Pros
Some research topics are interesting, salary is competitive.
Cons
Any review that cites working at Parks as overwhelmingly positive is obviously fake. I mean, seriously, what former employee would cite "loyal customers" in advice to management? To start off with, benefits at this company (including 401k, health insurance, PTO, etc.) are absolute garbage. They make you take PTO if you are sick or if you have doctor's appointments. You also have to sign out every single time you leave the office (even to pick up lunch) like you are a preschooler using the bathroom. Tricia's presence in the office is fleeting as she is trying to pass off the company to Elizabeth. However, she cannot seem to fully let go of the company and continues to insert many unnecessary or outdated ideas into the daily discourse, typically over the phone for meetings she doesn't bother attending. Employees are expected to work on Tricia's timetable at all times, even though she gives you zero heads up and will often have "emergencies" either late at night or on weekends. Even though these tasks can wait, she will frequently give some reason why it needs to be done immediately, with little regards for employees. This takes the form in questioning the employee's commitment to Parks and sometimes personal insults. Day to day operations are managed by Elizabeth, her daughter. Elizabeth thinks she is God's gift to market research (and will constantly cite her wealth of experience in the industry, even though she has only ever worked for her mom's company), but truly is incompetent at all facets of business. She insists on editing a lot of research reports, despite not being a subject matter expert in virtually anything or an accomplished writer. If her authority is ever questioned, she resorts to personal attacks. In over a year of employment, I witnessed numerous people get publicly reprimanded and humiliated, despite not doing anything wrong, or simply asking questions of Elizabeth. Additionally, it is patently obvious that she inflates revenue forecasts to present a false, positive trend for the company. It seems the only people who like her both as a boss or a person are related to her or know her from outside work. Elizabeth usually comes in late and leaves early, while insisting her employees work nights and weekends to meet arbitrary deadline. This is a workplace characterized by nepotism and unequal treatment, based on who is a favorite of the Parks family. Elizabeth truly makes Parks a miserable place to be day in and day out. Middle management is complacent in this, primarily because many of them have been at parks for a decade or more and feel they have other options. When non-management employees approach management with problems, they are fed a platitude and told "that's the way we do things here." If you are interviewing to work here and do not personally know the Parks family, I would encourage you to work elsewhere. There is virtually nothing good that comes of this job. When I left, one third of the company had turned over in the past year. None of the analysts who wrote research just a year ago were still employed. Half a dozen employees approached me before I left to let me know they were actively looking for jobs and asking for tips. I cannot think of a single person during my time there who was happy with their job.
