Pros
On a positive note, the team members were brilliant, and I’ve made lasting friendships. However, I would strongly recommend thinking carefully for anyone considering a role here.
Cons
I worked at IQPC and found the environment to be the very definition of micromanagement. The Deputy Managing Director frequently requested updates on tasks to monitor productivity and dictated seating arrangements to ensure visibility, often listening in on calls. Staff were instructed to make calls from the open office floor, rather than meeting rooms, to enable constant oversight. As a Marketing Manager, I had to seek approval for every partner and project I wanted to pursue, along with a detailed justification of budget usage. Despite being allocated a budget, I was not given the autonomy to manage it independently. The Deputy MD, who has a background in production, operated as though they were a marketing director, despite lacking any real knowledge of marketing. Any suggestions or ideas were typically met with, "We do it this way here." During catch-ups with the MD, I was routinely handed long lists of bullet points to execute, making me feel more like a coordinator than a manager. The importance of exhibitors, a key aspect of events, was often dismissed, with management asserting, "No one comes to meet the exhibitors." After four months of probation, I was informed—just one day before a major event—that my role was no longer required. They had hired a Senior Marketing Executive to take on what was essentially a marketing director role. This left me questioning the credibility of job titles and the company itself. The working environment was especially toxic, particularly when compared to my previous experience at RX Global, where remote working was standard and a strong culture of trust and autonomy existed. In stark contrast, IQPC’s culture revolves around control and micromanagement. Over the last four months, five new hires joined the team, and only one remains—indicative of the high turnover and difficult work culture.