-Culture can be toxic. Unfortunately, Hanover grew at a rate that was not sustainable for the structure they had. There’s lots of restructuring happening all the time to address these issues, and, to Hanover’s credit, I truly believe they are moving into the right direction. However, at present, there are a lot of blind spots for those in upper management roles such that a few bad apples in middle management can ruin people’s entire view of the company. I actually really, really loved what I did at Hanover, but thinking about my time there, my fond memories of my job are soured by a few people that should have never, under any circumstances, been allowed to manage people. While I don’t think it’s entirely the case, Hanover’s lack of action about known bad apples made it feel like the type of company that does not care about its analysts’ well-being. Countless people could raise complaints about one bad apple, but nothing would ever change. It propagated a culture in which analysts felt that their words, experiences, and opinions had no value. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it that this was not a feeling isolated to me and my experiences, but I had quite a few co-workers that shared the sentiment.
-Middle management (CDs/CEDs) are not incentivized at all to manage projects in the best interests of the analysts working under them. They are incentivized to please the client. This often means overpromising what can feasibly be delivered in the time we have, changing project scopes at the last minute, and a ridiculous amount of overtime for analysts. Analysts that do not work overtime in order to meet these demands are often reviewed poorly. Meanwhile, as I said before, upward feedback from analysts feels ignored. Not all managers are like this. There are several good, caring managers.
-If you want additional responsibilities/a promotion, be prepared to do all of the work of the next level for several months without being paid for the additional work/responsibilities you have. I know that this is the case in a lot of companies in the U.S.; however, just because it’s common does not make it right. You’re already underpaid compared to other market research analysts in a high cost of living area, so taking on all of the risk and none of the reward of a role is adding insult to injury.
-Salary is low. Yes, HR is upfront about this in the interview process, but you should also understand that if you do not get promoted during the performance review cycle, you rarely get a raise, even to adjust for inflation. If you are not from the area, please do research on the cost of living.
