I read a review here that says it perfectly in terms of employee engagement and trainer certification. Employee engagement was an issue during my years there and from what people are telling me, it continues to be. A high-ranking person recommended me to help with that initiative given it is my expertise, my past successes and my deep relationships with the people in the company. I reached out to several people including the person heading the initiative, via LinkedIn and email. No reply. That's been a problem for years. You can't get a reply if you are a real live human being. But it is nice to see that they have responded to comments on here.
The trainer certification process out of the NYC location is atrocious, just like other reviews state. One person involved was let go earlier this year. The issue is the person responsible for running that program is still there. She completely wasted my time and the time of others. Though I had coached the class several times and am a trainer, she said I wasn't ready. About 15 other trainers and dozens of students said otherwise. But not her. The reason she gave did not match the recollection of anyone else involved. Not sure if she lied to me or had a personal vendetta. But she rushed through several people who had no training experience whatsoever. One I knew and she was very uncomfortable with public speaking and had missed several of the classes that were required to become a trainer. Still she was pushed through with lightning fast speed. No surprise that they all failed on the very first test. It is scary to think that the head of the process thought this was the right thing to do. It was obvious to everyone else it was not. I spoke with two other world class trainers involved in that process earlier this morning (prompting my review). They said they have no interest in becoming a trainer for Dale Carnegie anymore- that the whole experience, lack of communication, micromanaging and dishonestly "left a bad taste" on them. So they walked away. I would agree with them. This was an organization that I once loved. The lack of response and the abhorent way the training certification was handled has forever soured my view. I'll always be grateful for the people I met and the experiences in the classroom, which have made me into the trainer and facilitator I am today. But this company is not headed in the right direction if these things continue. Most of the positive reviews seem to come from newly hired people. It is possible change is being made- some of the problem people have been let go and that is a good thing. It is likely that they just haven't been there long enough to experience the negatives yet.
