Overly Metriced and stressed environment that is micromanaged from top down - Research Manager CoStar Group Employee Review

2.0
28 Sept 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very good entry level job out of college that pays much better than than most jobs. The benefits are also better than most comparable companies. For RA's this is a 40 hour week job and you don't take your work home. (not same for managers) Great coworkers and nice facilities to work. The company is financial steady and often makes great expansion and investment decisions. CEO is always forward thinking and finding new revenues of income along with staying ahead of technology.

Cons

The metrics are always changing and many quarters the majority of employees do not meet goals set as they are too high and management and they are still raised the following quarter. Metrics do not measure quality of work or customer satisfaction. QA department has tired to measure quality but that always changes and they failed to truely measure an employees work. QA department often tells management how they should conduct research and is too close to truely audit and sample employees work. Those with lower quality are given high cash bonus'. (At times they have also been found later "cheating" the metrics) There is a culture of fear within the organization and at least 30% of the employees (bottom 30) are always fearful of being fired. You can get far within the company if you are favored by upper management but careful this may not last long. The company has a "what have you done for me lately" view on all employees so you can quickly go from being thought of a great employee to one that is headed out the door. Research associates as a whole are treated as the bottom class of the company. Where sales are being given great incentives and have a great environment to work in the research staff is being told they need to watch budget for rewards.

Explore other reviews about CoStar Group

5.0
28 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great experience in a high-level, fast-paced data company. You have to put in the work to learn the job immediately. Prove your skills and learn by doing. Fun companywide events and great campus.

Cons

Some positions require extra work to meet weekly goals.

1
1.0
11 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

401k, medical benefits snacks decent base salary

Cons

Working at CoStar Group was one of the most emotionally exhausting sales environments I’ve experienced. The culture on my team was extremely male-dominated, hyper-competitive, and very much “sink or swim.” Collaboration was talked about constantly by management, but in reality the environment rewarded internal competition, territorial behavior, favoritism, and politics over actual teamwork. As one of the few women on the sales team, I often felt isolated and unsupported. Instead of mentorship or coaching, the expectation was basically: “figure it out yourself.” New hires were thrown into difficult situations with inconsistent training and unrealistic expectations, while certain reps appeared to receive stronger books of business, better territories, or more support than others. It created resentment and a toxic atmosphere where coworkers often felt more like competitors waiting for you to fail than teammates. The turnover was incredibly high, which should have been a red flag. Management pushed aggressive quotas and nonstop pressure while failing to address morale, burnout, or fairness concerns. There was also an unhealthy obsession with leaderboard culture and internal politics that made the workplace feel stressful every single day. What disappointed me most was that I genuinely believed in the product and enjoyed helping clients. Many customers loved working with me, and I built strong relationships. But internally, the environment became mentally draining. The constant competitiveness, lack of support, and toxic culture eventually outweighed the positives of the role.

5
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