The Next Titanic - Client Service Nielsen Employee Review

2.0
8 Mar 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1) Unbeatable Flexibility - this is the reason why so many people stay at the company despite being underpaid and undervalued. Many people work remotely and even those in an office may work from home a few days a week as wanted/needed. There is unlimited vacation with managerial approval. 2) People - most of the people in the trenches with you are caring, smart, kind and talented individuals who you enjoy working with and will maintain relationships with for years to come 3) Opportunities to Grow - In a very large company there are opportunities to change roles, change managers, learn new products and grow without leaving the company . If you are based in an office where you can be seen they also promote from within which is a blessing because you have a chance to grow in your career but it's a curse for everyone else (see below) 4) Great Senior Leaders - The new CEO and the people immediately under them are smart and have earned the trust of everyone in the company. They "get it" and have the ability to steer the company out of dark water, but will it be in time?

Cons

1) Inept Middle Management - Nielsen often promotes from within which results in managers who have good product knowledge but no idea how to coach/mentor or be a leader. Having had more than 6 managers over the years I can attest that not a single one knew how to lead a team or coach a junior person to be more successful. If you come from a successful company that holds people accountable you will eventually forget all of your good habits and pick up bad ones that make you feel dumber for having worked here. Additionally, honest feedback is rare, most managers will tell you to your face that you are doing a great job and then behind closed doors build an argument to let you go. I've seen highly talented people laid off in favor of keeping less talented and hardworking people because they simply lay-low and take orders without question. 2) Next Level Hypocrisy - the company touts it's diversity and female leadership opportunities, but there are pockets of the company that are still run like a Good Ole' Boys Club where all the managers are men and the female underlings are expected to be good girls who take orders and never speak up. I've seen several, smart and talented women be pushed out because they are strong and have integrity which threatens the male ego. 3) Sinking Ship - Based on my fortune telling skills the company is in jeopardy of completely going under within the next 5 years. The "buy" side of the business has been deficient in product offerings and losing massive clients to IRI for years. The "watch" side of the business has not been adapting quickly enough and digitally oriented leaders are going to swoop in and dominate the TV side of the business. 4) Easy to get stuck - Some of the best and brightest aren't getting ahead in the company because middle management isn't recognizing them or helping them to grow. The best people are leaving the company and the losers are staying. If you are remote it's nearly impossible to get ahead - you'll be stuck.

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Nielsen Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback, both positive and constructive. Continual employee feedback only helps our organization get stronger and become an even better place to work. We're disappointed to hear that you haven't had great experiences with your managers so far. We believe that strong leaders are essential in helping our clients and our business grow. We hope that you'll meet with your HR Business Partner to address your concerns and share specific ideas you have about ways we can improve and innovate, if you haven’t already.

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5.0
14 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Was a great job with great benefits

Cons

No cons at all honestly

1.0
16 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Absolutley nothing. Which is a tragedy, because Nielsen was once an absolutely great place to work. I wanted to retire here. The culture used to be great, and I really loved being a part of this place. I loved my team, my management, and the people. Then along came the current CEO who is the classic example of a person who knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing. He took over and ran the company full speed ahead in to the iceberg. And to try and save the sinking ship, he laid off literally thousands of highly experienced, highly trained, and highly engaged people to replace them with fresh overseas hires who know nothing about the company and expect them to be trained from the ground up to replace literally centuries of collective expererience and client relations. It's a disaster. This CEO shouldn't be trusted to run a lemonade stand.

Cons

Everything. Pay, job security, culture, management. Nothing is good here anymore. Don't take a job here unless you are truly desperate. And even then, it should only be as a stop-gap until you can find something else.

5
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