Wow - Senior Conference Producer IQPC Employee Review

1.0
Sep 4, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Thrown in at the deep end (you either sink, or swim.) If you swim, you can keep your head above water for 12 months to be "accepted" by IQPC. If you sink and can't withstand the pressure, you are bullied, ridiculed and either want to leave or made to leave sharpish...

Cons

- Females abused and no action taken, even though they know exactly what is happening. Perpetrator in one instance (after complaining) stayed on to commit ANOTHER offence two years later. Victim left. - Real talent is not nurtured - they wait for the talent to bottleneck and then let them go, only for the poor ones to remain and left to run functions without experience. - SPEX sales are treated as "gods" - they can do no wrong. Producers need to (in manager's own words) "flex" to them. Lack of respect for other functions. - Producers are told different "rules" for profit share in different departments. For instance, in some departments, producers don't know that Ops get "commission" back from hotels, bringing negative budgets £ into the positive £ - yet IQPC still take their profit share from them for their next "positive £" event - MDs have their own "budgets" distinct from the conference budgets that teams are told to "own" for real P&L terms. How can we "own" events when we know the budgets are BS? - Operations are (again in management's own words) "trolley dollies" - expected to buy drinks and hand them out for company meetings. Again being labelled as doing the "donkey work." Head allows such behaviour and does not support team. - Key managers are incredibly lazy and do nothing, whilst new employees work until 11pm some evenings on less than £20k. - The list goes on. Go in with your eyes WIDE OPEN.

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IQPC Response
6y
Thank you for your review, it is important we listen to all forms of feedback and continue to improve as an employer as a consequence, but I was saddened to read your review. As a Company we are continuously looking at ways we can improve our Employee Experience and Engagement. We do this through Employee Surveys (completed through a third party to retain anonymity) and as a result of this feedback have made some hugely positive improvements over the last few years. Things like: • Improved Company Benefits (i.e. – Increased holiday allowances, improved pension, life insurance and more work is being done on this to significantly further our provisions in the near future) • A new On boarding Platform to help new starters familiarise with the company and their roles • A new On-line Training platform, plus monthly Global Webinars focused on core skill development Your comments on Anti-Harassment are especially disappointing to read. We take our duty of care seriously and would never allow or condone the behavior you mention, and want to assure you that we have never received a complaint or allegation and not dealt with it thoroughly and professionally. It is essential that we investigate and appropriately deal with any allegations or complaints. Sadly situations can be discussed amongst colleagues (who may not have access to all of the facts) but for us to commence an investigation they also need to be formally raised to the Company, when this occurs, we always carry out a full and complete investigation. As a proactive measure, and to underline our determination and commitment towards a diverse and meritocratic work environment, every employee has been provided with external training on an updated Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy I was also really disappointed to see that you did not feel developed by our organisation. Nurturing talent is something we pride ourselves in as an organisation and we have a strong track record of doing this. Most organisations would make such stock responses as well, but we genuinely can back this up with fact. Over 70% of our managers have been through our Annual Management Development Programme and this year we’ve also redesigned our Performance Management Programme to focus on future goal achievement, supported by transparent and structured career paths for all core functions. Feedback on training in our employee survey continues to be positive, but we continue to increase investments in training and coaching year-on-year Like all organisations we know we still have work to do but we remain committed to creating a fun, transparent and collaborative environment, where all our employees feel valued and supported and we believe these efforts are increasingly visible in our retention and staff tenure rates which beat industry benchmarks. Furthermore, we would invite anyone reading this who is considering a role at IQPC to contact us and arrange to come in and meet our management team and any of our staff to gain an accurate first hand perspective on what life is like at IQPC.

Explore other reviews about IQPC

5.0
Feb 3, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Title: Great company to work for with an agile and talented team Pros: Working as a Portfolio Manager at IQPC was a great experience. The company is incredibly agile and has a strong ability to adapt to market changes, which is vital in the highly competitive events and conferences industry. This adaptability allows IQPC to stay ahead of trends and continue delivering relevant and high-quality events. The people here are some of the smartest and most capable I’ve had the pleasure of working with — it’s clear that IQPC attracts top talent and fosters a collaborative, supportive environment. One of the standout aspects of the company is how much they invest in their rising talent. There are continuous opportunities for development, and the performance-based pay structure is a great motivator. It not only rewards individual contributions but also drives the company’s success as a whole. This culture of incentivizing high performance was one of the key factors in my own personal and professional growth while there. Overall: IQPC is a solid company with a lot of potential for growth. The leadership is forward-thinking, the people are sharp, and the culture rewards results. While the sales team dynamic might not be perfect, it’s a small downside in an otherwise great work environment. Would recommend to anyone who thrives in a fast-paced, results-oriented setting!

Cons

Cons: Like many fast-paced companies, there is a bit of ego on the sales team. While this is somewhat expected in a high-energy, results-driven environment, it can occasionally cause friction between departments. However, this is something that can be managed with effective communication and collaboration. For junior staff it can be a challenging environment to meet deadlines.

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IQPC Response
1y
Thank you for sharing your experience as a Portfolio Manager at IQPC! We’re thrilled to hear that you found our company’s adaptability, talent, and performance-driven culture to be key highlights of your time here. Investing in our people and fostering a collaborative, growth-oriented environment is something we take great pride in, so it’s rewarding to know that these efforts contributed to your professional development. We also appreciate your honest feedback regarding the dynamics within the sales team. We recognize that a fast-paced environment can sometimes present challenges, and we’re continuously working to enhance cross-departmental collaboration and communication. Your recommendation means a lot, and we’re grateful for your contributions to IQPC. Wishing you continued success in your career!
1.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

people were nice enough to work with

Cons

I worked for SSON, our managing director liked to preach that they advocated for their employees, but I was let go, through no fault of my own per their words, after bad training and no real support for the new role I was taking on. Also, there is zero work/life balance despite being able to work from home 2 days a week, my team was exhausted and upper management did not care.

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IQPC Response
1d
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed working with your colleagues, as fostering a collaborative and supportive team environment is something we value. We recognize how important a structured onboarding process and ongoing development are, particularly when transitioning into a new role, and we continually review our programs to identify opportunities for improvement. Creating an environment where employees feel supported and treated fairly is important to us. We wish you the very best in your future endeavors and thank you again for sharing your perspective.
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