GlobalOptions Reviews

Pros

First, a little background on me. I'm been in the PI industry for about 13 years, and have worked for about 4 or 5 in that time. GlobalOptions - now CoventBridge Group (by FAR) is the best one out there. They operate in a very professional and above-board manner, treat their employees and clients well, have great overall working conditions, have great benefits, a flexible work schedule, and good to great overall... managers. Please note that I'm not a "PR Mouthpeace" for this company, but a legitimate former employee (field investigator). At one point I was getting 4 weeks of vacation per year, could work from home, and had an excellent 401(k) and medical plan. This is generally unheard of in the industry, and if you're lucky enough to be hired by them you should stay. Don't make the mistake of thinking the "grass is greener" elsewhere (like I did). They also pay full hourly wages for travel (increasingly unheard of in the industry) - whereas many companies now pay zero, or minimum wage for travel.

Cons

Unfortunately, towards the end (and the primary reason I left) there was increasingly inconsistent workload. I could work 40-50 hours one week, then 10-15 the next. It wasn't always this way, and in the mid 2000s it was consistently steady work. I also believe that client service could have been improved. Example? It would sometimes take 2+ weeks for the client to receive the report (after it was turned in),... which would often result in complaints or the perception of poor service (and probably the reason they lost a lot of work towards the end). I think the local managers were often overworked in reviewing reports, and it may have been better to have a staff of "report reviewers" do this work.

Advice to Management

Hire "report reviewers" to edit reports (instead of managers). This would result in much faster turn-around times to clients, and allow managers to be more directly engaged with employees and responsive to clients.

Pros

Nice staff and working conditions

Cons

A number of issues to say the least

Advice to Management

Listen to others

Pros

The people were great to work with

Cons

The company was not financial stable. When I started working there it had been three years since the non executive employees had gotten raises.

Advice to Management

Pay your employees a livable wage.

Pros

Make your own hours Good management Caseload will take you to all different kinds of places to meet all different kinds of people

Cons

Work can dry up leaving and hourly employee struggling to get hours.

Pros

I was working for company that was purchased by GlobalOptions. At the beginning it was good.

Cons

You have to use your own vehicle and they don't pay enough for miles. The hours and travel time was bad. No overtime pay for field investigators.

Advice to Management

To many supervisors and not enough Field Investigators.

Pros

Camaraderie among other QC editors, the employee activities committee tries really hard to make the dreaded workplace more enjoyable and to them I say kudos. the work itself can be interesting. luckily the job is a good entry level position that can lead to bigger and better things in the insurance/investigative industry (trust me! ;))

Cons

This is mainly my critique of the QC department, but I'm sure it applies to other aspects of the company as well: Disorganized department, conflicting information, pay is not good for the amount of work you do and you will never be compensated fairly (even if you are pseudo-promoted to a "team lead" position or trainer). There was overtime most of 2015 (OT being at least 6 hours a week of extra time in addition to... your standard 40-hour work week), and the schedule they start you on and try really hard to keep you on kinda sucks. I mean, who really wants to work 9:00 - 6:00?? they will try to butter you up with pizza parties and other free food, but it really doesn't make up for everything you will end up sacrificing to this company.

Advice to Management

I hope if GO management still has a say in things that they will read these reviews and realize that the environment they have created for their employees is less than ideal. better pay, better treatment, and more freedom = happier, more productive employees.

Pros

Travel was not nearly as bad as many other companies in the industry. Compensation was fair. Case work load was consistent year round.

Cons

There are no career advancement opportunities for field investigators unless you live near one of the offices. Very frustrating conception.

Advice to Management

Keep field investigators stimulated and continue to challenge them. Do not forget about them. We tend to be forgotten within the company.

Pros

If you're starting up and this is the only company that will hire you, then take it for experience.

Cons

They may promise you the prospect of raises in your future, but this will not happen. If you're lucky, you'll get a small raise at the beginning because of how low they started you. Some investigators have worked here 15+ years and never gotten a raise. If you're full-time, they'll treat you like a slave. Yes you have PTO, but you can only take it when they let you, which won't be for the holidays that you're... required to work. They don't care about their field investigators and don't pay well to compensate for it. They'll make you feel "that's how the industry is", but they are wrong. Many other companies pay well, and will treat you well, too. If you're not already burned out, GlobalOptions will help you get there fast.

Advice to Management

Pay you're employees what they deserve, and don't treat them like slaves. At least pretend you care about them.