Active Network Reviews

Pros

Very active employees with a good exercise program
Great employees to work with, great atmosphere
No micromanaging which a lot of corporations do, everyone is dedicated and responsible (including putting overtime to get the work done) so no need for it
Management is great to work with (they work as a team)
Keeps groups together with outside events/activities, keeping the "Family" vibe

Cons

Office space is small
Management could communicate a little better with departments with changes
Too many acquisitions without structure
Certain departments have periods they cannot take time off which disrupts time with family vacations that happen yearly during that time
No bonuses for departments outside of sales for recognition

Advice to Senior Management

Keep everyone on the same page
Share information ahead of time instead of blind siding
People put a lot of hours into there work, time off should be granted whenever needed (when the hours are theirs to use). Also, they should be able to roll them over to the following year and not demanded they take it when Active wants you to take it

Pros

recent managers have been strong advocates and leaders, team atmosphere in our office, sell a product that i can be proud of

Cons

lack of 401k match, no vacation rollover or payout, matrix organization leaves staff feeling a bit confused on who they report to or how to progress

Pros

You can work from home. They are now providing hardware to work with, but you still have to supply a computer monitor. Support for agents is available online and by a team leader or support agent. Email communication is good. They offer benefits for part time employees.

Cons

Starting wages lower than most. Reviews held once a year, increases are a joke. Bonuses offered are targets out of reach for most, even if you make it it does not amount to much. Expected to constantly learn new policies and scripts, and keep them all straight to get good evaluations, with no actual benefits. In the off season expect to get scheduled 12 hours a week, even after four years of loyal employment. No room for advancement.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus more on your long term, loyal employees and less on acquiring all of your competitors. Offer incentives for learning additional policies. Have groups of agents all trained in 3-4 contracts, this will make it easier on the employees and customers as well, as the agent will be able to understand policies better.

Pros

At Active you can be exposed to many different products. It has a strong culture of active lifestyle especially in San Diego. There is opportunity to make a difference if you can get support from management.

Cons

It is (was?) more a collection of many small companies than one large company. The IPO didn't benefit the individual contributors - mostly just exec team. Many offices, products and remote workers causes low productivity and too few resources for too many things.

Advice to Senior Management

consolidate products, people and offices and improve business metrics

Pros

Flexible time schedule, ability to work from home when necessary, offers employees a bicycle purchase plan and other outdoor activities at a discount.

Cons

Senior management seems to be so concerned with acquiring other companies, they seem to forget their employees (the little people). Salaries are not competitive with the market.

Advice to Senior Management

Take better care of your employees by offering salaries that are of market value. Stop acquiring other companies and fix what we have now. Lots of great folks are leaving because of that.

Pros

*Active-X - opportunities every day of the week to work out with your co-workers, whether it's doing a cross-fit style boot camp work out, going for a trail run, a swim in the lap pool, game of tennis, or some hoops at lunch time.
*Autonomy - although that varies by department - you own your job and your manager gives you the space to get it done
*Flexibility - Got a doctor's appointment? Cable guy coming? Need to work from home? No problem. Hate the 5pm traffic and want to come in at 10 and leave at 6? Got you covered here at Active.
*Technology - Love to be on the cutting edge? Working at Active you'll be exposed to the latest technologies in the software and IT industry, and management that encourages you to think outside the box and find creative solutions to the challenges you face here.
*Facilities - Both a pro and a con - 6th floor balcony overlooking the ocean to have lunch or a meeting, on-site gym, lap pool, tennis/basketball court, shower facilities, yoga classes, etc.
*Work from home - Active gives employees the tools to be able to work from home including VPN access, a laptop, cell phone (if your job requires it), etc. This makes life much more flexible. Most managers permit it (i.e. work from home 1 day a week), although some departments/managers may not.

Cons

*Pay not on par with industry standards - lower pay = higher turnover, and harder to find replacements, which can increase work load on those who stay behind
*Health benefits are slipping - no HMO plan available in 2012 (although this is probably happening at a lot of companies to be fair)
*401k match is a joke - but at least they have one
*Facilities are crowded, 3-5 people squeezed into one office - very tiny break room (except on the 6th floor)
*Unpredictable work load - you might be bored out of your mind one week and completely slammed the next - this probably varies by department.
*Lack of focus - Continue to acquire companies that have nothing to do with our core market, and I wonder if that will pull us in the wrong direction
*No incentives for non director employees - Management does not offer stock options to employees, even those who have been loyal to the company before they went public, only sr directors and above get options
*PTO - You have to be there 3 years before you get 4 weeks of PTO and you can't roll any of it over, but that's balanced out with a flexible schedule so you may not have to use your PTO for a dr appointment or other things that can happen in life.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue doing what works well, and try to improve the things that are broken - stay focused and execute solidly on the core values and mission of the company. Communicate often, and effectively so your employees feel they are well informed. Seriously need to work on the hiring process, I've had friends apply for jobs and not get a return phone call for 3 months even though they were highly qualified applicants and referred by me or other employees. Pay needs to be more competitive, I've seen a lot of talent leave or never even make it in the door due to the low pay of some positions.

Pros

Active is a wonderful company
They care about their employees and support them to be active, community minded citizens
Paid time off and flexibility of work schedule is phenomenal
Executive team is approachable and not afraid to dig wherever needed to understand how Active performs and how their decisions affect those at the end of the line
People work hard and play hard and almost every employee at the company is fun to be around.
Benefit Package (flexible medical, Cross-fit style workouts, 401K match, Employee Stock Purchase)

Cons

Leadership needs to have a higher degree of focus, too many irons in the fire
Organization needs a clearer picture of where they want to be, not just on what they do
Poor Salaries and a history of promotion without pay increases

Advice to Senior Management

Focus Focus Focus
Enable employees to be more efficient, too much time is spent with outdated internal tools
Don't forget the consumer, create an awesome experience for your end users

Pros

The community, the enthusiasm, the relaxed atmosphere.

Cons

My manager gave me very little to do in my internship. I didn't feel "part of the team:

Pros

very laid back and relaxed....yet people come to work hard. Everyone is very nice....also everyone is very "active".

Cons

the pay is not as much as everywhere else....but you give up a little salary for all the other perks.

Advice to Senior Management

maybe now that you are a public company you can start to raise the salaries a little bit....it might help to retain more employees

Pros

PTO, Federal Holidays off, that was really about it, not to many Pros here!! In fact, there is not mch positive

Cons

No room for advancement , pay is below average for work completed, no raises , no room for advancement , no room for advancement

Advice to Senior Management

interact with corp. to have a better compensation structure,. Employees are left in the dark about where they will be heading tin the future