Rewards Network Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than a year

Pros – RN is a "family-first" company that promotes a healthy work-life balance. Lunch and learns, monthly company lunches and special events offer a fun work environment. Employees are encouraged to work together to creatively solve problems. My manager is wonderful - she is the primary reason I work here and the reason why I stay. There are a core group of people dedicated to making RN a better place to work for all employees. Over the last year or there has been adds to training, professional development, business development, management training and now employee engagement. RN is working hard and investing in its people - I can't wait to see what's next!

Cons – When people are working hard emotions can run high. Sometimes this leads to very reactionary responses. Everything always works out in the end but this process can prove painful at times.

Advice to Senior Management – Stay invested on improvement. The 360 process is proving to be successful, but we can always be better. Remember to lead by example - actions always speak louder than words. We can accomplish anything if we work together!

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

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – great family/work life, good product, make your own schedule, do your job and you are left alone. Was once an amazing company, hoping it can be again, that is why I am still here

Cons – If you are a new employee with RN, there is little to no training. Granted, there is training in Chicago but, it is done by people who have never sold the product, never had to do a live pitch to a prospect, never had to get the confusing paperwork signed and submitted to then get it rejected and have to start all over again. To make matters worse, they haven't ever had to sell more than tacos and bagels so, it does make sense how this product is over their head.
In-field training is done by brand new regional managers who have gone through the "training" and also have no clue.
This is not a sales job! It is a data entry job. If you don't like computers, logging every breath you take and meeting cold call and presentation quotas as well as sales quotas, this job is not for you. You will be called out on the dreaded weekly sales calls if you missed inputting data for the week and did not make your quota for cold calls but did make it for sales....which is more important? real signed contracts or BS cold calls? No one in corporate cares if the calls were real, the presentations were real, they just have to be in the system so, you make your quota or else.
If you are part of the inner circle, your job is safe and you don't need to perform, show results or treat other employees well. You can have numerous complaints about you with HR and you are safe. That is because they are not qualified for their positions and birds of a feather flock (or get hired by each other)
RN is working on "simplifying" the processes. New contracts with crazy language and mathematical equations not even Einstein could figure out are the product of the simplifying. We now offer no tailored made services anymore and are Isolating even more potential clients with the new procedures that start immediately with no warning.
If you want to start a job to end up with unemployment because of poor training or the actual closure of the company, then I would suggest working at RN.
If you are like me, one of the dedicated, loyal employees with tenure and knowledge, you are experiencing the same lack of respect, disregard for your abilities and venomous attitudes from the circle. They will stop at nothing to allow their blatant inexperience and lack of knowledge about RN be seen.

Advice to Senior Management – Bad hiring at the top leads to bad hiring below. You are the problem. Your training is the problem. Your disrespect for tenured employees in all departments, not just sales, is the problem. You have raised the prices, shrunk member benefits and stopped our product from being flexible for our current and prospective clients. You have no clue what it is like on the road, how to sell this product, get all of the necessary paperwork, and how it is truly perceived in the market place. You make changes that effect the numbers on the ledger without thinking about the client, the member and the employees. You can not make new procedures to try to make more revenue because of bad policies, bad management, bad training and bad hiring.
Anyone in the company who is successful it is not because of you. Our employee retention is shameful and you are blaming everything and everyone but you. The longer you work for a company, the more money you should make, not at RN. Today is one amount, tomorrow another, you don't like it, find a new job. In Chicago, the promotions are everywhere and everyone is making more money. Not sales, not the departments directly working with sales, (co-ops, ISR) they make pittance and are asked to be the most productive.
Fix your business model: taking more money from clients, members and employees might look good to the owner in the quarterly meetings but, it doesn't look good to the rest of us.
You need to acknowledge that this company is being held together by your tenured employees in sales and in other departments. When they are gone, then RN is gone.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Rewards Network full-time for less than a year

Pros – Length of time in business and marketing platform is somewhat competitive

Cons – It's a common practice to lay-off employees. Lots of turn-over especially in the office. The outside team seems to be pretty happy; I would possibly go there however the model is becoming less relevant. I would recommend that you be cautious about making a career choice at this organization... This is likely more of a means to an end kind of job.

Advice to Senior Management – I am sure Sam Zell knows what he's doing... No question.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than a year

Pros – - Still strong sales people who can make large deals with restaurant chains.
- Located right next to the trains downtown.

Cons – - Challenged with high turnover in key departments. Poor hiring decisions resulted in mis-management and project failures.
- Employees openly disparage SVP and CIO.
- Construction of a "new office" was a huge distraction for many months.
- Technology is out of date.
- New products from the business consistently fail with many initiatives just being re-branded ideas from the past.
- Salaries are generally low.

Advice to Senior Management – I would echo the advice from other reviews. While the company seems to still be profiting, the risks ahead seem to be significant.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – -You do get to set your own schedule, which greatly enables work/life balance.
-The product is good
-Get to discover hidden gems in your neighborhood
-A good place to kick off or end your career

Cons – -Salary and commission are an absolute joke. Even the cash back at restaurants does little to curb the fact that pay is awful.
-Contrary to one positive review--RN is NOT ahead of the digital trend. Very outdated with slow development to stay current. Even the new reporting was something that should have happened 4 years ago, and it is still a long way away from where it should be.
-Huge disconnect between senior management and other employees. Nobody on either side of the fence respects each other, and it shows based on the attitude of the employees and lack of respect shown by both sides.
-If you get into someone's inner circle, you will never lose your job. To grow in this company, suck up and suck up hard...don't worry about work ethic. For those who believe in strong work ethic, you are going to be frustrated and miserable in this company.
-Very little opportunity for career growth. When that chance comes along, take it, because it will be a long time before you see it again.
-Lack of training and tools to help employees perform at the top of their potential.

Advice to Senior Management – If your employees take what you say and it goes in one ear and out the other...you have a problem. Spend more time with your employees out in the field to see how the product is doing! The best way to see where you need to fill in the gaps or what is working is to be out in front of your restaurants and actively listening to your clients....and then do something about their concerns! This company is a sinking ship, and the perception the employees have is that you are doing nothing to slow the downward trend. You have a GOOD product (cash program needs another overhaul) with TONS of potential...but you are doing nothing to grasp that potential and run with it! You need to do a major overhaul of your positions (yes, YOUR senior management positions) and bring in fresh minds that will make Rewards Network the company that it can be and will make its employees proud and happy to work here.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Rewards Network

Pros – Location. Cash back for dining at customer restaurants.

Cons – This company is in toxic. I've been gone for several months and am so thrilled to be at a place that values their employees and treats them well. The management does not care about others advice but goes with their terrible decisions we all knew would fail. iDine Deals anybody? Employees are miserable and several middle management people even said GET OUT WHEN YOU CAN. The pay and benefits and terrible. The employees thrive on pointing the finger and playing the blame game because management loves a fall guy.

Advice to Senior Management – Why bother?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – The concept is great and some of the restaurants are pretty good. The location of the company is centralized in Chicago. They cater in lunch every month from some of the restaurants.

Cons – Horrible work environment! Extremely toxic and unhealthy. Highly unprofessional individuals. No room for growth and development.

Advice to Senior Management – Look in a mirror.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network for less than a year

Pros – Great location that is both convenient for city workers and suburbanites taking the train

Cons – Where to begin. The company is in complete disarray and the environment is horrific. Employees are miserable and management is abusive. The pay and benefits and terrible. It's a highly toxic work atmosphere where people thrive on pointing the finger and playing the blame game. The program restaurants are sub-par and sales struggles to sign new ones. Employees do not know what is expected of them, nor are they given the appropriate tools to be successful.

Advice to Senior Management – You are the problem. Until you change, this company will continue to spiral out of control. Listen to your employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – a few suckers have drank the punch and follow the wave of unprofessional and unproductive leadership "evolution." two previous posts are really funny, if you're part of DR's inner circle you get go on sales trip as your reward for doing a horrible job training. Disgusting

Cons – product and support continues to get worse, if that's possible, and the line of "we have 6 months to turn it around or else," is not a great incentive. Take your act someplace else, like Houston.

Advice to Senior Management – the money you just wasted on the sales meeting and CEO club could have gone to help pay us all who are making less and less, but that's the plan isn't it?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Rewards Network full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Casual, fun, and open office environment.
Very family friendly with work/life balance (as long as your job gets done)
Free catered lunches a few times each month for meetings, lunch 'n learns, and social events.
Great discounts at program restaurants.
Even though it's a smaller company, those that work hard and support the business strategy have great opportunity to expand their skill set and careers interenally.

Cons – Employee retention had been high, particularly in the field sales and IT organizations, but I see that stabilizing and getting much better due to the evolving culture. Keep up the good work.

Advice to Senior Management – There has been some exciting changes at the SVP level that has really enhanced the overall structure, focus, and culture of the organization. I'm encouraged to see our growth strategy be successfully executed this year!

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