FriesenPress Reviews

3.2

54% would recommend to a friend

(17 total reviews)

Tammara Kennelly

59% approve of CEO

58% positive business outlook

FriesenPress has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 17 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The FriesenPress employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

17 reviews
2.0
26 Oct 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great coworkers; as another review said you'll meet likeminded people who share interests and make lifelong friends. Opportunity for those interested in the publishing industry to get their toes in the water. Commission means you have the opportunity to make more money (but I'll touch on this in the Con section too).

Cons

Low wage - The starting wage is barely above minimum ($17.50) and they explain that "everyone in publishing doesn't get paid that much" as an excuse. At the same time they claim to be innovative in the industry. So if they're being innovative how come the pay doesn't reflect that? The commission you make is variable from month to month and highly depends on the types of projects you're working at the time. You could have several months with nothing to show for it. It's also used as a competitive tool amongst employees and was internally shared as competitions to see who could make the most commission. This is an unhealthy tool that created divide among staff. Many staff asked for a regular salary instead but the multiple plea's over many years were ignored. Over-worked/Burnout - The potential for burnout is incredibly high here. You'll be managing 60-70 different accounts which isn't a huge obstacle if you're working with super clients. However, the vetting process for the services isn't as stringent as they lead staff to believe so we end up letting in clients who can't even use a computer for an entirely online process. When you bring this to management (because they encourage you to bring these issues up) they pressure you to continue working on the project even though it now takes up double to triple the amount of time. This effectively turns your role from Publishing Specialist to IT Support (which they claim is something they try to stay away from). So if half of your projects are difficult like this that means you'll fall behind on the others. Their solution? Offload the work onto your team members who might have an easy week. That way everyone is suffering at once. No growth opportunities - You're either moving up to management (which doesn't happen often), or moving to sales. If you want to be apart of the editing or design team then you need to take your own time and money outside of work to shift into those roles. Tone deaf leadership - They have claimed to be diverse and inclusive but ignore opportunities to connect with the community on items such as BLM and highlighting Indigenous issues after the staff has asked about it. When they attempt this the messaging is vague and muddy.

3.0
18 Oct 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture and i made some life long friends there. Great as an entry level job out of university to gain some experience and give yourself that crucial first stepping stone in your career.

Cons

Low pay for the workload and not much room for advancement.

2.0
30 Nov 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work experience in project management.

Cons

Expect to be under paid and belittled by leadership.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 17 Reviews

Glassdoor has 22 FriesenPress reviews submitted anonymously by FriesenPress employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if FriesenPress is right for you.