The bad: Leadership has made a series of short-sighted decisions over the years in an effort to survive a declining industry. There have been many significant rounds of layoffs combined with weak communication (although leadership likes to stress the importance of transparency, so I’m not sure where the disconnect is there). As of late this has had the opposite of the intended effect: profitable teams and processes are broken, and it takes longer to adjust and get going with new and confusing structures. People can’t come up for air long enough to even execute their work before there’s another layoff. Over the years, people have been forced to repeatedly absorb the roles of laid-off teammates for no additional pay. It has become clear that some of the more botched re-orgs were the result of a lack of proper research into our work and teams, and a couple of certain higher-ups continue to move through the ranks despite never seeming to get the organizational structure right throughout the years.
The pay: We are told that compensation is measured against the industry to remain competitive, but that’s only the case when you look at direct competition. Within the edTech space as a whole, many roles here earn 25%+ less. In addition to the salaries, certain reimbursements or benefits for remote employees have been removed, vital software or work processes are taken away to cut costs, and there is less investment into people.
When I started this was a great company to work for with extremely hard-working employees with amazing track records, only to be later rewarded with surprise layoffs almost every year. Upon realizing what Cengage really thinks of its employees, as well as the struggling industry as a whole (not that the company’s treatment of its employees is an excuse, but it's a factor), it’s impossible to ignore the slowly sinking ship. The best aspect, currently, is the remote work flexibility. However, since many companies are offering this now, I’m not sure it’s quite the competitive advantage it used to be.
