International Data Group Reviews

Pros

IDG's employees hold a great amount of respect for one another; overall the office culture is very comfortable. The company is very accommodating to your personal needs in terms of benefits and getting time off. It's a great company to work for if you're a seasoned professional with a family.

Cons

Office comfort works as a double-edged sword. The company's leaders seem to be primarily interested in customer (i.e. readership) retention rather than expansion. In doing so it falls short when it comes to embracing new, original ideas, which would in effect attract a new set of regular visitors.

Advice to Senior Management

To let go of the old regime and develop a clearer vision for a new one. To seek to both retain and expand its reader base.

Pros

very good career opportunities there

Cons

I can be somewhat decentralized

Advice to Senior Management

Give more opportunities to others

Pros

The benefits and atmosphere were fantastic. Quarterly bonuses, 401k and ESOP were all very much appreciated.

Cons

Our group was given goals that constantly changed, and resources to pursue projects but not complete them.

Advice to Senior Management

Decide on your objectives, and stick to them. Show some deference to the specialists who work for you when you're over your level of understanding.

Pros

It is a great company and people are very very professional and friendly. It still has a small company field because it is decentralized, so as a techie you get to be involved with a wide range of technologies and business problems. I actually really enjoy my job for the first time. One reason for this is I finally have lots more work to keep me busy. Ice cream truck comes during the summer and is free. Pool table downstairs. The job is not in Boston so there's parking and you have a reverse commute -- less traffic.

Cons

Downsides are few. I'm having trouble finding anything bad to say.

Advice to Senior Management

The problem with all tech employers is that it's always better for employees to jump ship to make more money or get advancement in their careers. Also the program in CIO.com to have employees enjoy profits from their business ideas is a great leap forward. I think all employers should have such a program. I look forward to that program's success. Employees really should enjoy the profit from their contributions in a fair way. Success should be shared, and this promotes hard working employees with numerous profitable ideas. Lunacy that other employers don't do this. Absolute lunacy.

Pros

pro-family, interested in worker retention; decent salary and above-average benefits; dedication to quality trade journalism (i.e. no obvious quid pro quos to tech advertisers and companies we cover, lots of freedom to journalists to report and write as they like) over gossip and rumormongering ala some newfangled blogs

Cons

difficult to advance if not based in Framingham; journalism market in upheaval and IDG not immune; company sometimes too paternalistic to employees and thus less urgency to adapt quickly (outgrowth of Uncle Pat's personality, good and bad); there is some tolerance of underperformers (almost inevitable result of freedom given to journos, but still...)

Advice to Senior Management

more urgency to keep adapting to Web publishing;