The company constantly talks about how well they treat their employees but I failed to actually witness anything nice done for service workers.
The benefits package is difficult to appreciate with all the high costs associated with it. This was the number one issue that I heard people frequently complain about.
The local office has "Thirsty Thursday" events frequently which I usually skipped but, this seemed more like a small group of senior people who took advantage of "let’s get drunk at 2 in the kitchen" while forcing everyone else to work. This was also when they would introduce themselves to the newer younger employees.
I felt like I was constantly being spoken down to by several members of the office. I tried to think of some comments as simple sarcasm but the more I reflect on it the more obvious it becomes that some of them were just really rude. I also suggested that one coworker report an incident to human resources to report their manager for something I witnessed and he refused saying he was afraid of losing his job.
There were cliques within the Boston office, one will claim you or you are on your own. This was most noticeable during their "conclave”. Teams were broken up into groups for activities including a scavenger hunt, most of the teams were predefined. I knew after this event that I had to leave.
The CEO came to visit the office one morning, he seemed pleasant but we were all forced to stand in a kitchen that was insufficient for our group size. As a result, the whole experience seemed forced and uncomfortable.
Diversity is something Gallagher loves to promote but I am not entirely sure the numbers reflect where it should be. I think there may have been 5 or 6 colored people out of 200 at one time. Also, the attractive younger ladies appear to do very well here.
Gossip is something that is very prevalent. I will not go in to details but I frequently overheard and was invited to participate in the juiciest of topics. Hearing these stories made it seem like career advancement was not for everyone.
Finally, this is subjective but I quickly learned while interviewing that it almost appears if everyone in the Gallagher Boston office is planning to leave or already has. Of the three companies I interviewed with two specifically referenced that several of my colleagues had or were also interviewing. In additional to this it appeared cliques were "celebrating" departures weekly.