Kaplan Reviews

Pros

It is a recognizable name/ brand, since they advertise so much everywhere.

Cons

Would give me projects that were impossible to complete. Didn't listen to my objections/ attempts to explain why more time was needed. Got incredibly burnt out then left.

Advice to Senior Management

If you need a new product developer every year then that says something about your department

Pros

Employees and management are warm, motivated and highly intellectual. It is very apparent that the staff are working at Kaplan because they want to be there.

Cons

Salary is less than what one might make in a financial institution, but is on-par with or exceeding the salaries at other mission-based or retail organizations.

Advice to Senior Management

Great leaders and approachable.

Pros

-generally fun environment with bright, young, hard-working individuals
-opportunity to interact with students and help them achieve their goals
-opportunity to work from home once at higher responsibility level
-varies from manager to manager, but I had good experience with coaching and training from my supervisors

Cons

-huge focus on the bottom line - meeting budget goals trumps pretty much everything else
-no formal training program - it's sink or swim
-frequent nights and weekends
-full-time salaries are pretty weak (my own and my direct reports)

Advice to Senior Management

-create a formal training plan for field staff
-improve interview/hiring process (a lot of people are hired and have no idea what they're getting into and do not fit in with the corporate culture)
-make sure there is a rationale for salaries - some people made more than they should have while others (most) made much less - this does not make employees feel valued

Pros

Working with students at key points in their lives, networking with fun and interesting people, great opportunities to learn and hone skills such as public speaking, teaching, and consulative selling

Cons

Constant criticism, micro-managing to outrageous degrees, high expectations with little resources to execute, and very demanding

Advice to Senior Management

Compensate employees properly considering the amount of work, loyalty and dedication you demand

Pros

Good feedback during training
Interesting compensation structure

Cons

Emphasis is not on learning, but on post-class surveys
poor communication within offices
evaluations are overly automatized & everything is reduced to a number
staffing is inconsistent

Advice to Senior Management

more holistic performance reviews
relax

Pros

Tremendous opportunity for growth within the technology field

Cons

Bonuses and raises do not seem to be merit based.

Advice to Senior Management

Invest more in your employees, This investment will allow the employee to become more proficient in their field. This, in turn, will allow them to do their job more efficiently.

Pros

Flexibility of work day schedule, variety in routine (time on campus, meetings, office time), comradery with other managers in region

Cons

immersion sans training, mediocre market pay, chronic understaffing, unclear career advancement options, unreasonable encroachment on personal life/time, outdated time-suck technology

Advice to Senior Management

INVEST in your employees, your technology, and your HR department - not just in product diversification - don't waste potential

Pros

Great place to grow as an employee. Look for open opportunities to establish a career path and go for it!

Cons

Lot's of work and often understaffed. The payscale seems to fall below that of comparable jobs at other companies with like positions.

Advice to Senior Management

Payscale should be increased to close the gap between outside companies and internal positions. Make the positions more attractive with clear career advancement.

Pros

A good place to work as a student or part-time, with flexible hours available, and a better environment than other comparable workplaces with same pay level- i.e retail or food service. You will gain lots of work experience here.

Cons

The demands of the job are sometimes more than can be expected for a part-time position at this pay level.

Advice to Senior Management

none

Pros

Flexible hours that work well with having a different full-time job (mostly nights and weekends), a great system for raises based on students' ratings, a good system for moving people with good student ratings up to teacher trainers, etc., always receiving posts about full-time management jobs within Kaplan

Cons

It can sometimes be difficult to get enough hours if you only teach one test, the raises are based on how many students rate you as "excellent" while "good" does not count for anything

Advice to Senior Management

I think that they're doing a great job. If your manager is MIA, it obviously makes life more difficult, but that just depends on which center you work for. How responsive they are when you initially inquire about an interview probably reflects well on how they will be as your manager. I think that there are great opportunities for growth here.