Pros
My colleagues not in leadership or management roles are kind, hardworking, collaborative, resourceful, and intelligent. The connections I've made at Forrester support my growth and wellbeing beyond the workplace alone.
Cons
If I could give this sorry excuse of a company zero stars, I would. Even 1 star feels too generous for Forrester. This company and its once great culture have gone to hell in a handbasket at the hands of an incompetent CEO and board. Neither party is being held accountable for their failure to establish a successful (or truly profitable) product and strategy. The consequences that have cascaded from their inability to make effective strategic decisions in the best interest of the company have leveled any and all trust and respect we once had for Forrester and what it stands for. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, here for anyone anymore. We used to pride ourselves on being customer obsessed, but that's been replaced with an obsession on "contract value" or CV. This has driven Forrester to the point of ignoring our own credible research and analysts, our client's needs, and our own employees' wellbeing and instead push a half-baked product like Forrester Decisions (FD) down clients' throats. This is so egregiously short-sided because no one wants FD. Not only is FD overpriced and not wanted, but it requires internal resources that our obliterated and demoralized workforce cannot deliver on. We're already doing about twice as much work at a measly fraction of what we deserve and are properly owed. Morale only continues on its unending death spiral due to: -- Our third round of layoffs in 13 months that has seen about 350 employees let go. -- A company-wide pause on all promotions, raises, and bonuses (for the second time in 12 months). -- A pay cut up to 20% for all of those with variable compensation in their salary package, like those who are in consulting. -- An unusually disproportionate amount of work displaced due to layoffs and attrition that has had to be redistributed and eviscerated any semblance of work-life balance we once had. -- A renege on our Anywhere Work policy and forcing employees to return to office 3x/week to maintain and exchange so-called "energy" (no one seems to know what this "energy" means, by the way). This has, in effect, burdened office employees to take on increased time and money costs for parking, transportation, and arranging for child/elder/family/pet care all the while alienating remote workers entirely. -- Leaders and executives that are so far out of touch with reality and tone deaf in how they communicate (or fail to) openly, honestly, and transparently and instead deny, gaslight, or spew toxic positivity. -- A Chief People Officer role that has been vacant not once but twice with the interim Chief People Officer not set up for success either time. This persistent vacancy coupled with an interim that is not empowered to be a true decision-maker speaks volumes as to how little the company values its people. I’m no conspiracy theorist, but it’s hard to not perceive this as intentional on the executive and board’s part. -- A general air of unease and anxiety around job security given layoffs have happened so frequently and are so poorly executed upon and communicated to the rest of the organization - when layoffs and organization changes occur, they are highly distracting as the news travels throughout the organization and we're all then expected to join urgent, important, and time sensitive meetings at the last minute. This leads to us having to reprioritize everything to play catch up. Or, just sob at the sorry state of things or the latest bout of bad news to be honest. If you are thinking of applying for an open role here, don't. If you are a Forrester employee and hoping to ride out the uncertainty, get your head out of the sand. I know we're all angry but we need to channel that into something productive. It's time to update your resume, reach out to your contacts, and use that unlimited PTO as much as you can until you find another opportunity that truly values you. If you are a leader or executive, shame on you. If you are a member of the board, have you completely forgotten about your fiduciary duty? Or are you too much of a coward to stand up to George considering owns about 40% of the company's share? Either way, you are a joke. Forrester stock has and, at this rate, will continue to perform poorly and be undervalued. I’m not surprised our own board member, Rob Galford, sold 13,000 shares just a few days ago. I sincerely hope you all come to your senses and finally give George the ax, which is something that should have been done long, long ago. Boy, bye.
