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SparkNET Interactive

Is this your company?

Gimmicky, but good for a 1st job out of college. Otherwise stay away. - Associate Editor SparkNET Interactive Employee Review

2.0
May 25, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Having food catered in saves a ton of money, and the food is really good - they have a chef on-site. Getting to work in whatever you feel comfortable in will save you money on updating your wardrobe as well. I really enjoyed being able to listen to music while I worked. Health care policy is decent but not outstanding, 401k match is nice.

Cons

As an editor, the job you're doing is monotonous and repetitive. Salary is low for a job that requires a college degree (I started at $10/hr). More than anything though is the relationship between management and employees. There is a HUGE disconnect here. Management is infamous for playing favorites. Editors were generally treated with disdain, people who worked in app development/IT were clearly treated better. Also, ever since recent updates by Google that targeted the company's questionable SEO tactics, the company feels like a sinking ship being kept alive by gimmicks, perks, and the shiny new building (which is mostly empty).

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SparkNET Interactive Response
12y
Every year since we began hiring Editors, we have raised the average pay and benefits, including more paid time off. I'm sorry that you felt that app developers were treated better. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity/respect. ---- It is true that we built our new headquarters larger than we needed, but that was so that we could grow into it instead of being split up between multiple locations like our previous leased space. ---- I respectfully disagree about your comments on our healthcare offerings as most local employers offer less benefits for more costs. This is an area we spend a great deal of time and capital investment to ensure we're offering a great value including covering the lion share of our teams healthcare insurance costs. I wish you the best of success on your career endeavors.

Explore other reviews about SparkNET Interactive

5.0
Feb 8, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I don't understand why there are so many negative reviews for this company. My experience here as been very good. The work environment is comfortable and feels like home, the work is very self motivated and satisfying, the pay is fair and the benefits are good, and the culture is very friendly and family like. All the amenities in the office are very very nice. You're not going to find many other places like this in the fox valley. Free lunch, access to gym, showers, underground parking, and other unnecessary but nice perks are great. It's also been a great experience working and learning about so many different programs and products. The job doesn't get into a rut like many other development jobs I've worked. I do different interesting things on a daily basis and rarely get bored.

Cons

I personally have nothing negative to say but if you prefer more structured work where you're told exactly what to do every step of the way then a job at Sparknet might not be for you.

2.0
Nov 15, 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Everything looks great at Sparknet but the only real pros are free lunch, coworkers and being on third floor with distractions like games and a view.

Cons

Pay is very minimal and real promotions only happen to spouses or good friends of “management” -and you have to be willing to suck up and be energetic about a company that doesn't have a strong stake in any certain industry anymore. Everything is transparent but the team leads think if they whisper to one person at a time no one will be the wiser. The team leaders are on power trips and don't respect the people actually working in their departments. There is a lot of micro management about time happening on their parts but lots of personal activities during work hours happening on their parts. They should be holding themselves to the same standards they hold their employees.

6
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SparkNET Interactive Response
12y
We don't micro-manage or at least no one here in management has a goal to micro-manage anything. We hire and train great people, give them tools to do their job and then do our best to get out of the way. I will admit that we are a very data-decision-driven company and we love data... and this can be wrongly interpreted as micro-management, but if we don't know how much time critical activities take, how can we ever seek to improve our performance or troubleshoot problems before our customers, members or users identify them? If you feel disrespected by your team lead, then please see your direct supervisors manager or contact our HR person for assistance so that we can hear your side of the story. ---- No one in SparkNET leadership or myself have ever encouraged our team members to submit fake reviews of anything.
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