Gallup Reviews

Pros

Great for a semi retired person, you can basically work the hours you want with in some guidlines

Cons

Some times the work in not available when it should be

Advice to Senior Management

Trust the instincts and observations of the telephone interviewers

Pros

-Some of the best science out there, bar none. Excellent concepts for consulting.
-Great brand name
-Opportunities (although limited) to make real change
-Generally very congenial work atmosphere

Cons

Others have left plenty of specifics which I won't repeat. More broadly, Gallup's employee engagement consulting model leaves out tangibles like pay and benefits for very good reason. They are not satisfiers, but rather dis-satisfiers. And if you meet the very real emotional needs of your employees - respect, recognition, input, clarity, etc. - all of those tangible things don't matter as much. Eliminate both the intangibles AND the tangibles in one fell swoop, and you get the talent exodus that Gallup has seen for the last 18 months.

What Glassdoor readers are observing is the bewilderment and frustration of a team that was always trusted, respected, and valued...and then suddenly wasn't. This group taught Gallup philosophy to clients for years, and then found themselves in an environment where none of Gallup's tenets were being upheld for them.

I left Gallup when I could no longer point to my own company as a best practice for our own consulting model. I couldn't stomach the hypocrisy...and this from someone who would have said I'd be a "lifer" just two years ago.

I will always carry Gallup's espoused beliefs with me, and there are many people still at Gallup who I respect and care for greatly. There are others I don't know who are still having a positive experience. I'm glad to hear it, as Gallup will always hold a special place in my heart.

Still, for those considering a position here, please do so with caution. It's one thing to take a job with GE, where rather draconian employment practices are the norm. It's another entirely to join a firm that preaches so much positivity in the workplace, and then does the exact opposite.

Advice to Senior Management

If for nothing other than your own self-preservation, please re-think how you treat your employees. In the past, Gallup alumns were proud proponents and even future clients. Now, you're taking a whole cadre of talented, motivated consultants (remember the rigorous hiring screener?) and turning them into people who would never work with Gallup again. Even if you don't care about the individuals, remember the hiring tool you crafted, and think about having all of these people as Gallup dissenters and/or competitors.

Pros

Great brand name that is well known in the U.S.
Offices in all major cities
Some very bright people

Cons

In the past 3-4 years Gallup went from an industry leader in polling and consulting to the laughingstock of the industry. Talents are leaving and the few still there make no impact whatsoever. Nobody listens to them. And they are less and less likely to share their ideas.

Advice to Senior Management

Useless to give any advice. They only hear what they want to hear and only from the people they "trust."

Pros

The clients we partner with are well known. It's easy to establish relationships throughout many countries and industries.

Cons

There is a big disconnect between who leadership "thinks" is adding value, and who "actually" adds value to the organization. The culture supports upward mobility only if you agree with, and avoid outshining, anyone above you in the organization. It's an arduous task to continually keep this in mind, but necessary given the political nature of the organization.

Advice to Senior Management

First, I suggest you stop making reference to how lucky everyone is to work at Gallup. We find this attitude to be very off-putting.
Second, the tribe is "saddle sore", perhaps our chosen form of transportation isn't working.
Third, keep in mind that not all ideas have to be your idea in order to be a good idea. "Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain

Pros

The work environment is a positive one. The management cares about you as a person. A lot of position in the company are flexible with schedule and in cases of emergency one can find comfort in a compensate company.

Cons

All position requires you to take a test by Gallup. I will show what position would be a good fit for you. If you don't pass for a position you would never be consider for it again.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't lose focus of Dr. Gallup vision for the company. As Gallup continues to grows contiune to keep the closeness of community setting in mind.

Pros

autonomy, lots of responsibility, best friends at work, great heritage and reputation, flat structure/little hierarchy

Cons

not a lot of confidence in the ability of senior management, strange new performance metrics inconsistent with Gallup philosophy, in need of more 'expertise' and experienced consultants not just salespeople

Advice to Senior Management

practice what you preach to clients!

Pros

The Gallup name receives good PR with having our name associated with USA Today, and we’re frequently quoted by the press. This exposure helps position us as a larger organization.

Cons

We can’t become a large consulting company with small town leadership lacking the experience to successfully achieve this goal. Way too much "Self Assurance" makes leaders think they have all the answers, when what they really need to do is clean out their ears and listen. There are plenty of people who have great solutions to our growth problems, but are tired of being shut down. Middle and lower management have no empowerment; they are just puppets on a string like the rest of us.

Advice to Senior Management

What’s the point; they’ve made it abundantly clear they won’t listen.

Pros

We carry a name that helps get us in the door. Flexible schedule when needed. Work with many fortune 500 clients.

Cons

Management is young and inexperienced. Leadership is unwilling to accept any feedback about how to make the company stronger. Too many of our top performers are leaving, and many of our clients are taking note of this. Loyalty to a once great company continues to evaporate daily.

Advice to Senior Management

We desperately need experienced resources across the organization; we’re very tired of hearing each fall that “everything will be better after the first of the year”. Work on turnover. You need to quit thinking you can simply replace experienced performers with junior level, non-experienced people. Those of us who are left don't have time train these kids and still service our clients. Trust us when we say your leadership is NOT working. But then if anyone on the leadership team had ever held a job outside of Gallup you’d already know this. I’d suggest if you want to stand a chance of becoming the consulting company you proclaim to be, that you hire an executive leader from MBB. Then this time LISTEN to them, don't simply show them the door the first time they give you some honest feedback.

Pros

I like what I do. Can see directly from the clients I work with daily that I am making a difference for them for the better. The stock options are good. Out of all my investments it has been the most solid. From the looks and sounds of our financials lately I stand to make another leap when the new stock price comes out soon.

Cons

Building up a portfolio takes some time.

Advice to Senior Management

Get people on boarded quicker and get them real work quicker.

Pros

If you are a self starter it is great. Extreme flexibility which is great but also a bit of reverse psychology. Focus on talent is key.

Cons

Leadership is so inbred they can't be objective. Strategy is a joke. You are either in the cult or you aren't and when you aren't it is obvious. There is no such thing as giving constructive criticism.

Advice to Senior Management

Be open to employees' critiques or ideas. When choosing people for roles open up the position for people to apply versus just appointing some 23 year old interviewing "star". Practice what you preach.