Aberdeen Group Reviews

Pros

My experience at Aberdeen has been very different from what the other reviews here describe. I have the opportunity to:
- Constantly learn new things
- Network and make great connections with executive level people
- Work with an extremely smart group of people who are a great resource to learn from
- Benefit from a support structure and exceptional research methodology
- Enjoy a feeling of accomplishment as my reputation in the market grows

Much of what is described here is the Aberdeen of the past and is very different from what I have experienced. In the past, turnover was high and a fair number of people were fired. Similar to what happened at many companies in 2009, there were some layoffs. Layoffs are awful for everyone, but what is described in another review isn’t much different from how they are conducted at many companies. I’ve worked at companies where the people were briskly escorted out by security without even being allowed to say good bye to coworkers. This didn’t happen at Aberdeen.

Cons

Aberdeen is owned by Harte Hanks, a Texas company. The benefits are below average compared to others companies I’ve worked at in the
Boston area.

Hiring and salary freezes were used to cope during the recession, but now that the economy is better, the company seems understaffed and commitments slip.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep of the great work transitioning Aberdeen from an ultra competitive sales oriented culture to one that values relationships and its employees. Continue to reward employees who deserve it. Hire enough people to keep stress levels manageable.

Pros

opportunity to get involved on ever stage from prospecting to product delivery, true knowledge on how to run your own business and all that goes with it.

Cons

$ does not justify the time and energy that goes into this job.

Pros

*Reputable name to have on resume
*Attracts good talent

Cons

*Notorious for structural changes (constant layoffs), employees always nervous about layoffs, poor retention rate (20%),
*Limited to no tenure of employees (longest is 1 employee who has been there 5 years)
*Sales-dominated culture (reminiscent of the movie, “Boiler Room”)
*Terrible leadership
*Wage freeze three years and ongoing at time of departure
*High-pressure
*Very low morale
*Long hours (expect to work 70-80 hours per week), no work-life balance
*Candidates mislead during hiring process: No mention of expectations of sales quotas prior to hiring. Analysts are expected to sell (though presumably conducting “independent research”). Associates must stay in the office until “production” is completed at the end of each month, which is typically very late into the night
*Terrible benefits: Corporate office is in Texas, thus healthcare benefits are TX-based. Expect to incur a lot of out-of-pocket expenses. Combined paid personal/sick/vacation days (in other words, no real sick or personal days). Healthcare benefits don't kick in until 3 months of employment, so you will need to pay your own health benefits for the first 3 months. 401k doesn’t kick in until 6 months.
*Lack of professional training

Advice to Senior Management

This company would have a stronger reputation in the marketplace if it could retain talent. Senior management needs to take a good look at itself. Analysts should be focusing on research and Sales should focus on selling. The two should be kept separate to produce “independent fact-based” research as the company claims to do.

Pros

* Interaction with top-tier contacts at leading companies
* Networking opportunities
* Good company name recognition
* Ability to build a personal brand

Cons

* Sales-dominated culture
* Contradictory guidance from management about career progression / potential
* Poor leadership - lots of goals and no strategies
* Senior management promotions and pay raises during wage freezes

Advice to Senior Management

Provide clear guidance about career prospects. Recognize superior performance. Realize that many employees are unhappy, but that they are so fearful of punishment that they will not give you an honest view of what they're feeling.

Any time that you think you're being really clever with creative ways to accelerate revenue recognition, realize that the SEC is smarter than you and take a step back.

Pros

Enjoyable place to work. Relaxed environment, friendly staff and supportive managers that want you to be successful. Previous reviewers said that staff was required to work 60 plus hours per week. That is not true. Researchers may work longer than Sales Staff but that is because of the type of position. Sale Staff generally work 40 hours per week. A ping pong table is available for use any time and it is a great activity for staff to get to know each other.

Cons

No cons really - you need to work hard (not excessively) and you will be rewarded. Aberdeen is not a company that is going to pamper you but managers will support and work with staff to improve their skills in writing and/or sales

Advice to Senior Management

Remember to provide positive feedback when a job is well done. This is not a criticism but a reminder to all managers / supervisors in all companies.

Pros

Some good people - nice space to work in - good location - good job changing Presidents - nice people in marketing - some great client names

Cons

A sad, confused and confusing place. No support to get your job done and no time to get to know the fairly tough sectors and establish relationships. No real support for new people and very competitive and dysfunctional vibe in the management, sales and research groups - combined with an insane number of hours expected. It is true that there is no point to telling anyone your name when you are told to basically move mountains and then are given a spoon to get the job done - just as the stop watch starts. It's a revolving door alright - everyone is walking around scared of getting fired (because so many are on the chopping block I guess). Super high turnover = VERY low morale, energy and hope. Many many sales people are dying to find another job. Many in research are also searching - or are just resigned to their fate and so are TOTAL bummers to talk to! The associates are often miserable and stressed out, too.

You can be here for months and not have a single person you would ever use the term 'friend' for - not even loosely. It is all fake and so you try to connect to real people but it is all posturing because it seems that no one really trusts or really likes anyone else - and don't want to be there anyway. There are some folks who have been there long enough and basically tell you - if they choose to be nice: 'keep your head down and don't talk back' - and they warn you to especially tread lightly around some of the crazy egos strutting around thinking they are superstars for all the wrong reasons. The place has a bad system of values and you can really feel covered in stress, depression and dysfunction by the end of the day. No joke.

They talk a big game about wanting to be a good place to work - and I do believe that some would like it to be that way. The reality is so far from that that it is just sad. This place produces some good work and has some good people but overall it just has too much baggage to deliver even a semi-decent experience to an employee - and it's true that they lie about the ability to give raises. They blame the parent company and economy and then give secret raises. The 'secret' doesn't stay kept and it just adds to the simmering negative vibe of the place. They really should take some of the advice that they hand out to the companies that read their research. It would be a much better place if it did.

Advice to Senior Management

Take the time to stop the car and change the bad tires that the company is running on - yeah it's hard - but anything worth having is worth investing the time and energy in. It's worth getting your house in order because you will see the benefits and reap the rewards of having people who feel valued and that they are part of a team that actually wants to work for something together. It is a cowardly excuse that you can't and HH will ultimately be happier with a healthier company. If you don't want people to feel like they are faceless drones, then don't treat them that way - it's simple really.

Pros

Aberdeen Group has some recognition in the market place. The secretary is very nice and is considerate. The seaport district to a great location to work. The new CEO is much better than the old one.

Cons

Upon reading the other review for Aberdeen, it is a very fair account of the events that took place in 2009. I also wanted to premise this review by stating that I am not a bitter ex-employee who was fired. I am merely stating facts to hopefully try and help you on your quest for better employment.

Retention:
The revolving door issues are horrendous. I was told on my first day by a sales person that, “Until you are here for 3 months I’m not going to bother learning your name because chances are you’ll be fired.”

Work Hours:
Research Associates are not informed that on the last two days of each month they are required to stay until “Production” is finished. This requires associates to work until 11pm or very early in the morning. They do not allow you to come in late those days so you end up working about two 16 hour days in a row on top of the other hours you have worked in the week.

The expectations set on employees are obscene. You are required to work in excess of 80 hours a week and if you complain or comment that you’d like some time for yourself or there is too much of a work load on you, you will be black balled. One woman was in tears during a meeting because she couldn’t handle the stress.

Sales people are blamed for not being able to sell terrible reports and then are fired for it. Analysts are blamed for the poor sales of sponsorships. In my opinion, analysts should focus on the data and not be involved in sales. Our jobs should not depend on a million dollar quota that sales members must hit.

HR:
There is no HR on sight which is a huge issue.They give you a business card with a number on it to call if you have an issue. However, that person is ineffective and they do not keep a record of your complaint if you have any. Be sure to keep copies of anything that you forward to HR by sending it to your personal e-mail address.

Work Life Balance / Health and Stress level:
Don’t expect to be able to do anything or go anywhere because your managers will expect you to be working at all times. Formal hours of work are 8:00 until 6pm and if you are late God help you.
In fact, the old CEO would stand by the elevator at 8am and if you arrived at 8:10am he would ask you if you liked your job. Additionally, he would randomly call on people in meetings and if a person didn’t know the answer the employee would be fired on the spot.

Advice to Senior Management

I would recommend that management try to retain respectful people that generally care about the well being of others. Those types of people are always nice in an office and make others feel better. There were a few nice people that worked here that had left because of management and the poor working hours.

Pros

Recognition of brand name in the market place.

Cons

As an analyst, you're required to complete 8 research studies every year and achieve a personal revenue target of 950K. The revenue primarily (~70%) is from sponsorships that ranges from 15-25K. Do the math! An analyst is required to sell these many sponsorships.

Work hours are long and bad.

Turnover is amazing. In the good times - 2003-2007 - it was in excess of 65%.

Promotions - you would have to discuss it directly with the President. After the discussion, it will take about 2-4 months. Salary increment will be minimal. Management answer - our parent company doesn't allow it, which is completely false.

As an analyst, you will be working 80 hrs a week with poor internal structure. More than 50% of your job is SALES and support the sales team.

In mid 2009 - they let-go several analysts, directors, associates. The termination was a horrible process - pack your bags, go out, and receive exactly 2 weeks of severance.

Stress - My hypothesis is that the stress/reward ratio of Aberdeen would be the highest in Corporate America

Advice to Senior Management

Treat people with respect. Don't view an analyst as a 950K number