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Explain Market Research

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One Star.. is one too many. Avoid at all costs! - Telephone Interviewer Explain Market Research Employee Review

1.0
12 Feb 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

No weekend working (unless business demand requires this when one of the frequent technical errors impacts the quota completed during the official working week) They have a real high turn over of staff. If you're a student looking to adapt/increase your hours, they usually have the availability for you to slot in somewhere whilst they recoup their cohort. You have the opportunity to become excellent at your role, as once you're in your role, there is no progression. The limited opportunity to progress means you'll become an expert at your entry role as this is what you'll be doing until you leave the business.

Cons

They have, and I assume always will, pay minimum wage and not a penny more. No bonuses for reaching targets. Incentives are poor (think £1 candle, bar of chocolate) No annual bonus or rewards for tenure. No double time for overtime, you're often not paid for any additional time worked. They offer you the time back, but it's incredibly difficult to take this. The 'insight' centre is a call centre, so be prepared for this when being sold an entirely different job. If you want to work in a call centre, then of course you'll be just fine. You'll have targets for dialling, and will be cold calling ex-customers of services e.g. banking, electricity, water providers, for their feedback. You will be told this is not cold calling. By definition, it absolutely is...albeit glorified cold calling. The environment is very much like a call centre, and is micromanaged and handled like a class room. Staff are not treated as 'researchers' or 'adults', more like apprentices or GCSE children on work experience. You're timed to the minute, whether this is for how many numbers you can dial or for how long you need to use the toilet for, you're on the clock. I'd not recommend for anyone who does not enjoy being placed under a microscope. Lacking in diversity in terms of race, gender, sexual identity and religion. This causes barriers where reasonable adjustments and the approachability of management is concerned. The environment can be very uncomfortable at times, management separate themselves from contact centre staff entirely. This applies both in the office environment and during recreational events such as Christmas parties etc. There is an 'us' v 'you' mentality. There does need to be a sense of hierarchy in any business, but this is complete segregation. Management are very heavy handed. There is a culture of bullying and threatening behaviour exercised by management. They will give their opinion on your own personal difficulties/absences and on the whole, remain anything but professional and objective with their staff. Management do not take action on issues surrounding bullying or sexual harassment.

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Explain Market Research Response
1y
As the CEO of Explain this is a very disappointing review to read but fortunately does not reflect the views of the majority of the team based on all of our other feedback mechanisms, nor does it reflect the excellent team culture we have. As a service based business our team is what makes Explain a great place to work. We have many examples of colleagues who have risen to the opportunities presented to them and developed a very successful career – we’re proud of what they have achieved. Central to our strategy is celebrating our collective success and we all work hard to support each other to be the best we can be. A few facts to correct – we are an accredited living wage employer and therefore nobody we employ is on minimum wage in addition we offer performance related pay across all roles. Yes the Insight Hub is an outward bound telephone centre – we carry out market research and so contact our clients customers to gain their feedback, this is not cold calling and our team are highly praised by our clients for the excellent work they do in representing them. We are an inclusive and diverse team sharing information across the business frequently and have an open plan office space with ‘management’ fully accessible to the team at all times. We invest heavily in our team through the salary packages we offer but also through our investment in our colleagues wellbeing with annual budgets provided to ensure a happy, cared for, fulfilled and valued team. I am proud to be the CEO of Explain.

Explore other reviews about Explain Market Research

3.0
11 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There's nothing special about this job. They have free cans of pop and an office dog.

Cons

Most of it is university student age people which does cause a lot of drama. They watch you like a hawk constantly, with everything you do being timed down to the second

4.0
27 Jan 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Good management (shout out to Liz) - Interesting and varied work and conversations - Flexible

Cons

- Poor KPI management that doesn't really help you grow - more feels like a tick-box exercise to keep you motivated

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