Pros
There really are not any positive qualities to working here.
Cons
I had never heard of this website until last week when the management held a couple meetings with staff to discuss the negative reviews. If it was not pathetic enough that they took valuable time from our days to address comments on the internet, I was saddened to come on here and see the obvious fake reviews that they have been writing. We are not sure whether this discussion was intended to improve morale or intimidate others from contributing more negative reviews. As with everything they do, it was clearly not effective. I am a current employee and I was brought in a couple years ago after their song and dance about how this is an exciting growing company with a bright future. The reality of working here has unfortunately been far from this. I am not a disgruntled former employee, I am not even angry, I just want to set the record straight so that anyone that is considering working for or with this company understands what they are getting themselves into. When I joined, there were still lots of employees of the former Michael Brandman Associates working here and almost every one of them has been pushed out either through the horrifically poor management of this firm or because they knew this company had completely lost it's direction. Every one of them is rightfully angry, which is showing through reviews on this website. I agree with the each word that has been written in their reviews, their assessments are spot on. This company is in shambles. I will not repeat much of what others have said other than to say that it is all true, nobody is happy here. People do indeed talk about leaving constantly and make fun of the management for how they are running this trainwreck. There is so much infighting, so many poor choices in who has been hired, and so much turnover that morale is hopelessly low. Their solution to addressing morale seems to be to force out those that have been here a long time hoping that they are removing the problem, yet this just creates so many new issues. If you are considering working here, please ask the following questions during your interview: 1. What is the business plan for the sustainability side of the operation? You will likely hear lots of buzzwords thrown around that have no practical meaning, but push them to explain how exactly they plan to make money on their sustainability practice. 2. Why, after all these years of attempting to establish themselves in the sustainability space, have they not made any progress? 3. Are they making any profit? What is the overall outlook for the company? 4. Why are they having so much trouble retaining staff? Why is turnover so high? 5. Why have so many positions remained available at the company? There are positions that have been open for many months, are there reasons why talented staff are not joining the firm? 6. What is the reputation of FCS in the industry? When I speak with people in the industry, they often laugh at FCS and joke about what they are doing. This reputation is very concerning for someone that is trying start or continue their career. 7. What is the structure for reviews and pay adjustments? Are they done on a schedule, or are employees required to kick and scream until they get a raise? Even a recent positive review (obviously written by one of the directors in spite of the argument to the contrary) stated that they were required to speak up in order to receive a raise. If the company values their employees, why make the employees beg and plead for increases in salary. 8. With so many employees leaving the firm, how many have returned? Has anyone returned?
