Frontiers reviews

At Frontiers, the root of the issues lies with UM, who struggle to find stable, long-term solutions for the challenges they created. Their lack of strategic vision and leadership continues to destroy this company while damaging its reputation, inside and out. You don't have to be a math expert to figure out that post-pandemic publishing would scale back. Yet, much to your surprise, one loyal minion in the company (or several, we will never know) decided to play a game of bluff. The outcome: unrealistic and impossible targets, leading to a much-needed but late hiring spree. Employees were overworked, so hiring was a reasonable move (The main intention was not to support workforce. As mentioned in another review, their strategy seemed to double staff =double revenue). …..Who could have predicted that researchers wouldn't have the same time to publish, or that the current living crisis would hinder them or their funders from shelling out ~3k in publishing fees? Still, we needed ALL workforce on deck. The workload is and was overwhelming. But guess what? The complicated manager structure maze did more harm than good. It is uncertain why they need so many managers in a company of ~3000 people, soon to be much smaller for 'agility's' sake. A broken company full of managers without leadership or workers to lead. This is their role: Instead of streamlining processes, they excel at setting communication roadblocks and slowing down (or downright impeding) progress. A waste of salary if you ask me. They excel at morphing feedback and complaints into "messages of love and support" towards the big boss. Don’t expect much support nor a coherent or timely answer from them. They will refer you to a Q&A page with their handpicked questions (and handpicked answers, of course). To make matters worse, they've been instrumental in worsening organisational challenges by implementing pointless workflows every few weeks, sometimes contradicting and/or overlapping each other. And that’s how they justify their salaries because they changed A-B-C to A-C-B, and then to B-C-A, and then they found out it was pointless so going back to A-B-C. In 9 months, it will be A-C-B again, because why not. There is no systematic review process for these changes (and if you wonder where is the data? Well, it is there) Adding insult to injury, while managers indulged in expensive retreats, the frontline staff at Frontiers were left without financial or emotional motivation. The removal of bonuses, reduction in rewards, and stagnant pay raises have created a stark contrast between the privileged managerial class and the disheartened workforce. Most recently, the atmosphere at Frontiers took an even more disheartening shift. What was once a culture (or cult) of toxic positivity, where employees may have masked their frustrations with forced enthusiasm, has transformed into an environment filled with a palpable sense of anger and disillusionment- don’t let the Swiss news tell you otherwise, there is no understanding where there is not an explanation to understand. Now, around 30% of the workforce is at risk of redundancy, yet the upper management team faces virtually no repercussions. And they failed again at their only task that could saved them some face: clear, timely, and human communication to the employees that believed in their (public) cause and worked tirelessly to make impressive accomplishments, despite the chaos.

Notice that I mentioned were. Well, they're either gone or eyeing the exit before the looming redundancies catches up with them. So, why the redundancy drama? Upper management will tell you that rejection rates soared, revenues tanked, and voilà – we're trimming the fat to become a 'leaner and more agile organization.' Their blog post, which dropped the bomb on employees facing job cuts, was not only insulting but also far from the truth. It's like a cringe worthy attempt to save face in the publishing world. So what really happened you ask? Well up in some ivory tower, upper management decided our five-year strategy should ride on the wave of pandemic success. Doubling the workforce? That was their golden ticket to doubling revenues. Surprise, surprise – didn't quite work out, but hey, we didn't need an MBA to see that coming. Fast forward to today – hundreds are at risk of redundancy, but let's tell the public we're just streamlining and tossing in some AI magic. Upper management, you had one job – to handle the redundancy process with dignity, grace, and just a shred of empathy. And guess what? You failed at that too. Apart from the sinking ship scenario, Frontiers has become a breeding ground for nepotism. If you're in the good books of senior management, you'll get promoted. If you're the 'yes man' for senior management, congrats, you're on the promotion express. If you have a complaint about senior management? Hope you've considered your exit strategy. These individuals are cemented in influential roles, complaints be damned. So, here's a little question for upper management – was it all worth it? Because you've not only damaged your beloved Frontiers brand, but you've obliterated the loyalty and trust of your once-devoted employees. What a not-so-glorious way to exit the stage.