Canstar Reviews

Pros

Good work-life balance, good leadership, and great working conditions

Cons

Only real con due to the size of the company, career progression maybe limited

Pros

Canstar is very flexible with hours, work from home and time off as I experienced in my position. The culture is social - there are lots of morning teas, nibbles, arvo drinks, etc. and it makes for a casual, friendly environment. There are lots of perks like subsidised massages and they're always coming up with new employee incentives and addressing things like pay and more hard benefits. I reported to really good people whom I respect, found the exec team to be down to earth and sincere, and even got to travel. So I can say I recommend both the Brisbane and the Sydney office! It's a young culture but as it grows more experienced people are being recruited. I've had a good experience at Canstar, met some really great people and I would recommend them as an employer.

Cons

I don't agree with previous posts about a boys club or the comments about the executive team. There are a lot of really influential female and male leaders within the business and the staff is split equally.

Advice to Management

I have let management know any issues I experienced and they've always been super understanding and supportive. If you go to them directly with challenges, they really are an open book.

Pros

Free breakfast and people are friendly for the most part. The office spaces are nice even though they get noisy. There is a team to blame most of the time but if its not the most likeable person complaining no one does anything to stop it. I reckon everything will go well for you if you keep your head down and get through until you can get a good job. Don't let the great place to work ads fool you.

Cons

No real potential for career progression Low pay Low-intellect micromanagers No real training or development unless your a graduate in finance Incompetent digital Everyone sticks to their own teams and complains about the others Outlook doesn't look good

Advice to Management

What's the point? You have no idea what is going on.

Pros

For the most part I enjoyed my time here. The work and major projects are, for the most part, interesting. The people you work with will become your friends and there is a lively atmosphere with something always going on, so socially you are never bored. Most (Stress, most) people are easy to get along with and collegiate, making cross-team cohesion good. The office spaces are bright, comfortable and clean, and the company opened floor 22 at the right time as floor 21 was bursting at the seams with staff overflow. When staff from another building moved back to 143 Turbot there were some cultural clashes, but most issues have been ironed out. You will likely become more financially literate working here, which is a plus. Many people have gone from intern - casual - full time fairly quickly, giving graduates an opportunity. This makes for an incredibly young workforce, but still, the opportunities are there. If you can drown out the noise (both literally and figuratively) and just focus on your work, you will likely have a great time here.

Cons

Employer 1: Are there any genuine promotion opportunities or staff retention efforts? The turnover rate seems kinda high. Canstar: Did you say ‘free pizza’? Employer 2: What about a good paternity leave policy? Canstar: There are ‘subsidised’ massages Employer 3: I want to negotiate my salary without it being a painstaking process Canstar: Be quiet and eat your Birthday Morning Tea sausage roll Employer 4: I feel like the goal sheet process could be quicker and less rigid. Canstar: Sounds like you’re begging for a ‘2’ in your ‘Cultural Contribution’ rating Employer 5: Salaries seem a little low compared to similar companies, what gives? Canstar: PING PONG TABLE Employer 6: What about genuine training opportunities so I can upskill and be a better member of the team? Canstar: We have, like, 3-hour digital marketing conferences, remember to get your coffee order in and LinkedIn photo for it! You get the picture.

Advice to Management

Ask yourselves why turnover rate is so high, it's incredible. The free food and other fringe 'benefits' only go so far with employee satisfaction

Pros

It’s very social, some incredible managers (in the wider marketing team, not sure about other departments), and if you have a solid manager like I had you will have clear career progression. You can also choose the training path you want to go down with budget allocated for conferences and training. Would recommend Canstar as a great place to work!

Cons

Very ROI focused, which can sometimes impact innovation.

Pros

I enjoyed my time at Canstar and it had the usual pieces of office politics and things that are difficult, but it was no more than most other work places. The company is going well and growing but has a few problems associated with that. All in all it's a pretty decent place to work. There's a lot of bad reviews on here that essentially come from losers and freaks who are bitter at their employer, but take no responsibility for their own career paths. They simply can't believe that working in a data driven finance company just is never going to be that thrilling, unless you're in a higher position. They have an appalling (and galling) lack of understanding of the company's position in the market. They expect to be paid through the roof despite working average hours, and, to be frank, being below average intelligence. They can't understand why they are not paid high end wages like the big end of town. Newsflash, this company is not the big end of town, its small but growing. But, if you have actual talent and intelligence, you could work at a company that pays more. But you don't. So maybe work harder. The internal reviews of the company actually score far better than here- so prospective employees should realise that the people leaving bad reviews on here are a self selecting minority of people that have never taken responsibility for anything they've ever done in their life and are intransigent to the suggestion that maybe, they ain't all that great. They also can't understand that promotion opportunities here need some decent qualifications. You're most likely going to be promoted by leaving the firm, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Cons

Biggest con is because the company is growing so rapidly its culture is changing, and arguably becoming less collegiate. In terms of salaries, which will never compete with the big end of town, some honesty would probably be valued. Instead of putting out pseudo-benefits like free food, and filling up LinkedIn posts with posts full of sycophants, just be honest and tell people they just are not worth above market wages (because, believe me, they aren't). In terms of benefits, I'd always rather being paid more than being given a big mac meal or something as a prize for coming second, but all the fake stuff just rubs it in. At times, the entire conduct of this appears superficial and dishonest, which destroys crucial trust between employees. The best way to build trust between employees back up is to communicate honestly and listen. Meetings are also a large waste of time, but I can understand them as they're necessary to explain and listen to the low-intellects that are complaining below.

Pros

I work in IT at Canstar and am approaching my 3rd month. Can hands down say Canstar is a great place to work, from the beers at 4pm on a Friday to the great co workers, monthly massages and occasional morning brekfasts/lunches held. Aside from the great culture, the work amount is spot on - not too much to be stressed, but not too little to be looking to kill time. Also a pro that Canstar are willing to invest into you and your studies, and are happy to help you learn other skills at your time here.

Cons

The office temperature swings alot, I tend to keep a jumper at my desk just in case.

Advice to Management

My direct manager is great, she mentors me and helps me learn the skills I need to do for certain tasks - even though sometimes im completely lost being new she is very helpful and patient. The executives are honestly great leaders in the business, especially coming from a company where if you'd pass an exec you'd try and turn the other way. Great that the execs are so friendly and approachable, will even get a beer in with you on a Friday afternoon

Pros

Canstar has a positive and personal culture. Nearly all employees are friendly and encouraging. Canstar also has plenty of little perks that make work fun, such as birthday morning teas, celebratory lunches and cheap massages. Canstar also offers a great work-life balance and is usually pretty flexible with alternative working arrangements.

Cons

The remuneration is unimpressive and there is no real possibility of career progression. The company is disorganised and lacks foresight - as an example, employees are currently spread across two neighbouring buildings after we ran out of room in our first building. The small business culture at Canstar is also rapidly declining and there is an air of elitism, particularly among executives.

Advice to Management

Management should realise that while the little perks are nice, they are relatively superficial if employees don't feel respected in other regards, particularly remuneration and promotion opportunity.