Cengage Learning Reviews

Pros

Working in education is always a great area to be in. Colleges/Universities are expanding in growth and there are a lot of digital options coming in the future.

Cons

The salary at Cengage is not ideal compared to other industries. I think it's very hard to advance your career at Cengage.

Advice to Senior Management

I think a higher salary would entice more people to stay at the company longer. Also, provide more areas of growth.

Pros

The culture here is good and there is a lot of opportunity to move around the company and advance if your are motivated. There is an amazing amount of work-life balance, which is rare in this economy. Managers seem to listen and there is good communication from senior management.

Cons

If you are the type that just wants to do the same job day in and day out, this is not the place for you. There is quite a bit of change happening in this industry and employees must adjust to succeed.

Advice to Senior Management

Working in such a rapidly changing company and industry makes a lot of people nervous. Make sure you are continuing to communicate strategies to employees.

Pros

-small company, lots of hands on learning
-ability to work independently and in a self directed manor
-great experience for entry level, and people who are new to industry

Cons

-Cengage corporate has a vastly different corporate culture than the Chicago office. This clash is hurting the effectiveness of the Chicago office to run e-commerce businesses. (Chicago office was recently acquired).
-Products are not doing as well as they once were.
-A lot of people have left after there was a large restructuring.
-Compensation is low for the industry.

Advice to Senior Management

Kick the corporate habit, and get back to start up mentality. No one ever made it in the web by sitting and waiting.

Pros

There is a positive work environment and there is a good work/life focus at Cengage Learning which is greater than other companies.

Cons

Large companies like Cengage Learning often have additional layers to their business reporting levels that you will not find in smaller companies.

Pros

The benefits package really is competitive. Health insurance and 401k were top-notch. Fitness center, transportation discounts and other "amenity"-type benefits were also unusually good. Office management was handled well and IT was up-to-date and responsive.

Cons

Sadly, there are more cons than pros to working here. Cengage Learning pays well below industry-standard for most jobs, especially in a metropolitan area such as Boston. It's actually difficult to survive on the entry-level pay they offer, and promotions, bonuses and merit increases are small and hard to come by. Because upper level management is difficult to reach and seems very out-of-touch with the day-to-day functions and processes of the company. there is an impossible-to-ignore gap between what they are paid and what the rest of the company earns.

Additionally, the company has very prescribed methods of and paths to promotion. It's difficult to move within the company, and performance reviews seem overly corporatized. There is very little emphasis on personal goals.

Advice to Senior Management

Higher salaries for valuable employees; more meaningful system of promotion and merit increases.

Pros

some very smart people there; the staff builds good atmosphere (with no help from management); salaries are competitive with the industry

Cons

poor management of company and staff; poor performance feedback; not open to ideas from managers or staff that disagree with upper management

Advice to Senior Management

look at quality of upper management-- some of those people are not serving the interests of the business very well; pay attention to work vs. life issues; staff morale is VERY low

Pros

Good and regular hours, pleasant people, generally relaxed pace, opportunity to travel, 'safe' job which has lower rate of retrenchment as compared to other industries

Cons

Low pay, low or non-existent bonus, poor bonus and promotions structure which doesn't provide incentives to lower-ranking employees, conservative policies especially when it comes to technology

Advice to Senior Management

Make the pay and bonus structure clearer and more 'fair', try to avoid treating junior employees like low-paid workhorses and give them some sort of incentive to stay in the company

Pros

There is a pretty good work/life balance. Most people are nice and respectful. The building is really nice and well taken care of.

Cons

Not a lot of diversity within the workplace. Some jobs are looked down upon or looked as being not successful or worthy enough. You're not successful if you're not in such and such position thought process.

Advice to Senior Management

I think management needs to work more on career advancement of their employees, getting them to where they want to be.

Pros

there is opportunity to be autonomous and have a flexible work schedule Great people, and a good commitment to making a difference.

Cons

lack of communication about delays in technology launches. Systemic problems in some areas of the company. Not sure about a clear vision.

Advice to Senior Management

listen to the people in the field about needs in the company

Pros

Benefits are great, flex time is great, people are great. Another employee mentions that she was not able to work from home, but I've found it depends on how well you produce as an employee that dictates whether that is allowed or not.

In summer, early release on Friday's!

Casual atmosphere.

Cons

Political atmosphere, long hours at times, staffing is difficult due to shared responsibilities ( it adds a lot of work when you don't have enough people on your team, and how do you get them when most of what you do is across the board?)

Advice to Senior Management

Hire more people, more is more! Provide more training options (similar to prometric tools we had as part of Thomson).