Data Recognition Corporation Reviews

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Good health benefits, 3% of salary as a yearly bonus

Cons – Inept managers, poor processes, antiquated systems, toxic atmosphere, very unhappy workers

Advice to Senior Management – Management needs training on how to manage people/projects, perfect example of the Peter Principle.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation full-time for less than a year

Pros – Casual atmosphere, a clean quiet environment, and very good team leaders, this is about as good as possible given the kind of mind numbing work that it is. At least in my case the work lasted the expected full month, with some variety as they kept switching us in and out of similar projects to even out workloads with other groups. Interesting dynamics as educated people got into meeting the goal, and would have serious discussions about what 11-year olds really meant in their essays so that they could be properly graded.

Cons – Pathetic pay, but then no one looks at this as a career. It's not a con, but interesting to note that by and large the workforce seems to be split between those just out of college and those largely past full-time careers; the two groups seem to get along very well--it's an educated workforce and everyone knows this is a temporary situation, so no one gets possessive about their position.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay readers just a little more; a similar company in the Twin Cities is at $13/hour. I don't know what team and project leaders make, but mine were good and probably deserve more. Having end of project surveys on them is a good idea, but at we were in a vacuum so far as management was concerned. At least some sort of minimal communication with the readers explaining the value of their work might be a slight morale booster. The requirement that people get up and move around every 2 hours is an excellent idea. Healthier snacks in the vending machine would be another asset. Finally, an idea on how one can move up if they come back enough times and do well might increase long-term retention.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation part-time for less than a year

Pros – Very laid-back atmosphere, very relaxed dress code (blue jeans, t-shirts), and no corporate culture. Everyone basically gets along, and there is very little in the way of politics. Team leaders are good at conveying how to score items, and demonstrate incredible patience.

Cons – Low pay for the amount of work (a number of people have experience as educators, either in grade or high school, even in college) - DRC is an enormous pay cut. Somewhat thankless - you might get free ice cream once in a while - but management is really bad at communicating how long a project might last. If you're hired for three weeks, plan on two weeks, and maybe another day or so beyond that. You're generally committing for a project that won't last nearly as long as you are being told. They offer plenty of disclaimers about this on the paperwork you'll sign, but generally you are made to believe a project will last for its duration, only to be told one day that it is ending sooner than expected.

As another reviewer said, take another job if you can get it. This place is great for retirees, people just out of college, or people who have just lost their job and need income. Just don't plan on making this into a long-term job.

Advice to Senior Management – Realize that your test scorers don't want to be told how important they are by scoring directors and HR personnel who don't know the names of their own employees - they want to be treated with respect and honesty. If you know a project won't last as long as the advertised period of time, just say so. You would go a long way in saving a lot of people a bunch of stress.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation part-time for less than a year

Pros – Generally have work available in spring. You select areas based on your interest/strengths, ie Math, English, Composition, Writing etc. Option to go beyond standard 32 hour week.

Cons – Fairly intense concentration and interpretation focus required all day. There are breaks. Although college degree is required, pay is around $12/hr.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Data Recognition Corporation part-time

Pros – The day-to-day work with other seasonal employees is great. Opportunity to make some good friends while bringing home a small paycheck every now and then. For the most part it's a low-stress work environment. You have the chance to put in a good day's work and yet not take work home with you.

Cons – There's been a definite trend the last few years of the full-time management disregarding how their business practices affect its seasonal employee work force, and the expectations are rather unilateral. They want you to commit to working a project til it's completion and yet, in the last couple years, most projects are ending way earlier than what they say they will. In the last year, management has even begun sending people home mid-week due to poor planning on its part, or perhaps for hidden ulterior motives. There are more and more examples of them bringing employees in to work for x-number of weeks and then employees getting one or two days here and one or two days of work there. The problem with this is that many employees are turning down other possible job opportunities with the expectation they will receive 35 or so hours/week (830-4pm) only to get piece meal work from DRC. Not to mention people skip vacations, doctor visits, etc. in order to be at work, only to be sent right back home because there is no work that day or week.

If thinking about working here, definitely think twice, especially if you have other options. The job and the potential pay for seasonal employment looks attractive on paper and in the interview, but it's a different story in real life. A project they say will last 3 weeks may in fact end a week early and if they have not planned properly, you may come in one day at 830 only to be sent back home by noon, or worse, told that you will not be working for the next 1 or 2 days at all. If an apology and a thanks is all you require to be okay with being jerked around like that, DRC is your place to work.

This is definitely an employers' job market right now, and DRC seems to be using that to its full advantage.

Advice to Senior Management – Decisions made in your office affect real people with real lives, real bills, real expectations. You have a loyal seasonal workforce, but you are using up your goodwill with how you are treating us with the business decisions you are making. When you give people a 15 minute notice that they are being sent home for the rest of the week because there is no more work (for whatever reason), you are showing you don't care that some of us turned down other job opportunities, or passed on vacations or delayed doctor visits in order to commit to working on a project.....with the expectation of getting work. I have seen decisions made by your management all just to save 8 dollars/reader even though we were coming in for partial work weeks (and that's not what the commitment is on the project reminder cards) to complete a project by your deadline. "Thank you for your hard work" and "Thank you for your patience on this difficult project" comments are abundant from the full-time management, but words are cheap. The actual decisions that you are making and how they affect your work force's day-to-day lives are what make a real impact. Currently, they are perceived as quite negative. More and more your seasonal employees are feeling like mushrooms and that management wants us to feel and know that we are all very easily replaced. You are doing a good job of communicating it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation as a contractor for less than a year

Pros – Thorough training. Very close supervision. Nice organization to work for. Supervisors will work with employees about employee performance.

Cons – Some divisions only hire temporary

Advice to Senior Management – Very good management style

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Data Recognition Corporation

Pros – Hard working culture; great benefits, wellness programs, vacation time; and friendly work environment. Growing company with supportive managers and staff. Fairly flat organization.

Cons – Salary is average to below average compared to comparable positions in the Twin Cities area. Should be more opportunities for professional development and continuing education.

I have been working at Data Recognition Corporation as a contractor for more than a year

Pros – DRC pays on time and payments are accurate.

Cons – The management is very clock conscious (at least in the grading environment). Every minute counts especially coming back from breaks or first thing in the morning. Employees are expected to be at their seat ready to go 5 minutes before start time.

– I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation as a contractor for less than a year

Pros – They make sure you get your 15 minute breaks and lunch breaks. They are open to comments made and willing to do something about them.

Cons – When scoring projects, you are sitting at a computer straight thru and are in a large open environment with several others.

Advice to Senior Management – Emphasize the no perfumes/lotions due to a large number of staff in one room.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Data Recognition Corporation as a contractor for less than a year

Pros – You work at your own pace while monitoring your stats so you can improve and still maintain accuracy in grading all the tests.

Cons – Very quiet working environment. Library setting, so if you don't like that quiet feel, you may not be too thrilled with your experience.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay increase is needed for the level of monotonous intensity especially since you're dealing with balancing speed and accuracy in scoring all tests.