ADP Totalsource an extremely difficult sale and working environment - District Manager ADP Employee Review

2.0
3 Jan 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Big company with fortune 500 benefits. Numerous divisions to work for to enhance career growth. Great company to work for right out of college. Training is excellent and ADP looks great on your resume. Good suite of product offerings. In THEORY having multiple partners (Payroll, Majors, Resource and TotalSource) helps the sales process and its easy to shift to one product or the other depending on client needs.

Cons

Cons are centered specifically on ADP TotalSource- *Having multiple partners that have zero accountability is a challenge. *Anytime something is sold especially very large deals, people seem to come out of the woodwork demanding a split. *Not only outside competition but internal competition between BUs. ADP employees will steer people away from TotalSource to benefit themselves. SBS Payroll, will try to make the client take payroll first and then "double dip" and bring in TotalSource when that might not be what is best for the client. *Policies are enforced at managements will. In other words if youre a favorite, policies are simple to get around and manipulate. If youre not a favorite policies are the law. *Somewhere along the way management forgot to manage people and only manages to numbers. *Management is completely unprofessional. Everyday there is something that could be an HR issue. Very much do as I say not as I do and certainly not a lead by example environment. *Very difficult sale- Only owners can make the true decision and small business owners are a difficult group of people to work with overall. Many people in a small businesses feel as if TotalSource is coming to take their job. True or not its a tough objection to overcome. *The companies that need TotalSource the most are too risky and ADP will not write them. ADP Totalsource turns down 50% of the companies that say yes. *Politics, Politics, Politics- play the game or get left behind in the dust *Overly obsessed with meetings- there are meetings about meetings about meetings *Everything seems to be the flavor of the week. Massive fire drills to get things done at the last minute for projects that are a huge focus today, but a week from now will be completely forgotten. * Antiquated sales techniques- An example would be Bottom Line drops. You are expected quarterly to drop magazines off to business owners unsolicited. *Management is completely out of touch and tries to rule from intimidation and public humiliation *Forced dials on "in-house" days lead to multiple people calling the same person multiple times a day. *Siloed divisions and access to only your territory in SalesForce make partnering inefficient and ineffective. *Management is trained to ignore you if you have an issue and revert to policy *Commissions are uncapped, however its very difficult to make a lot of money after your first year. Commissions are structured to highly incentivize those that are over quota. Its difficult to reach quota and whether you do or do not your quota takes massive increases every year, making it harder and harder to make money. *Average tenure is pretty short very few people in the Chicago market have been there longer then three years. Overall I found this to be one of the more difficult sales jobs Ive had in my career. The amount of time and effort put into a sales process that 85% of the time leads to a no, coupled with the amount of money that can be made and the amount of stress all levels of management put you through it doesnt really even out.

Explore other reviews about ADP

5.0
27 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very stable organization with secure income earning opportunities.

Cons

No company is perfect but I do not have any specific cons I expect to apply to all.

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ADP Response
1mo
Thank you for the fantastic review! We are thrilled that you love working at ADP and appreciate the positive feedback you have shared.
1.0
4 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Resume Gold! Having the name on your resume opens doors because people know you can survive a high-volume, high-complexity environment. That’s where the benefits end.

Cons

Pay: It’s a joke. They expect specialized, expert-level work and deep tax knowledge for a base salary that is way below the market. They use the big name as an excuse to underpay you. Work/Life Balance: You are never truly off. To hit the impossible quotas, people are forced to work off the clock just to keep up. Management knows this is the only way the work gets done, but they look the other way so they don't have to address the workload. Management: They are manipulative and not leaders. Instead of helping with the workload, they use moving goalposts and vague promises of growth to keep you running. There is no advocacy for employees. Make sure to get everything in writing. Some get amnesia. Quantity over Quality: It’s a sweatshop for data. You’re forced to rush through complex setups just to hit a Go-Live count to appease Sales. Accuracy is key, but it often takes a backseat to volume, which is a nightmare for anyone who cares about doing the job right. No Room to Grow: There is no real way to move up. ADP is a lateral move company, and that’s only if your management doesn’t stand in your way and prevent you from leaving for another internal team.

2
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ADP Response
1w
Hello and thank you for providing your insight into your experience working for ADP. ADP prides itself on creating and maintaining a workplace where employees work in a professional environment and are treated fairly. We appreciate your feedback and advice and we would like to hear more about your specific situation so that we can review your concern completely. Please contact our Associate Relations team at 1-877-878-4811 or hr.associate.relations@adp.com
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