SullivanCotter reviews about "associate"

Can be long hours to meet client demands. Promotion criteria loosely defined after senior consultant level. Stuck focused on billable targets and is disincentive to do anything outside of client work.

A with any growing firm, there are never enough hours in the day. Balancing workload with demand is the nature of the work.

The only con is the firm continues to grow and since we are spread all over the country it takes action to get to know everyone.

need more staff due to demand for services

There are 2 sides, consulting and technology/survey side. The consulting side treats their teams like humans and not disposable employees. The technology/survey side leadership expects you to work more than 50-80 hours a week every week to make up for their ineptitude in updating the data collection and reporting technology. You will also never know how your performance is evaluated as the goalposts will change midway through the year and you will not be informed until your performance review where you will be told, you are so close but not quite and we aren't going to tell you why. HR spent a year trying to change the roles and tiles and make it seem like there was room for growth and evaluation criteria but it's just a façade. There were months I worked 60-80 hours a week, after 4 and a half years, I was completely burned out. My direct manager was inefficient and incapable of doing his job and the director looked to me to make up their deficiencies, knowing full well what was going on. Soon the manager left to go to the consulting side for better opportunities. I assumed his responsibilities and waited patiently for the senior leaders to decide the new hierarchy. I was reporting to a new manager who ultimately let the power of the position get to her and she became a despot, who, on one vivid occasion, verbally abused me on a meeting with the director present and he did nothing to stop her. We tried mediation with the director but she merely responded to his questions by equating what she was doing to how she treats her kids. She has been promoted twice since I left. These leaders ultimately decided to let me continue to do all his work plus my own role for a fraction of his salary. I approached the director a year later to ask for both a promotion and a raise. He laughed in my face. He wanted me to explain why I thought I deserved either. I had worked hard and did gain a small promotion (65k -70k) from data analyst to associate survey manager after one year but up until my last year with SullivanCotter, I was delegating to my direct manager. In my time there, the turnover for the team was so high, analysts were allowed to just be chewed up and spit out by the managers, and the management decided to stop sending email announcements when people left to stop highlighting how bad it was. I have never been at a company with so many people quitting within 2 months of starting. HR will approach with a Total Cash Compensation package and try to entice you understand that it's not just about base salary (your bonus 10-15% and profit sharing percentage is calculated off base salary), but when you start working over 50 hours a week, you earn every penny of the discretionary bonus that you may or may not get, as the consulting side bonuses are prioritized over the technology/survey side. Ironically, I ignored the bad Glassdoor reviews when I accepted the job.

As others have mentioned it is definitely not a 9-5 job. Staffing at all levels is lean which can be stressful. However good workers are acknowledged.

Long hours, can be difficult to maintain a good work-life balance. Frequent delays and lack of communication regarding HR policies and procedures (recruiting, feedback/performance reviews, promotions, etc.). Can feel stuck in your role at times.

No real downside here yet