouldn’t if senior management actually cared. I will point out that this is not the case for all senior managers, some of whom are very competent and do care about analysts’ progression, but in general it’s a very poor show.
The office is a complete joke – no hot water, fridge or microwave despite numerous petitions. All facilities are terrible and it is genuinely the worst office I could ever imagine anyone in a developed country would have to set foot in - you have to see it to believe it. It’s probably nicer in Guantanamo Bay. Morale among employees is incredibly low – everyone constantly moans about their jobs and the company which creates a very depressing environment to work in. Turnover is really high (one analyst leaves every 2 weeks at least) which makes things worse. Senior management do not care about this, however, as it is part of the business model, so don’t expect things to change any time soon.
IT infrastructure is woeful. Most of the phones and Ethernet cables in meeting rooms do not work. You would think the company is on its last legs financially, and the whole places reeks of under investment and a lack of quality.
Long hours (9-6) and only 20 days holiday, 3 of which have to be saved to use over the Christmas break when the company is closed anyway, so essentially you only get 17 days holiday which is an absolute joke.
Overall, GlobalData is not an enjoyable place to work. It will literally suck the life out of you. It is a terrible environment to work in and I would say that well over half of current analysts are looking to leave/want to leave. GlobalData can offer you a job, not a career. It can be a good stepping stone and many employees go on to work in very good roles upon leaving.
Bottom line – GlobalData needs a major overhaul, the company is a joke.