Forrester Benefits

I think we have the perfect amount of vacation and sick/personal days. The fact that we don't have unlimited vacation makes us actually use the days which is nice . I also love the work smart program where you can work from home 1 day a week.

Flexible when unexpected family issues come up.

I was recently asked about Forrester's maternity benefits by a friend at another advisory firm. As I was remembering my experience, I thought it might be helpful to share with people who plan to become parents and are considering a role at Forrester. This was my experience: Forrester gave 12 weeks, provided full pay for 2 of those weeks, 80% for 8 weeks (using short term disability) and then the employee could take the remaining 2 weeks unpaid or use vacation. They did not have an official flex return to work policy, but did let people work with their manager to figure out what would work. Forrester did not relax goals or allow for a ramp up period after maternity. Returning analysts were expected to meet goals for the quarter in which they returned, even if it meant traveling to do so. Forrester did not offer any assistance for people who had to travel. Forrester had multiple mother's rooms, equipped with chair, desk, phone, kitchen with fridge and sink. They were bookable via outlook and you had to use your ID to get in. My two cents - Forrester should have provided a lot more flexiblity with return to work. The pay coverage portion wasn't ideal, but it was ok (at least for me). I wouldn't assume, however, that could work for everyone. For someone that needs 100% of income, there would be a real pressure to come back before 12 weeks, which is not healthy (again, my opinion). They also did not allow for any flexiblity with their goals. Teams were also expected to meet goals even with someone out for maternity, putting more pressure on the manager, as well as the individual to return and ramp up as fast as possible. Can you tell that I'm still fired up about it? It was truly a terrible experience with a very unempethetic management team. Other benefits were pretty good - PTO, 401K, work from home, stock options.

Numerous core benefits and a handful of smaller benefits specific to the Cambridge office

Vacation and paid time off is good. 15 vacation days, 10 PTO/Sick days, 2 flexi days, 1 paid volunteer day

separate vacation and personal/sick time 401k Eligibility for work from home day once you've completed 6 months 1 paid volunteer day a year

Great benefits and a great overall culture

decent coverage, limited vacation, terrible maternity leave policy

A rich benefits package helps make up for the fact that direct compensation can be a bit a low compared to competing employers.

Company perks, PTO, volunteer day are all great perks!