Scholastic Reviews

Pros

you put books into the hands of kids

Cons

Extremely political workplace. Upper mgmt. more concerned with covering for themselves than supporting staff or making good business decisions.

Pros

Good Benefits that's about it

Cons

No Communication between Managers Supervisors ans Employees , People are not treated equal to much favoritism and some of the older employees get pushed out the door and replaced with seasonal workers

Advice to Senior Management

Learn how to run this company

Pros

Great company serving a great need in promoting literacy around the globe. Awesome location in SoHo which is a fun and vibrant spot. Great work/life balance and good support from middle management; although it's mixed so it really depends who your immediate supervisor is.

Cons

This company is more siloed than many government organizations which is just shocking considering they are a publicly traded company. Ripe for a takeover by any well-run organization, especially with the publishing industry in the midst of another disruptive technology impacting the bottom line.

Senior management has structured a company that regularly competes with itself. Many projects and services in today's climate cut across multiple departments/groups and the top-heavy hierarchical org structure creates for amazing turf wars that ultimately hurt stock owners. The amount of in-fighting is widespread and intense.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior management should read one of Jack Welch's management books - any one of them. OR, better yet, scrap all the high paid executive consultants who can't implement real change because of the human tendency for self-preservation (need to eat and pay rent), and bring on Welch himself because he doesn't care if you take his advice or not.

Pros

If you are into a fast-paced environment with room for growth, Scholastic is your place. It is an innovative company with good product.

Cons

People work extremely hard at Scholastic and overall are treated fairly however, there is leadership within the organization that mistreats those who work very hard in order to cover themselves if needed. I'm sure it happens everywhere.

Pros

Good benefits
 Great learning experience if paired with right senior
Exposure to multiple departments
great access to communicate with managers and executives

Cons

pay
no growth
manger was personal assistant the year before I join (no finance experience)
Because manager had no experience forced to work late, 8:30 - 8/9 during close (thought this was the norm until I left)
received senior analyst responsibilities as a financial analyst but not compensated

Advice to Senior Management

management is completely politics. Managers hold their positions because of their relationship with the executives, not based on education or experience

Pros

Good benefits and unlimited sick days. Soho location is good. They have a cafeteria upstairs which alwasys works out well if you're hungry

Cons

Work distribution is pretty bad. I work an average of 10 hour days. When ever I have to walk around to other floors I see half the company on Facebook, where I do not even have time to take a proper lunch break. The pay is aweful.

Pros

good products. good location in an interesting neighborhood rather than in midtown. good brand name for your resume.

Cons

no support or mentoring. very little contact with manager, even during first month. IT technology is old, not even close to cutting edge. company divisions are very siloed. no one seems to "own" anything and getting decision made is like going in circles.

Pros

The managment really seems to praise the staff and are down to earth>

Cons

PTO if not used is lost but if you have a job where you are required to be there for all seasons then it is tough to use all the PTO and you should be paid for the PTO not taken.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay for PTO not used

Pros

The book store was great and they had decent benefits. OK for a first job for graduates. Gave employees Harry Potter books and had B-day breakfasts.

Cons

Pay was terrible. Upper management very poorly handled. Changed policy everyday and if you did anything wrong they would find a reason to fire you. The supervisors knew nothing about what was going on. I watched all this plus for over 15 years and when I left I never cared to go back. Very confusing place to work...I guess the partiallity is what I detested. People got promotions that could barely spell and knew nothing. IT depended on who you knew and what your name was.

Advice to Senior Management

Check into your management and make sure they know what they are doing. Show your employees some respect and when they do something good for the company. Recognize their efforts. Be more understanding with your parents with little children. They have to have time off to care for their children. Quit giving them points they don't deserve. And no Scholastic management, the company does not come first in my life, my family does! Why did you keep trying to lock that into my brain? When my husband had a heart test and I had to be there with him, you woudn't give me the time off when I had 80 hours of vacation and plenty of sick time. Sad I had to take a point...You are a very unfair company. I was told the company comes first by my manager. Sad!

Pros

People at Scholastic are pleasant and respectful of each other. The working conditions are informal and creative. Management tries to keep workers informed about the direction and performance of the organization.

Cons

The benefit plans are fair but could be better and annual merit increases are modest. It can be difficult to get feedback on job performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Make managers more accountable for employee development.