research associate

Cisive

This place needs a whole overhaul on management. The company has very poor communication skills, and management will not take accountability for their shortcomings. Everyday is a guessing game with not knowing right from wrong, and when you do the right thing by reaching out for help, you are greeted with an attitude, and an unclear answer. You are dealing with a bunch of unorganized people who do not take accountability for their actions and instead pin the blame on anyone else.
Some examples: The company had a certification test that we all needed to pass or else we were told we will be fired. When asked about preparation for the test, how to pass, or remotely anything about it, management did not have any answers for you. You were given 0 notice on the day you were going to be taking it, you just had to be ready to take it whenever they say so, and it took 2 hours. Also, management was the very last to take the test, which makes 0 sense because if they would have taken it first they could have given some insight on what is on the test. 
Another example: I was trained in a specific "search" for 10 minutes, and my QA plummeted because i was making mistakes on submitting records because i was poorly trained. I was never told the significance of our "QA score", so i was like ok, I guess i'll learn from whatever I do wrong through QA. No, my QA was so bad, they put me on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and if my QA didn't improve they were going to "possibly" terminate me. Meanwhile, anytime i reach out for help, I got an attitude, and I got an unclear answer, and an "it depends". Anyone that knows me knows I take work/school serious so it was really frustrating to be treated like I was not trying when the things against me were poor management, and poor training. I might add, that my QA score improved but just out of sheer luck, and there was no benefit to improving my QA besides keeping my job, there was no other pay-off. 
Another example: the training period in the beginning of employment lasted about 5 months, and the most important part of the training, which was how to enter records, we spent approximately 2 weeks learning, but the rest of the 5 months we did nothing of value, and then we were shooed out of training into the expectations of the rest of the group. I don't know how they thought this would work but it didn't work and they did not take any accountability for that.
Yet another example: They told me my start date- which was 2 weeks out, they told me they were going to send out my computer equipment and it should be there by the first day. Well the week before i start on a Thursday (1 business day left), I had yet to receive my equipment and received no information since we last spoke when i verbally accepted the position, so I reached out to see when my equipment was to arrive, and the person had stated that they had JUST mailed it out (from across the country) and if it is not there by Monday I will just have to use my own personal computer. Like huh? Because of your fault to prepare it is my problem now? That was the first red flag with this job, you had 2 weeks and you wait until the last minute to send your new employee their equipment and their plan, oh you can just use your own if it doesn't arrive in time.
Management is highly critical but they have no leg to stand on. They can be messy, unorganized, cut corners, not read emails in a timely manner, disrespect you, overall be a bad example of who to be, but if you do any of that- corrective action must be taken.
In conclusion, I think if you are down and out and just need a job, i would take it, but keep looking for another one because this is a temporary company to be part of IMO. I do not regret this job but it’s just tough at first, and after the training period it gets a little better- I would say it took me about a year to get settled into the dysfunction. I would say take lots of notes, and take advantage of the fact that it's a fully remote position and that there is a paper-trial of what people say, and use that to your advantage. An example of why that is important- the QA person will tell you to do one thing, but then once it is QA'd will say another thing and mark it wrong. To CMA I saved emails from what was originally said to do, and what is being said to do now. This saved several errors in my QA score. Unfortunately, you have to think 10 steps ahead of them in order to get through the day.
Some good things about the job is there was always work to be done so you were never bored. Depending on your purpose for taking this job, you can learn some things about how court proceedings work by reading case summaries. I would say the production goals they set are pretty easy to reach, as I never had an issue with meeting that expectation.
I might add it is just hilarious that they have really high expectations for your quality of work, but your pay just does not equate to the quality of work expectations they have for you- like what world do you live in that you expect high quality work for really cheap labor? Additionally, this was a fully remote position which has its perks but also I believe my coworkers used that to their advantage knowing that we will never be face to face to deal with any conflicts but only through a screen.


Be careful working for this company. The first 6 months will be okay and then you will get hammered with stress. They only care about you meeting their numbers. Does not matter to them how much you improve, how hard you’re trying, you’ll eventually get a zoom link from them asking you to hop on so they can fire you. They do mass firings, claiming they are down sizing, then turn around and do more hiring. They constantly change their procedures and what they expect from you. After requesting several expectations for certain things in writing, still did not receive it. I had a one on one with my Team Lead who was praising me for improving more and more each week, the very next morning I received that dreaded zoom link… multiple of my co workers got fired on the same day I did, or excuse me “laid off”…. 

You will not and do not matter to this company unless you can meet their unrealistic standards. And for the people that do meet, they definitely aren’t following the proper steps, but it doesn’t matter… as long as they get the numbers. There are sooo many system issues and lags and freezes but none of that really gets taken into account even though you send your downtime to your team lead every day… this company is a joke.. simple as that. 

Or you can be one of the lucky ones to get list work from the upper management daily… for literally 6 months… and all the extra emails and work you get from that, guess what?!!! That does not matter either, it doesn’t count towards your numbers and again they surly don’t take that into account either. 

Please pleaseee, do not work for this company. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working with the company for me was the scheduled working hours and being able to work remotely.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The demanding pressure to meet production numbers. At the monthly town-house meeting that very STRONGLY pressed the issue of employees returning to the office, upper management gave the impression that everyone HAD to take the vaccine even if they were not comfortable with doing so even going as far as saying we would be let go if we didn't.  remote employees even though the contract stated "Remote" felt as if our position were in jeopardy if didn't agree to work in the office, the pressure of meeting metrics, the supervisor sent out team emails which included upper management that posted metrics for the entire team that only put a bad taste in our mouths about the companies demands to meet metrics and not build each other up as they wanted us to feel,  not having a moment of downtime without having to account for every minute even when the issue was technical or due to the lack of work.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The only word I can think of is Stressful!

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You will be glued to your computer and phone with the exception of taking breaks.

The current team environment is marked by significant friction, stemming primarily from a perceived lack of empathy and consideration from the Team Lead (TL), which fosters a difficult working atmosphere. This issue is compounded by a system of discipline that appears unfair, where the issuing of Notices to Explain (NTEs) seems to depend on the TL's discretion rather than objective criteria. 

A major source of stress is the establishment of an unreachable quota. Alarmingly, this pressure incentivizes problematic behavior, as it has been observed and reported multiple times that the few agents who meet the quota often achieve it through "illegal" or unethical methods of making attempts, yet the only action taken has been light coaching. The focus remains heavily on the sheer number of touches to hit the quota, rather than prioritizing the fundamental goal of closing or completing leads, sacrificing quality for quantity. 

This continuous pressure, which has caused trauma since the initial training period ("glide path"), persists and is exacerbated by sudden shifts in processes that are implemented without the necessary Knowledge Base (KB) documentation. This lack of clear guidance and support makes it even harder for agents to adjust and realistically meet their targets.

Cisive has undergone significant structural and financial shifts since being acquired by a private equity firm several years ago. From the inside, it appears that the company is heavily reliant on leveraged financing, and operational decisions often seem driven more by financial engineering than by long-term sustainability or innovation.

Workforce reductions have been frequent and poorly communicated, leaving many employees uncertain about the company’s direction. Despite internal messaging suggesting stability, morale remains low and transparency is minimal. Investments in modern technology, particularly around AI, appear insufficient compared to industry standards. Rather than upskilling its domestic workforce, the company seems focused on relocating labor to lower-cost regions, which raises serious questions about its commitment to long-term talent development.

For those considering a role here, it is worth noting that many of the issues go beyond typical growing pains. They feel systemic. From my perspective, this is not a growth-oriented organization. It feels more like a brand being maintained for financial positioning than a company investing in its future.

Starting at the top, I trust the CEO.  He is an industry leader and one of the smartest people I've ever met.  As such, he surrounds himself with very smart people.  All of whom are very generous with their knowledge.  The culture at the top of the company trickles down.  It is a collaborative environment.

My teammates are great people: collaborative, supportive, and SMART.  The development team is constantly engaged with satisfying the clients needs.  The background check business is incredibly complicated.  Validation rules, workflows, etc all need to be considered for multiple products in multiple industries.  This is a great place if you want to do more development than just creating another ecommerce site.

This company has spent the last several years investing in leadership and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.  This is the stuff that makes us stronger.


I feel fortunate to be part of a company that has grown into a global organization, servicing some big names in the economic world.  The company did a nice job transitioning to a work from home posture at the beginning of Covid and has maintained this two years later.  The desire to keep growing the organization is evident.  I would like to see more action taken for poor performers and right sizing in some areas (product, marketing, other people that I have high titles, but no one knows what they do).  We have people at all levels (including high titles) that do not deliver while others work 12 hour days and weekends.    We have directors and VPs yet the same top executives are involved in everything  and there is very little autonomy.  

I work in the transportation division of Cisive, Driver iQ. It is a fully remote job, which has its challenges, as you don’t have people right next to you to interact with you. However, with the use of technology, that is not an issue and allows you to be just as, if not more, productive.

The best part of this company, is its people. It is a culture of team work and client dedication you don’t see everywhere in the workforce. People of various levels and departments took a vested interest in my growth, in my short period of time, which make you feel good.

Because it is remote, you need to be disciplined and stay focused on the work. It is really a place for self motivated people who can thrive without a supervisor right next to them.

Only real downside at times, is the amount of Zoom Calls you can have over the course of your day. However, that is no different than some of my past jobs.

Everything about this company is a complete disorganized mess and a failure from top to bottom.  The company is so focused on sell sell sell that they do not take the time to stabilize their current applications instead put more strain and break them further.  They decreased the size of the development teams by over 30% then get mad at said development teams when they could not produce results within 2 minutes. The new CTO they brought in from a 3rd party "IT leadership" firm called Blue Optimal only cares about slashing the budget as much as possible so they let most of all US based employees go with only 2 weeks of severance.  The CTO claims to be fully on board and love agile but gets rid of all scrum masters and product owners because we cost to much and it will be easy to replace us with someone from India. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Pay is good  for my position and responsibilities 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
No training! It’s fly by the seat of your pants every day and it’s exhausting. The culture is bad too. Everyone is too busy to have meaningful conversation about anything except for work. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work, work and more work. Not enough emphasis on well-being and team engagement. It’s stressful all the time because there’s a backlog of work and not enough people to do it. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Anxious and stressed. Some days are filled with calls and others I have huge blocks of time that I’m not always sure how to fill.  Everyone is too busy to provide in depth training on anything.

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