Perseus Books Group Reviews

I worked at Perseus Books Group

Pros – The people here were great - the environment is supportive and is condusive to learning.

Cons – Perseus is a company that has grown a lot without the proper systems and procedures to accompany the growth. With HR in Jackson, various databases and cut costs, career growth depends more on luck than ability.

Advice to Senior Management – A real HR system would help grow and retain talent.

I have been working at Perseus Books Group

Pros – Flexible working hours and summer hours from Memorial Day - Labor Day weekend.

Cons – PBG hires an excessive number of consultants that pad their bills by shuffling papers and pretending to work.
Contradicting employees policies - on some departments employees can take up to 3 weeks vacation at a time while others can only go on vacation for one week at a time.
Absolutely no room for growth, even when the employee expresses a desire to grow with the company.

Advice to Senior Management – Value your hard working employees and compensate them for the hard work and dedication they put in day in and day out.

I have been working at Perseus Books Group

Pros – Some very nice, smart, and interesting people, and some of the books are good. Good work-life balance--summer Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Cons – Much of the actual workload falls on poorly-paid junior employees who are treated very poorly here. There is a revolving door for good reason. There is no room for advancement. The office is usually completely silent, which is an indicator of the isolation in which everyone works. This is a workplace best avoided, tough in this economy, but true nonetheless.

Advice to Senior Management – Not everyone is cut out manage others, even if they may be very good at the substantive part of the job. Don't underestimate the cost of keeping bad managers in management positions.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Perseus Books Group full-time

Pros – Summer Fridays, great vacation perks. No guilt over taking vacation, sick days or being out for doctor appointments, lunch breaks or errand runs. Big company with a big list. Mostly employees are organized hard workers.

Cons – Low pay and no opportunity for advancement for assistants. Especially in staelite offices, it is better to work at head quarters. The company has merged so many times that there is bad blood between department heads and it trickles down to everyone. Strange politics, spite and purposefully not doing your work to screw up another department are not fun things to deal with on the job. HR is not accessible, you are on your own to make it work with a bad boss or quit.

Systems are poorly set up and training is sparse. There is a culture of management blaming those below them for their poor work, there is no hope for promotions or valuing of talented employees in this kind of environment.

Advice to Senior Management – Get rid of heads of departments that hinder instead of promote a productive, talented workforce. There are plenty of good candidates out there looking for work. Why hang on to VP's you know are problematic?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Perseus Books Group

Pros – Great work-life balance-- employees work offsite and some have flexible hours. There are summer hours between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Cons – Lacks structure-- roles and processes are often unclear, opportunity and direction for young people is rare, HR and IT are inconveniently located and have little presence in the publishing offices.

Advice to Senior Management – Dedicate as many resources as you can to your people and infrastructure.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Perseus Books Group

Pros – At the forefront of independent publishing in the US. They have a true passion for books, in all forms. Management is bold and visionary, a huge plus in this rapidly changing industry. Good benefits, great working atmosphere, fun colleagues.

Cons – Infrastructure, planning and resources, especially on the IT side, are woefully lacking given their ramp up for digital publishing. Management seems to be fond of hiring consultants but often doesn't listen to their advice. Salaries are in line with other publishing companies, which are overall low.

Advice to Senior Management – If you go to the time and expense of hiring consultants, share their findings with middle & upper management. Add IT resources and project planning to allow for continued digital expansion. Make sure to perform due diligence with internal staff and existing workflows before embarking on large projects.

I have been working at Perseus Books Group

Pros – Great flexibilty regarding work life balance, summer hours, lots of personal days, nice benefits package, and good support from HR. Also working hard on e-books and moving into the cutting edge. The people are great as well, except for management.

Cons – Extremely low pay, even in comparison to other publishers, hardly any positive feedback, given tasks and expected to make it happen, asked to do additional work, add books to lists, told there would be financial support, which abruptly disappears. The raises are non-existent and the overall feeling of employees is one of extreme dissatisfaction.

Advice to Senior Management – Work on actually financially recognizing employees who are doing a great job, provide some level of professional and personal growth, and take a closer look at all of your publishers.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Perseus Books Group

Pros – Good experience in publishing, especially for interns and recent grads. Hours can be flexible for some positions, mostly friendly coworkers.

Cons – Noncompetitive salaries, lack of feedback and/or promotion based on performance, poor benefits (though 401(k) management and options have been improved recently). Ineffective HR apparatus.

Advice to Senior Management – Care about your employees more. Many are doing much more than is implied by their title and job description.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Perseus Books Group

Pros – There is a flexible work environment. Many people work off-site.

Cons – Small thinking. There is an expectation that the books will not sell well. Decision makers buckle to the Sales force.

Advice to Senior Management – Have confidence in the books we produce and the staff that brings them into being.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Perseus Books Group

Pros – PBG is a very small publishing company, which offers a great deal more flexibility in terms of assignments than the big three.

Cons – PBG has a terrible system of structure. Communication between groups - even if groups consist of only one individual - is sparse at best.

Advice to Senior Management – Publish good books.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend