Good enough for seconds, not thirds - Communications Manager EY Employee Review

3.0
Feb 24, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I'm a boomerang, an established name we have for EY employees who leave and come back. The people here are, with few exceptions, fantastic. Smart, collaborative, helpful, kind. They, and the possibility to grow my career in the direction I wanted, are what brought me back to EY after leaving for a year. The workplace flexibility is amazing. Not being on the client-side of things (I work in Communications), I've been 100% remote for more than two years; before that 80% remote for 1.5 years. The hours are long, but I can work them in sweatpants if desired and make time to attend school plays as long as the work gets done. That's incredible. Do good work, work hard, and get acknowledged is the reality in my experience. The converse is true as well. But I've found that things are fair here, and that's saying a lot. EY is headed in a very good direction overall. I've proud to work here, though with a bit of a heavy heart I'm on my way out for reasons stated in "Cons" below.

Cons

Team reductions in my immediate team and within the department are what's driving many people out, both volitionally and otherwise. Relocating work to an increasing offshore workforce has cost more than one friend their job here. I've found, however, that I'm stuck picking up the slack, and offshore resources are inadequate to cover the jobs they've taken. I'm finding that I'm doing less and less of what I enjoy -- less of what I was hired for, really -- because we're getting leaner and leaner. Pay is not bad, but certainly not up to par with the industry. I've heard this is true from colleagues in other non-client-serving positions. I do not have the career opportunities I seek here anymore. Nor, due to the lean nature of our organization, do I have the possibility to forge my own career path as senior, trusted colleagues have done and advised.

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Pros

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Cons

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5.0
Feb 21, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. You will have a very hard time not falling in love with every single person you meet there. 2. Seriously, you will meet your soul mate(s) there. 3. Prestigious and looks great on the resume. 4. Your brain will grow a thousand times more powerful. 5. Forces you to conquer your fear of public speaking. 6. Fun team bonding and lifelong friends. 7. Stepping stone to high paying jobs. 8. Helps you work on perfecting your charm. You will learn from the most charming people how to really get people to like you. 9. HR really cares. 10. Big support network (IT, creative services, etc.). 11. Teaches you to be calm and in control.

Cons

OK, I'm going to be discussing all the taboo things, and there are a lot of them. In spite of these cons, I still admit it's worth a five star rating. 1. High performers are "designated" (you have very little control over your rating) by the partner group (can be a pro if you get selected. Seriously, I have worked with some of the supposed "fives" and they are not any different than my threes and fours. 2. Quality is extremely low. Sometimes I felt like I was working at McDonalds and not a professional services firm. The emphasis is on getting through work as fast as possible and expectations for quality are not realistic. 3. EY has a very hard time firing bad employees. If you get stuck with one it can be a nightmare. 4. EY has a heavy emphasis on wasting time. For example, there are lots and lots of checklists which have no value that you have to fill out. Also, they wasted money and time on creating "Canvas" which is literally slower and more awkward than the previous workspace tool, GAMX. There is a heavy emphasis on "reinventing the wheel" and fixing problems that aren't broken with even worse solutions. Instead of wasting money on useless tools, that money could have been spent on your employees in the form of compensation. Like I said, EY is really focused on attempting to look as though value is being created when in fact it is not. 5. Lots of meetings. Appearances are very important. 6. Employees on global 360 accounts get better treatment. 7. Some employees (executives mostly) tend to overemphasize how important this work is. Let's face it, if it was really glorious work then we would have action figures. 8. Looks are very important. Seriously, if you are a girl, you will get promoted based on how hot you are (the quality of your work is largely unimportant). If you are a guy, you are treated a little better but there is still a sexist undercurrent in the environment. This is advice you won't get from HR obviously, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 8. You will be forced to eat hours. 9. Your ethical compass will start to get weaker. 10. You will get a little cynical. 11. Lots of driving and travel. 12. "Family men" and married couples with children are more likely to be promoted. If you want to be a partner, you have to be married (few exceptions). 13. You will work on vacations. 14. Loss of relationships with family and friends. 15. Some backstabbing and credit-stealing (but not very common). 16. Comp is below market but that's to be expected. 17. Employee retention is not something management is interested in. This makes you replaceable and expendable (yes even as a manager, unless you have been "designated" as a high performer by the partner group).

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