GLG reviews

2.6

23% would recommend to a friend

(2,283 total reviews)
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Gemma Postlethwaite

20% approve of CEO

17% positive business outlook

GLG has an employee rating of 2.6 out of 5 stars, based on 2,283 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The GLG employee rating is 30% below average for employers within the Administración y consultoría industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Apr 18, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free coffee, decent pay, cool office space. My manager was genuinely a nice person.

Cons

Where do I even start? First of all, jobs are not advertised for what they truly are. I've been out of this place for a while now but, when I started with the company, I was convinced I would be in a "research" position, doing "research" work. What you truly do, however, when you join the company, is working as call center operator or, to put it nicely, as a recruiter (although this does not do justice to the job actual recruiters do). It's hard to say if their recruiting strategy is to use such fancy titles to lure students from big-name universities to work for them so GLG can look like an attractive place to work, or if they simply are clueless about what research means. When I asked my interviewers what the average day at GLG looked like, they all provided descriptions that did not end up matching my day-to-day tasks. Instead, they used vague vocabulary such as "research", "projects", "client service". In fact, you basically scroll through LinkedIn trying to find senior and accomplished professionals that can block an hour off their schedule to MAYBE talk to your client (who is actually the client of some senior associate upstairs), if the client doesn't drop the "project" altogether. Here it is, in two lines. Why try to be fancy during interviews? Why try to recruit from great schools, when this is a job anyone with a high-school degree could do? Second, let's talk about GLG's metrics, defined by leadership (supposedly) through an algorithm that has never been shown to anyone. Metrics are a good thing, they are supposed to motivate employees, to keep them accountable and to allow for transparent career progression. Provided they make sense. Their metrics are purely quantitative (and quantitatively, they don't make sense). Management lets you know that there are also a number of qualitative metrics that are relevant to career progression. Truth is, they don't matter. As a result, in most cases, managers have no managerial skills and can barely communicate clearly with junior associates. Still, they can sell GLG very well over the phone and find ways to get in contact with strangers. This is emblematic of GLG's priorities. To sum it all up, at GLG you will learn how to look someone up on LinkedIn, how to find people's emails and phone numbers, to reply to emails at any time of the day (which is okay, but for a much different salary), to drink a lot of coffee, and to never question leadership's metrics. You will not become knowledgeable about the industries clients are looking to invest in. Some managers may acquire managerial skills, but that is entirely up to them and their sense of responsibility. There is absolutely NO knowledge or learning involved at GLG. Advice: if you have just graduated from college and have ANY type of passion, for ANY subject or topic in the world, don't take shortcuts. Don't go for the shiny pay and fancy title. Go work for someone who can get you into the industry you actually like, even if they can't pay you as much as GLG does. If you want to become a recruiter, this might be the right job for you.

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GLG Response
7y
We hear your concerns and only wish you’d have brought them up sooner. We believe wholeheartedly that GLG is a great place to work – though not without some growing pains. In the time since you left, we’ve worked hard to improve the overall employee experience. And we’re confident our (now) more than 2,000 employees are already seeing results. The role you had, for instance, is no longer called “Research.” Instead, now “Client Solutions.” We heard feedback from GLGers like you, and we are in the process of restructuring – and adjusting expectations – to better reflect what the jobs now entails. Client Service Associates (CSAs) are the engine of GLG. They focus on recruiting new experts into our industry-leading network while learning the skills needed to be effective client service professionals. Associates often become Senior Associates, where they work to understand client needs and help them answer their most pressing business challenges. Our CSAs are strong communicators, from all majors, with diverse personal, academic, and professional backgrounds. They can move into roles in which they manage teams and there are others in which they can contribute individually. We also offer a mobility program that lets GLG employees transfer across roles, offices, and even entire regions. Career progression depends on many performance factors. Metrics are a barometer for our business, but they are by no means the measure of success here. We’re working every day to improve how we gauge induvial performance in the fairest and most transparent way possible. Metrics should never get in the way of seeing the complete person. We’re so sorry it didn’t work out for you here but wish you success in your new role.
2.0
Apr 11, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great driven, intelligent, and collaborative employees. Freedom to try your approach.

Cons

Bureaucratic management, environment that creates division and lack of accountability exacerbates the issues. Work-life balance expectations and misdirection about it's importance to the company, where it is just talk.

5.0
Mar 28, 2019

Amazing Opportunity for Growth

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Coming from a large organization of 75,000+ employees, GLG is a dream company to work for. The work is stimulating and challenging, people are incredibly friendly, and there are opportunities for rapid growth if you put in the work and show your value. The benefits that GLG provides are also vast and on-par with larger companies with much deeper pockets, which shows that management truly cares about the well-being of their employees.

Cons

Things are changing rapidly, which could be viewed as a con to some. Depending on how willing you are to change as the company changes, there is definitely room to add more onto your plate and advance quickly through the company, so it really is what you make of it.

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