Large pay disparities across the board and laterally between colleagues in the same role. - Manager IRIS Software Group Employee Review

1.0
10 Jun 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

These are my honest thoughts and there are not many pros to working at IRIS. There are some really good people, but most have to turn up to pay the bills and so smile, pretending they love the company. Free fruit on Tuesdays in some offices.

Cons

The NI payment saved via the employees salary sacrificed pension payment has been reduced by 50%. This was buried in an email that shouted out about the 4% contribution IRIS now makes to an employees pension. This is the statutory minimum IRIS is required to pay! I suspect this has largely gone unnoticed as only a few astute individuals will have picked this up. 4% pension contribution, possible higher in some companies recently acquired, but seriously, this is not going to attract the talent IRIS needs to survive. IRIS wants to be a world class company, striving to be a top 100 company. This is not how you do that. Remuneration is terrible, period. You will not earn good money here at IRIS. There is no share reward schemes. Bonuses have been pretty much cut to 50% as the majority of individuals will only fall into a High Meets Expectation category. The scheme is not transparent and individuals are not allowed to discuss with others. Objectives are subjective and you can do your best and still not achieve them. If you don't get along with your manager, there is no method to appeal or flag flagrant abuse. You're not told how you are doing through-out the year and so if below track, have no way to change or address concerns or debate your point of view. Honestly the system is set in favour of the house. If the company does not meet EBITDA, no bonus, if the company doesn't reach a budget set above its holding company, no bonus. If the CEO can't control his spending on the credit card and buys more companies for inorganic growth, then no bonus. IRIS will use creative accounting to reduce the bonus pot despite employees jumping through a myriad of hoops. A few receive a commensurate salary, but most won't and there are huge pay discrepancies between colleagues working in similar roles. Please don't be condescending, the majority of the staff are degree educated and smart. Most are slaves to their own circumstance or misfortune and thus turn up to work for a meagre wage. Most earn only enough per month that they are essentially trapped. IRIS will never pay enough for people to get ahead or make a real life changing differences, like a new car, that new kitchen or a bonus that would make life not so much of a struggle for the common employee. If life was a little simpler and circumstance a little different , a lot more people will have already voted with their feet and left. There is no career progression, salaries are behind the curve and stagnant. I don't care if I don't have a friend at IRIS. HR are not here to represent the staff member, but instead protect the companies best interest legally.

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IRIS Software Group Response
6y
Hi, Thank you so much for your review. IRIS are proud to be a market leading organisation which invests a huge amount in our workforce each year. Sometimes we acquire companies which are paying only the minimum wage to employees, and on acquisition we ensure that these employees receive an increase to ensure they are in line with the higher real living wage amounts. We are also running a long-term salary benchmarking project to ensure that we are paying competitively against the market in all areas of the business, and we already offer local salary progression programs to recognise skills and experience and reward our upcoming talent, and we plan to roll out such programs more widely in future. We have taken on board the feedback regarding the FY19 bonus plan and the FY20 plan for eligible employees is being completely revamped in line with this feedback. There will be more communications on this in the coming weeks. We also offer a generous rewards package, including free income protection insurance, Vitality health insurance, life insurance, Perks at Work discount site, an Employee Assistance Program, our IMPACT Awards, Season Ticket Loans and many other fantastic benefits which we are proud to offer to all our UK employees. The 50% NI uplift on pension contributions is a generous addition that we offer on top of our employer contributions, which can be used in conjunction with a free pension modeller that provides support to our employees in planning the contributions that they make to be able to enjoy their retirement. We offer flexible working requests as an option for all staff, and we have a large number of part term, term time and remote working arrangements to suit the needs and personal circumstances of our employees. If there is an arrangement you would like to discuss, please reach out to the HR team who can talk you through your options. We continue to run our anonymous engagement survey each year and act on the results, and we have also introduced a wide variety of feedback measures for staff to share their feedback in confidence. Our Chief People Officer, Stephanie Kelly, is also committed to an open and transparent culture, and would welcome the opportunity to speak to you in complete confidence to discuss your concerns. Kind regards HR Team

Explore other reviews about IRIS Software Group

5.0
6 Jan 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I have been with Iris for approximately 5 months and have been incredibly impressed. The people I work with from my peers, leadership (including executive leadership) and my team, are amazing. Building relationships has been easy as most of the employees are open to it, are very collaborative and genuinely want to help! Iris is also focused on equality and ensure we all have a fair opportunity for growth. While we have a lot to do here, it is clear that we are valued.

Cons

As a rapidly growing organization, we have some growing pains and some foundational processes, systems and flow that need to be updated and/or adjusted, but nothing that won't be fixed over time.

5
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IRIS Software Group Response
1y
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We’re delighted that you are enjoying your time at IRIS and recognise all the fantastic things we do for our employees. We’re proud to be a Great Place To Work™, and we’re committed to ensuring that all our amazing employees can bring their full selves to work, grow their career with us, shape our future as a business, and enjoy meaningful work. We’re always looking for ways we can be the best we can be, and we would welcome any further suggestions. Please speak to your HR representative or leave a comment in our next Peakon survey. Kind regards, the HR team
3.0
5 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great product and team. Just no focus on US operations.

Cons

Company has no real direction for US operations.

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