A mess all around - Manager Iris Data Services Employee Review

This was my experience as of early 2014. I started in 2011. Some of the positive reviews on here would have you believe that the negative reviews are because the reviewer wasn't enough of a self starter or a hard enough worker to succeed at Iris. That is simply not true. I inserted myself into every training opportunity available, worked my way up through the company into a management position, and was still miserable. Here's why: -No formal training. Employees hoard information, so some end up sitting idle while others are overworked. The process in production for working with the data involves following hundreds of checklists. Since employees are taught which buttons to press instead of the context of what they are doing, they can't anticipate problems that fall outside of the normal process. Then, when mistakes are made, management berates the employees. -Speaking of the process, it is entirely "Iris-ized." The way the tools are used, the many proprietary tools, the Iris buzz words, and the lack of education about the larger e-discovery context means that someone who works only in production will not be able to take the skills learned and apply them to another e-discovery company. This is only getting worse as the process becomes more automated (though automation is great for speed and lowering mistakes.) -No respect for work/life balance. Worked many holidays- not just labor day, etc, but Christmas and Thanksgiving. Frequently worked 9-10 hour days, drove home, and got online to work some more. Those who stick to their schedule (often parents) are looked down upon and made fun of by management. I know, because I was in management meetings. Managers, most of whom were men making 6 figures with stay at home wives, couldn't seem to understand why a mother in production making $14 an hour would need to leave on time to pick up her children from day care. Iris is a terrible place for families! -Environment. Most of the people I worked with were fantastic. However, especially in my early days when I was still learning, more seasoned employees were allowed to berate and humiliate me when mistakes were made. Mistakes are recorded as "errors" and picked over in front of the entire production department weekly. Employees with a lot of knowledge are put up on a pedestal and treated like they can do no wrong, so others are subject to their tantrums, which often included yelling, stomping, cursing, and throwing things. Managers are no better. In fact, their entitlement to behave however they please is much worse. The entire time you work there, you are in a state of panic. Every job is a priority. Every mistake is a tragedy. -Lack of planning. Departments, structure, and management are always changing. No clear vision. The goal was to sell the company. Now it's sold. Congrats. That's not something the employees can mobilize behind. The solution to all problems is to hire more people, but the client demands grow quicker than the work force, and as mentioned above, more people with no training is little help. In fact, it's a hindrance. -Competition between departments. Poor communication. Lots of blaming between departments for mistakes. No sense of solidarity, even though each department relies on the others for a successful product. -Yes sir environment. Whatever the client wants, the client is promised. Our tools don't do that? No problem, send it to tech services, they'll write a tool that will. But we need it in 2 hours because the job is due in 8. Only one person knows that process? No problem, they can just work overtime. Oh, they had a commitment? Well, obviously not to Iris! The sales people don't understand the process production has to go through to accomplish things, and so promises things that are just not realistic. -Bad place for women. I'm not scared of being identified. I was the first person to go on maternity leave in the company's history. Their solution to my absence was to dissolve the department I headed. When I returned, I was left to my own devices to find a place to pump breast milk. It was suggested that I go across the hall to another company. The "project coordinator" group, which is touted as a gateway to being a project manager, is staffed entirely by women. They are offered measly hourly rates or salaries that are shameful- in the 20ks. This group monitors emails and phone calls, sends scripted responses to inquiries, crafts reports, and stays on the project managers about unaddressed problems and upcoming deadlines. They are VITAL to the process, but they are paid terribly. And since they start so low, even if they do advance to a project manager, they are making pennies. Meanwhile, men are hired in straight to project management positions and paid in the upper 80s and triple digits. All the execs are men despite many qualified and talented women. -Pay and benefits. Many people who have never had a serious office job before are hired into production and are thrilled with the $14 a hour. it seems astronomical. But as you get more knowledgeable, you realize that data analysts at other companies using the same tools (though in different ways) are salaried. As you work your way up, the pay again seems decent, until you realize that there are several large handfuls of people are making six digits while everyone else scrounges for the remains. As the company brags about its profits, employees are working overtime to complete too much work for too little money. Those salaries that seem generous are piddly when you break them down hourly after all the overtime. Meanwhile, the benefits are only okay, there's no paid FMLA leave, and people are working holidays left and right.