Sinking Ship - Business Development Manager IRIS Software Group Employee Review

2.0
28 Jul 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The business is full of great, friendly, hard working, passionate individuals!

Cons

I worked in one of the sales functions at IRIS Software Group for a number of years. When I first joined the business, the culture was fantastic. The company offered regular incentives and everybody on the sales floor earned a reasonable bonus based on their performance. The targets and KPI's were realistic and achievable and the business held a yearly incentive “IRIS Club” in which top performers would be taken on all expenses paid holidays with the option to bring a friend or partner. Over the years there has been too many changes at Executive level and each new CSO/CEO has tried to change the culture, the commission structure and the internal hierarchy with little success. The targets have increased exponentially over time with the resources available to enable sales to achieve diminishing. The constant changes and instability have brought morale down amongst the sales teams. Fewer people are earning commission and nothing is being done to offer progression or development for staff. Recently the bonus structure was changed to be paid on a quarterly basis which was hyped as 'industry-leading' by the leadership team, only for the company to artificially end the quarter early, preventing the sales team from banking their commission they would have earned from the sales being closed at the end of the quarter. This left many employees out of pocket and demotivated. The business has been totally ruthless with their dismissal of staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only dismissals of members of the sales team but for management too. It has not been out of the ordinary for members of staff who have served the company for over a decade with a glowing record and exemplary behaviour to be pulled in to a conference call at 4:57 PM on a Friday only to be dismissed on the spot without even being given the opportunity to say goodbye to their friends and teammates. The people are what make IRIS and the sooner IRIS realise that, the better. If they continue to move the goalposts and undervalue their workforce, they will lose many more of their talented and hardworking staff to one of their biggest competitors who have recently setup a sales function nearby.

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IRIS Software Group Response
5y
We are very sorry that you have been affected by the recent restructure of our sales team and would like to thank you for taking the time to leave a review. All redundancy decisions are taken with a heavy heart and this decision was unfortunately necessary due to the extraordinary business conditions we face during the Covid-19 pandemic and the consolidation of our Sales teams into our 'Northern Hub' in Manchester. I know that necessity does not make the decision easier and we would sincerely encourage you to reach out to us so we can discuss your concerns in more detail. We must respectfully correct some of the assertions in your review. We have never made an employee redundant with immediate effect as we always follow due process, which includes a lengthy consultation process with the opportunity to apply for alternative roles within the business and a consideration of all options available to avoid the need for redundancy. We also offer extensive support for affected employees throughout the process, including an open-door policy for feedback and discussion, company-funded mental health support and paid time off to attend interviews and training. Following the confirmation of any redundancy, we also provide company-funded outplacement support, redundancy pay and often an ex-gratia payment to support employees into their next role. If there is anything further that we can do to support you in your next chapter, please get in touch so that we can help. There have indeed been significant changes within Sales over the past 18 months as we moved from a divisional to a functional model, and we have done our upmost to ensure the changes are done consultatively and with strong communication of the impact and benefits of the changes across the business. We are excited about this transformation as it enables us to share expertise and provide greater opportunities for employees across the IRIS family, increases the potential for cross selling to support our growth, and supports our goal of building #1IRIS. As our commission structure has improved to ensure employees within acquired businesses have the same opportunities as their colleagues, we have increased the resources on offer for all our salespeople to meet their targets – additional training, further management support, deal clinics, win loss reviews and the recent launch of Showpad are just some examples of the support we provide to our fantastic Sales teams to help them succeed. We have also launched a new Sales club (our Elite Club) which offers an end of year international trip for our highest performing salespeople. As a small aside, the recent early quarter-close was designed to support accurate forecasting (rather than to reduce payments!) and certainly didn’t impact the overall commission employees receive – closed deals are eligible for commission during the current or next payout run depending on the date of the deal. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your time with the friendly, hardworking and passionate individuals that make up IRIS, and we would like to wish you the very best in your future career. Once again, we would sincerely welcome the opportunity to discuss any feedback or suggestions for improvement in more detail – please reach out to our HR team or Stephanie Kelly, our Chief People Officer, in complete confidence. Kind regards, the HR team

Explore other reviews about IRIS Software Group

5.0
6 Jan 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I have been with Iris for approximately 5 months and have been incredibly impressed. The people I work with from my peers, leadership (including executive leadership) and my team, are amazing. Building relationships has been easy as most of the employees are open to it, are very collaborative and genuinely want to help! Iris is also focused on equality and ensure we all have a fair opportunity for growth. While we have a lot to do here, it is clear that we are valued.

Cons

As a rapidly growing organization, we have some growing pains and some foundational processes, systems and flow that need to be updated and/or adjusted, but nothing that won't be fixed over time.

5
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IRIS Software Group Response
1y
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We’re delighted that you are enjoying your time at IRIS and recognise all the fantastic things we do for our employees. We’re proud to be a Great Place To Work™, and we’re committed to ensuring that all our amazing employees can bring their full selves to work, grow their career with us, shape our future as a business, and enjoy meaningful work. We’re always looking for ways we can be the best we can be, and we would welcome any further suggestions. Please speak to your HR representative or leave a comment in our next Peakon survey. Kind regards, the HR team
3.0
5 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great product and team. Just no focus on US operations.

Cons

Company has no real direction for US operations.

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