I hope I am being fair in this assesment. - Recruiter Primary Services Employee Review

3.0
5 Mar 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great backend team, a lot of support from back office/payroll/HR to do your job. Commission is not great, but not the worst. Customer Service recruiting team has a lot of direction, some parts work, some parts do not work. The clients are great, there is a lot of room to grow, they are looking for people who honestly, don't need anything. You will be on your own, and if you are good with that, maybe this would work for you. Very family oriented, small. (Can be bad and good) Access to solid organizational and IT resources, very robust longstanding database, you won't get this everywhere. Clean offices, solid front desk and onboarding assistance. If they let you go, and it is generally amicable, they offer some benefits when they don't even have to, that is nice. Also, very good health benefits.

Cons

Every initiative gets dropped, be prepared to take a lot of time away from your duties to be in endless meetings that are burdensome. They went through a process improvement initiative, a referral program, a company culture shift initiative, an IT initivative, a sales and leads initiative, and every single one of them fizzled and was never completed, not because employees did not follow through, but because management did not follow through. You have to be prepared to not receive straighforward talks from your supervisors, clarity is difficult to come by. There are no real KPI's or standards measured, it's all a kind of blurry, confusing standards. The most difficult part, is staying enthusiastic each time a new initiative is brought up, which after you catch on, is very hard. They make you switch desks constantly, I'm unsure what this is for, but they consider it a part of the company "culture" people can be moved up to two times a month, which adds to the uncertainty over the teams and the initiatives. The reality is that turnover is very high, and in the time I was there over 25 people left or were let go or left, which in a company of 30 people, is a a lot. I am grateful to have been in the position to learn there, but I am also saddened by some of the missed opportunities.

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Primary Services Response
8y
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and write your review. I appreciate you describing both the pros and cons you encountered at Primary. I take it seriously and I am sorry you did not have an overall positive experience. During the last three years, you are correct, we have embarked on a number of initiatives, some more successful than others. I am sorry you felt it took away from your position. That is a valid concern. Over this same time period, we faced market and industry conditions that were unlike most of our 30 year history. As we sought to solve, we were called to change, retool and innovate. Looking back, could we have handled it more effectively…yes. More close communication and clarity for all sides would have helped. The silver lining to difficulties is we are committed to learning and are taking steps to solve. We are “leaning in” to provide value to our day to day recruiting operation and our long-term plans. I am sorry for your experience and hope you have found a new role which is fulfilling. If you would like to provide me with more details, please reach out to me at reginamellinger@primaryservices.com. Regina Mellinger, CEO

Explore other reviews about Primary Services

5.0
4 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Company has heart and cares about its employees Excellent client base and relationships with clients Consistently receive positive feedback from clients, candidates and employees on quality of service, responsiveness and care Flexibility on work schedules / hybrid, good work-life balance Good career growth opportunities Works on improvement - takes feedback and drives change Very strong systems and processes in place Friendly, positive coworkers and supportive managers

Cons

Could have more trainings / lunch and learns

2.0
7 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A nice office space, some really great clients they have worked with for several years.

Cons

Management and micromanagement were the biggest issues during my time here. Progress updates were expected every few hours, and when management was out, HR would sometimes be asked to check in for updates as well. It often felt like employees were not trusted to do the jobs they were hired to do. Recruiting work was also heavily controlled. Candidate submissions had to be reviewed and approved by management before being sent to clients, which created unnecessary bottlenecks. There were times when strong candidates were not approved internally, only for similar candidates to be hired through other agencies. This made it difficult to feel empowered or trusted as a recruiter. There was very limited growth or development. After a year, I did not feel that I had learned much or advanced professionally. The environment felt high-pressure, with many tasks treated as urgent and little flexibility. Employees were expected to work hard with limited breaks, limited flexibility, and a five-day in-office schedule. Compensation was also a concern. The commission structure was very low compared to industry standards, and many placements resulted in only a few dollars per week in commission. Combined with the workload and lack of flexibility, it did not feel like employees were fairly compensated or valued. The company would benefit from stronger leadership training, more trust in employees, better compensation practices, and a greater focus on employee morale and retention. Overall, I would not recommend this company to someone looking for growth, autonomy, flexibility, or competitive compensation.

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