Good - Digital Marketing Manager BroadConnect Telecom Employee Review

Management aside, the people that work at Broadconnect are very friendly and care about one another.

You know it's a problem when management doesn't listen to feedback from the staff, or quite frankly, even seem to care. If you treat your people poorly they'll leave ... obviously not a surprise. So why does management seem to not care, listen, or follow-up on feedback. It's a family run business, and the family looks out for one another, but, seem to leave the staff behind. There are no benefits, the salary is poor, the job is constantly changing, and you're never really sure where you stand. This isn't a career, it's a short term job until you can find something else. With attitude like this, I can't see them being around for very long.

There are many things positive about this company that others have failed to mention. It can be a great place to work if you are the right kind of person, and in the right situation. You must not take your job or career overly seriously, and know how to disconnect work from the rest of your life. Opportunity to learn beyond the confines of your original job description if you are good at other things. Additional work if you are keen to do more. There's always a backlog of things to do, and hence, an opportunity to learn if you take the opportunity for yourself to learn. (Again, you have to demonstrate that you're good at this new thing, however. By good, I mean fast.) Not too hard to tread water. For those who have been looking, and if you have been turned down for the wrong reasons, if you want an opportunity to work, and accept a low enough wage, you will almost surely get it. You will be able to learn, and gain skills, if nobody else is willing to give you a chance. You will NOT be overlooked for being foreign.

You must learn everything on your own - EVERYTHING. Every... Single... Thing... There are no manuals, no formal training, no background readings, and only a few people that are both able and willing to explain things. Some people like to hold information close to their chests because that's their only real value at this point, and there is fear of becoming otherwise less useful. In fact, as an organization, asymmetry of information is actual very crucial to keeping things in order there. If there were complete transparency, too many people would be upset at too many others. Your not knowing what the guy next to you thinks, makes in his/her salary, is doing on a daily basis, etc. is a big part of how things are organized. Watch out if people actually start making lists and attempt to be organized, it's only to cover their own skin. Accountability isn't really ever for the sake of achieving a common goal, but rather, to reduce someone else's risk of getting blamed, or worse yet, to paint very non-specific objectives in order to blame you later on. After a while, this becomes very depressing because at company pizza lunches, there's an attempt to paint a picture of a big, warm family, but everyone just keeps to themselves and people are polite out of necessity and unfamiliarity, rather than genuinely caring for one another. If you're saying "no..." right now, just ask yourself, how many times you have met up with your coworkers outside of work? Do you know his/her partner's name, child's name, pet's name, etc.? As you read this, you may already have been asked a series of questions to the effect of "... this isn't true, right? what do you think?" Your opinion doesn't actually matter, but rather, you're being asked to almost conform to or confirm a line of thinking. This brings us to the fact that nobody can really say to your face what they are thinking, even if they are upset. It's all internalized and then reflected as passive aggressiveness at some later point. No decision-making power, even when it pertains to your own realm. In fact, when you try to be pro-active and make even the tiniest decision, those that have been there forever put up roadblocks on purpose. This isn't because they're being cautious, but more often than not, they're stuck there for a reason, and deep down, it's because they envy your courage and willingness to act. Your audacity might be challenged out of jealousy. The people that have stayed for years aren't exactly stars, but rather, the most able to survive there - for various reasons. You really only answer to 2 or 3 people. You know what I mean. Everybody else's title really doesn't matter. There are people who shouldn't be in their position, but are there "just because". There are positions created so that everything looks more complete to those looking at the company from the outside. These positions are created and destroyed with client or project demands - usually new opportunities or a recent failure. It's really just a facade and these people quickly leave or get fired. There are people who are making decisions, but have no idea how to make things happen, having never done any of the things they're trying speaking for. Some don't even spend any time in the offices in GTA at all. If you're reading this, they probably don't even know your name, to be honest. There are less than 10 people who do 95% of the work in the company, but aren't given much say at all. Most people have to punch a time card - sign in and sign out to the minute of your shift, even if you're not working in the warehouse. Yes, like in the opening scene of the Flintstones. There is sometimes a very genuine hope to improve and get better, but this disappears when there are tough decisions to be made. This only usually lasts for like 2 days, coinciding with newly discovered business opportunities. If there is ever a threat to short term gains, long term growth or betterment is always sacrificed. This is a company where you can stay for 12 - 18 months if you want to learn some things about the industry quickly, and only if you are very self-driven enough to learn on your own. You will hit a ceiling very quickly, and the room for true career growth is non-existent.