Beware - unbelievably bad - Producer Canadian Institute Employee Review

1.0
27 Nov 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Convenient downtown location - location is good for travel from the island.

Cons

It’s almost unbelievable how awful this company really is. Many staff are very junior, so likely don’t know better yet, anyone who has worked for even a mediocre organization will move on quickly. The red flags are immediate the second you arrive onsite. Senior management is extremely weak, across all business functions. Marketing practices are very out of date/non-existent, zero understanding of digital marketing and content marketing practices (basically anything outside of direct mail and very, very poorly written ad-hock emails). The marketing and sales teams actually pushed back on collateral development, basic copy writing for the audience, and social media - this should be enough to make any competent professional run for the hills. Sales/sponsorship reminded me of stereotypical used car salesmen tactics, no understanding of relationship based selling, zero integrity, delivery/fulfillment is even worse. Strategy is not part of the culture, or understood, at any level. The level of arrogance within the executive team is astonishing given the poor and outdated quality of the events and business models. Any sponsors, speakers, delegates or staff that speak up are actively and openly discredited within the company. There is no infrastructure to support a business of this size in today’s day and age - just look at the NEW website! That’s what is customer facing, imagine how much worse it must be internally, and then multiply it by 100. No CRM, no basic tracking tools, horrible customer database and zero understanding of how to grow a database. Anyone with new ideas or more experience than the senior team will be shut down and/or discredited. With the exception of a small (very small) group of staff, mostly from the Production team, the skills base at this organization is very, very limited. There is a lot of internal tension amongst the different business lines, unclear direction amongst executive team (of 3), zero accountability, no quality control, no mentorship to build teams and skills, defensive and arrogant management team, old dirty building and office space using very, very outdated equipment.... it really doesn’t get any worse. Management team openly discussed health issues of the owner and other employees, yet HR does nothing.

Explore other reviews about Canadian Institute

3.0
5 Jun 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fantastic co-workers Work from home environment

Cons

Complete lack of training, management has their own agenda.

5.0
8 Mar 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Overall a positive environment. I value the independence, management allowing me to do my job. Team members who really care about each other and work together to achieve a shared purpose/goal.

Cons

Have agendas for meetings, that way staff knows what is going to be discussed, less time guessing what will be discussed. Reduce the email noise. Take the time to create concise emails. Read colleagues emails... we have so much information coming in, sometimes we do not read emails.

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