Bisk Reviews

2.9

37% would recommend to a friend

(403 total reviews)

Mike Bisk

52% approve of CEO

19% positive business outlook

Bisk has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 403 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Bisk employee rating is 22% below average for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

403 reviews
1.0
21 Apr 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I was employed at Bisk Education for nearly 10 years, so I have seen the changes. The benefits and culture have changed for the positive over this time. Things like continuing education (which was once used as a retention tool “no way is this person going to leave now or they will owe us big money”), heath insurance (was a better deal years ago, when we did not get hit with the big deductible like it is now), 401k with match (for now), flexible work hours & work from home (IF you land in the right department & manager) are just some of the benefits that are better for sure.

Cons

The majority of the people are talented and passionate (at first until they are “Bisk-ified”) about what they do. They (not executive leadership) are the reason why the company has grown before the massive layoffs. A lot of people on here tend to dance around the problem and say “leadership” is the problem. Well, that word can take on so many different meanings. The real problem starts with the President of the company due to the lack of direction and decision making by him plain and simple. It then cascades down to the executive team that would not know strategy and execution if it smacked them in the face. The Chief Counsel is now Chief Strategy Officer. Really? How do you make that leap? Outside of a total intervention (which honestly maybe too late), I would highly suggest they read Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” & “Leaders Eat Last”. If you take one single question from Leaders Eat Last, “Did you create a culture that promotes a circle of trust, or did you create a culture that only values results?” you do not need to go any further on how miserably this team has failed. Quite honestly, how the president has failed. Hard to establish a circle of trust when the president of the company allows his wife (a self-proclaimed expert) to be put in a leadership/ownership position with no clear direction to the company. I doubt that even the executive team knows what the direction is, but they are way too scared to ask what her role is. Let’s not forget the “dream team” of customer experience experts that have come in and just go around asking “why”. No clear direction to the company on what their roles and responsibilities are, yet they come in and disrupt because that is what the president has read is the new trend on LinkedIn and in silicone valley . It could also be the hiring of consultants as full time employees as they leapfrog other talented and hardworking individuals that have been there for many years and have given their dedication to the company. Last but not least the dismissal of the entire creative team (30 people, yep changing people’s lives alright) due to “poor performance”. No direction given from above on what performance was, but fire them anyway. And this is just from the executive level, as we have not talked about the political playing, back stabbing, finger pointing, non-accountable, non-commutative toxic culture the Sr. leadership displays. Can’t blame them though, look who is mentoring them? Instead of coming on here (and other review sites) and posting fake positive reviews (you know the ones on here that get a few to none “helpful” votes), or creating a new brand (You Tube Called - They Like Their Play Button Back) and website to try to hide the issues, you should look at fixing the issues internally so that the employees are your advocates and post positive reviews that mean something. No worries though, I expect this post to get the generic reply from HR that “thanks me for my review and knows that change can be very difficult” response. Maybe this review does not get that? Does that mean what is being said is true? Honestly, the company should be very thankful that Tampa has a very small job market or many more people would leave on their own.

avatar
Bisk Response
10y
I’m very sorry to hear that you’ve had a negative experience at Bisk Education. Our company is in a transitional phase, and unfortunately, we’ve had to make some tough, strategy-based decisions that have understandably affected the morale of some of our employees. We’re looking optimistically toward the future, and are working hard to make make improvements in many areas, ranging from daily transparency to compensation. Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective, and for your hard work in helping us reach our goals.
1.0
28 Feb 2016

Oh Bisk.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company is around the corner from the casino, so you can go during lunch and forget about how miserable your job is. But don't spend too much money because you might be fired soon when your manager throws you under the bus. But as long as you are in the marketing department, take as long as you need for lunch because working less is fine as long as you are sucking up to the right person at the right time.

Cons

I've worked at Bisk for years and the current environment is the worst it's ever been, by far. But people pretend the environment is the best ever. I know this sounds weird so let me explain how it all works. Ok so you go into one of the usual useless meetings, multiple times per day. Everyone's like: "This place is the best!" "We're going to change so many lives today!" "Imagine what we can do now that we all communicate!" "This company really cares!" "We're totally executing now!" "Go Agile!" "Give me some more of that 4DX, I love it!" "I love you man!" "No I love you man!" "I love Bisk" "Man, don't you love this new direction of the company?" " I love serving our university partners. I love serving the student. Really I'm just full of love for all things Bisk." ....And then everyone gets back to their desks. Then you hear: "This place sucks!" "How's your job search going?" "I hate her. I hate him." "I don't really like him at all." "You think I'm going to get fired today?" "Do you think he will get fired today?" "I hope she gets fired today." "Why did I ever start working here?" "I hate my job. I need to make better decisions when looking for jobs." "Sometimes I hate my life." "Do you think I should suck up to him? I hate sucking up but it seems like a winning strategy. Should I commit to that strategy and execute?" "They say I'm supposed to come up with new ideas, but don't they really just want me to agree with whatever my clueless manager already decided ten years ago when he worked in a completely different industry?" "Is my manager honest?" "Who really is my manager?" "Who is he sucking up to?" "Is my manger going to throw me under the bus when his ten year old strategy fails one more time?" "What time is the next meeting?" "What should we do for lunch? I probably shouldn't spend money for lunch because I'll probably get fired when my manager throws me under the bus again." "Oh Bisk."

1.0
30 Mar 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

you can walk around the building when the stress get to be too much

Cons

Most reviews talk about how unprofessional and chaotic the culture is. The following is a fictional conversation based on actual interactions I had with my manager during my time at Bisk. You can expect something similiar: Management: “welcome to Bisk… So youre our new Sr. UI developer?” Me: "Yes I am I have quite a bit of experience in Javascript" Management: “That’s awesome.. well we were highly impressed with your credentials and think your experience is a great for for this project.” Me: “So what project are you assigning me to?” Management: “ well with your background ..we are going to have you dig holes and move dirt” Me: “excuse me” ? Management: “Yeah I know isn’t that exciting?!!" "You picked a great time to join the company.. LOTS of change, so until we get a chance to google a new buzzword of the week that will dictate that change.. we would like you to be a team player by digging holes and moving dirt” Me; “Um ok.. well where can I get a shovel” ? Management ” Why do you need a shovel ? INNOVATE if you can dream it you can do it!! .. now what exactly IS a shovel”? Me: “It’s a pretty common tool used for digging holes and moving dirt” Management “ whoa hang on.. youre talking tools and this digging holes and moving dirt sounds like a BIG PROJECT!!” Me: (smh) "this isn’t that diffi…” Management: “We need to come up with a COOL name for your project.. any suggestions”? Me: (under my breath) “How about 6 feet under.. since this company is dying anyway?” Management: “what was that? Nevermind don’t overthink it.. now go get some poster board, title it and come up with some snazzy metrics” Me: {sigh} “Fine.. then can you issue me a shovel”? Management: “not so fast.. after that we’ll need to have a bunch of meetings to do research and discuss what type of shovel we should issue you” Me: “ its pretty simple actually…” Management “ oh no we cant overlook the requirements!! We better hire some expert consultants to help out since this is obviously a complex issue. But once we are done, then we can have a HUGE town hall meeting so the whole company can ohh and ah about what an awesome shovel it is.” Me: “seriously? To be honest, I think you guys are already shoveling something and it’s not dirt.” Management: “Stop being so negative!! Everybody needs to get along! Oh.. Im sorry.. did I say that out loud? Im sorry let me give you a hug” Me: “No Im good thanks. you know I don’t think this is such a great fit for me. Please accept my resignation. Management: “ Fine… get out of here. We’ll have your supervisor walk you to your car. You’re totally replaceable anyway.. we can get someone else to do it.” Me: “are you sure about that”? Management: Yes why?’ Me “well you fired everyone else and there is no one left” Management: “oh ..well its time to google a new management buzzword anyway”….

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