Vantaggi
-Call centre is free to use, office staff and IT personnel are effecient at their job. -Company employs the visually handicapped to do cold calls -Company provides good training for new agents starting out in their career. -Good salary, if you put in the work, you will make it. -Very nice office space with open concept
Svantaggi
-CEO and directors are stuck in their old prudential and aviva days, pushing agents to use the same method of prospecting that worked 15 years ago. Not up to date with the current trends resulting in the company remaining very small and unknown in the industry. After almost 5 years as a independent FA, the company has less than 90 agents. -Drama culture is very apparent here, with the upper management involving themselves, even creating drama within the company. Rampant gossiping and backbiting happens. When a director has issues with an agent, he ensures that the entire team and the entire company bands together to hate the agent. If you want to make it, ensure that you are a professional boot licker and bend over to rise up the ranks quickly. -Banding. 50 of what new agents earn goes to the company/directors. There are no vesting rights when you leave. -Sexual harassment and misogyny are widespread here. Lewd remarks and sexual harassment towards female staff and agents are often overlooked and management closes both eyes when someone complains, choosing instead to alienate the person. It doesn't help that the company does not have a proper HR team to handle such cases. Disgusting culture here that is led by the directors and CEO, all men and no woman has been promoted to that that level thus far resulting in a lack of representation. -Company profits from agents via roadshows, charging each agent $400 per day for roadshows at Expo and $160-$220 per day for roadshows at shopping malls. It is a known fact amongst agents but nobody wants to bring it up because they do not want to be targeted. Agents have done their own research on how much these events should have cost them. CEO makes a big speech before every roadshow on how the costs are 'heavily subsidized' but never actually provides the breakdown. That's why agents eventually stopped signing up for roadshows. -Directors and managers misrepresent the role during interviews with candidates and agents are in for a rude awakening once they actually start working. Once agents have joined, they try to brainwash agents into thinking that this is the only career path that will make you tons of money and if you leave, you are a loser that can't make it in life. -According to office staff, they have been instructed by the CEO to write many fake reviews on glassdoor over the years to boost the ratings of the company. 'Good' reviews are also written by aforementioned boot kickers that want to get on the CEO's good side. CEO also treats office staff and trainers horribly. My advice to agents in the company: Learn as much as you can while at LFA and leave when you have mastered the basics. LFA might seem like a big deal until you actually explore your options out there. There are so many other companies that will take you to greater heights without having to involve so much nonsense.