Pros
- Laid back atmosphere - WFH Policy - finally joined the revolution just as I was leaving, too little too late -Lack of dress code (Markit was once very much business formal (aside from technical teams, IHS acquisition meant that its casual style will eventually win and it did) - Flexi Benefits+Credits scheme- subsidize/pay for gym and healthcare - Retail perks through a scheme - Ropemaker is a decent location for commute -If you joined as a director with a base salary that you are happy to receive (for the foreseeable future as payrises are pretty much taboo) - you can coast via rest+vest until you retire if you keep away from responsibilities and take minimal calculated risks (i.e WFH a lot, go gym for 2 hours, have pointless meetings and just collectively waste time, etc) -Generally very good people at junior and mid-levels, albeit with low morale -Paid volunteering days
Cons
Much of what my original review (during my employment) still stands today when I eventually left in Q3 2018.This is confirmed by all of my peers which I have kept in contact with. Having finally left, here are my thoughts after 5 years. Directorship - its like a broken dream and is a coveted title to have in the company, most people who managed to get it (usually politics or friend of a friend) or joined as directors are keeping themselves to themselves and are very quiet when it comes to people management, promotions etc because if you muddy the waters just a little bit it will come back to you eventually either via redundancy, much lower bonus or god forbid micromanagement from the top. All chiefs and no indians approach - still stands, CEO still insists that directors are the ones to push the company forward. Promotion - also a broken dream for many - most of my peers have been with the company for 4,5,7 years. Only peers that have been at least 8+ are eligible to apply for a directorship, last years shambles of a leveling exercise ensured that there will be no transparency as to who gets what title and who gets paid what for whichever title they are assigned, leading to toxicity when it comes to pay discussion, people finding out their peers pay packets and general animosity towards others within the same department, often technically on lower levels receiving a vastly different salary (often at a great excess or a great deficit) as it stands on corporate ladder. Culture shock - Markit and IHS cultures are vastly different, from go-getters and entrepreneurs to retirement home execs that have been shy and retiring for the past 15 years but still manage to cling on to their shares waiting for that big payday. There is a large age variation between employees at the same level with a humongous differences in take-home pay scales. Line Management - if your LM is a director and he has 2 or 4 people reporting to them, then you can also forget promotion opportunities as these people do not have a specific team to manage, they are simply assigned a number of people to be kept as a checkbox for the title they are given. They have no real interest or indeed powers required to push and promote excelling employees, there is no year end review as such and all appraisals are done just for tickbox bureaucrats at the HR (which was disbanded after the failed leveling exercise of 2018), the whole process is often labelled as a joke internally that you need to complete in order to avoid never ending emails from HR nagging. Lost sense of urgency - after the announcement of WFH as you please, the office has become a much quieter place, often a ghost town - does that mean people,process,technology has improved ? Not at all, service desk staff for e.g never got the memo, its always one rule for some and a different rule for the others . High turnover - my entire department has disbanded in a space of a month and a bit, with only 2 people remaining - the remaining peers are now doing exactly what all other directors are doing, sitting there quietly and secretly hoping for a big redundancy paycheck when it comes. Redundancy culture - every November there is a wave of redundancies or an announcement that part of a business is being sold off due to recent acquisition etc. Voluntary redundancy is offered but within reason, some of my peers were not granted permission to do so. Employee survey - pure fake news, mythical numbers are still around, totally absurd. Nepotism - still runs rife through the very heart of the company - Markit and IHS OGs using their boys club privileges to re-hire people that left many moons ago once those people have climbed to executive ladder. Liberal propaganda - a lot of lib/ progressive messages are plastered all over the office with regards to controversial views, be it LGBTQ+ celebrations and staff programs, gender identity etc, this is despite the fact that gender pay gap at IHS is very very real, traditionally minded and/or conservative employees are usually laughed at and disregarded