Talks a great game, but a lot of smoke and mirrors at work - Anonymous employee Paycor Employee Review

2.0
22 July 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is decent, and there are genuinely good people that work there, many of them want to do the right thing.

Cons

The company talks a great game of always put the client and each other first. The company talks about not being like ADP, Paychex, etc... But it is largely talk. They promote "Employee Engagement" to their prospects, but they don't practice what they preach. It makes it hard to sell when you are supposed to march to that tune but your own company doesn't follow it. Turnover is higher than average across the board, and client services, implementation and sales has suffered as a result. As people leave, pressure mounts on those still there, and they either burn out, or quit. They pay sales at start, and in the major market where most deals take 3-6 months to start and bill, you are often waiting half a YEAR to get your commission check. Hard to stay motivated when you close deals and don't see any money for 6-8 months... The work life balance is often poor. The general unspoken attitude is that you should be thankful to be there, and perhaps when the norm is to hire college interns from Cincinnati, that makes sense. Out in the remote sales offices where you typically hire people from the industry with experience, turnover is higher than 50% in many markets, nearly 100% in some. People that are rock stars at the industry giants, often fail at this company. The majority of the folks on the development side have no Payroll or Industry experience. They have Paycor experience, which is not the same. They tout winning the "Stevie Award" multiple times, but any "Award" that allows employees to vote for their own company, multiple times, at the specific and repeated email request of management, isn't an award that has any real meaning in my opinion. It isn't a horrible company and there are good people there, but they are in many ways putting lipstick on a pig and selling it as a super model and it just isn't true. Give credit where credit is due, they are successful and have a good story to tell, but for the foreseeable future it isn't a great place to work. They are very good at providing basic payroll, HR and Time services to small companies. Once you go up-market, things get dicey. There are a handful of people in sales that are successful, but they are mostly concentrated in the Mid-West where Paycor has had a major presence for 20+ years. In the emerging markets, it is a rough ride and more often than not the folks don't make it and they just keep churning and burning reps... There are worse places to work. They do have some wonderful people, but as a company, a lot of it is broken. If you can hang in there long enough and make it to the point that they fix it, it could be a great opportunity. But don't give up a promising career at your current job based on the kool-aid that they feed you during the interview process. Do your homework.

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Paycor Response
11y
Thank you for taking time to share your perspective. Associate engagement is intentional at Paycor. It matters to us. To support our sales professionals, we invest in extensive training, in annual Sales kickoff, in great compensation plans, in individual and team contests, in technology like SFDC and Marketo, in Platinum Club for top performers, and so on. We also have field active managers, leaders, and executives who connect 1:1 with sales professionals. We care, we listen, and we take associate feedback to tune our engagement strategies. Over the last year, we've hired strong engineers and sales professionals at all levels of the organization. Our substantial investment in engineering talent and in our product development has allowed Paycor to successfully and confidently serve small and mid-sized businesses. We're proud of the 24,000 clients we serve ...

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Cons

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Pros

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Cons

I wanted to like working at Paycor. The product has potential and the pitch during the interview process sounded promising. But the reality of day-to-day life here is a far cry from what's advertised. Micromanagement is rampant. Leadership tracks every minute of your day — from login times to bathroom breaks — yet somehow trusts no one to make even the smallest decision independently. You're treated like a number, not a professional. There's zero autonomy, and any attempt to take initiative is quickly shut down. The leadership team is deeply out of touch. Many managers got their roles through tenure, not merit, and it shows. They struggle to answer basic questions about the industry, lean on buzzwords in meetings, and consistently make decisions that anyone with relevant experience would know to avoid. When things go wrong, blame rolls downhill fast. The culture is toxic and cliquey. If you're not in the right social circle, advancement is nearly impossible. Favoritism is blatant, feedback is rarely constructive, and the "open door policy" is a joke — speak up and you'll find yourself quietly pushed out. The work environment doesn't help either. High turnover means institutional knowledge constantly walks out the door. Morale is low, burnout is high, and HR seems more interested in protecting the company than the employees.

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