ESI International Reviews

Current Employee – been working at ESI International full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – ESI genuinely cares about putting its customers first. The needs and requirements of the diverse customer base gets the proper attention it should. My department has grown in scope and opportunities since I've been here. Great place to learn and there seems to be more new jobs and chances for internal people to land new roles.

Cons – There are a lot of very tenured people at ESI who seem more interested in saying no than listening to new ideas. Fortunately, more of these folks who seem to not care about what our clients are saying or asking for. They'd rather just keep things as they are.

Advice to Senior Management – Please (keep) recognize and reward personal efforts and contributions. Definitely more details and plans seem to be shared, but keep the info coming. Mgmt seems to really seem willing to listen and hear new ideas.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at ESI International

Pros – Person's not in management, are somewhat easy to work with.

Cons – No on the job training, poorly engaged/belligerant leadership/management that is highly uneducated, unorganized for a Project Management education provider (ironic). I would have to say that my time here was wasted, and stunted my growth as a business professional. Steer clear if you are a young professional.

Advice to Senior Management – More engagement/training with young professionals is highly needed.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at ESI International

Pros – Benefits on par with competitors
Salaries on par with competitors
Great location and workspace
Mostly good people to work with

Cons – Metrics are set for sales of training, not effectiveness of training
Low priority for moving forward in technology - a lot of lip service, but no follow-through
Very sales focused, the incentives are only for the sales staff

Advice to Senior Management – Creativity and pride in creation of products should be something that's desired, not feared. Stop catering to the high-win sales staff and realize they will have nothing to sell if the development staff and support staff are ignored.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at ESI International

Pros – Good people working at company

Cons – Employees are under appreciated with senior executives leadership lacking innovation

Advice to Senior Management – Change management,

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at ESI International

Pros – Low pressure environment
Relaxed attitude toward performance
Good people to work with
Hands off management style
Last layoff got rid of some dead wood

Cons – Little opportunity for career advancement
Our British overlords', excuse me, owners' relentless focus on profitability prevents ESI from making the investment needed to be made in its products and services.
CEO repeatedly admits he doesn't know what the future looks like except that it will be different than what it was <insert number> years ago.
Pronouncements from senior management leave you wondering: am I dumb or are they just clueless?

Advice to Senior Management – Recognize/promote your top talent before it walks out the door.
Make immediate, significant investments in the business and in the employees or revenue and profit will continue to decline.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at ESI International

Pros – The people at ESI are great and many feel like it's a real family atmosphere. Nice size cubes, great location, and depending on what team your work on very little micro-managing.

Cons – Exec team does not have a pulse on the rest of the company. Decisions are made with little follow-through and hardly any follow-up. Directions change often and the flavor of the week is always what everyone has to drop what their doing to then go work on.

Advice to Senior Management – Research, prepare then focus and follow-through - don't just jump, run and then jump to a new idea.

Current Employee – been working at ESI International

Pros – Great benefits, casual, laid-back atmosphere.

Cons – Tough to receive training if you are inexperienced.

Advice to Senior Management – Provide more hand-on, understanding training.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at ESI International

Pros – Employee dedicated to the organization and passionate about the company.

Cons – Senior leadership lacks talent, major issue starts with the CEO. The organization started its decline when J Elsy took control and never recovered

Advice to Senior Management – Informa needs to replace John Eley

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at ESI International

Pros – Senior management acknowledges those who strive to excel in the company. They ensure that the acknowledgement does not go unknown and provides an equal opportunity to everyone.

Cons – Communication between senior management and those below is minimal thus making it difficult when changes start to occur in the organizational chart.

Advice to Senior Management – Communication is the key to a successful relationship whether it be at work or in someone's personal life. Suggest to ensure communication is the key priority for everyone so that we all reach our common goal.

Current Employee – been working at ESI International

Pros – ESI is a decent company to work for. The HQ is centrally located near I66 and the Ballston Metro. There are several eateries, banks and even a mall all within walking distance. The benefits package (vacation, 401K, insurance, etc.) are all pretty decent. Quite a few of the staff work from home at least one day a week and there are about 1/4th work remotely. The employees are generally very nice and management tries to keep everyone in the loop. Oh and there's free coffee & tea.

Cons – * Compensation is generally lower than other comparable agencies (I've saw many colleagues leave for competitors for this very reason),
* LAYOFFS (I've been here 3 years and have "made it" through 5 rounds of layoffs)
*No upward mobility. Promotions usually come with title change and little (or no) pay increase.

Advice to Senior Management – Please consider hiring an outside vendor to evaluate your pay scale. ESI could easily retain (and attract) more qualified people with more competitive salaries.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend