Workplace reviews and discussion: 格蘭英語_格蘭事業股份有限公司

Overall, the only advantage is the colleagues (but not all of them; the supervisor whose name starts with J is a good person, but also very strict). HR is also very kind. Other than that, you have to watch out for informants around you.

Let me first describe the situation at this company from when I joined until I left (specifically regarding the northern region).

There are almost no students (at the northern branches). They are mostly students left over from enrollment in previous years. However, the current group of junior managers in visible positions do not have the ability to recruit students, and their recruitment ability is extremely poor. They will even set off firecrackers and celebrate extravagantly just because a new class has opened, among other things that are simply astonishing. For newcomers, you must have both the ability and the luck to demonstrate short-term explosive performance. The big boss is an unreformed traditionalist whose thinking is still stuck forty years in the past. You must take his ideas into account to achieve your goals (the two are often contradictory), while also resisting performance pressure from headquarters and constant policy changes.

Grimm’s teaching materials are outdated. After joining, they will brainwash you by telling you that materials that were written well do not need major revisions and only require detailed modifications. This has resulted in Grimm’s outdated materials today. The boss’s son finally produced something resembling a supplementary test book, but it was still riddled with errors because of the people at headquarters. Teachers are constantly reporting errors in the new materials, unclear images, and improper labeling.

At Grimm, some very senior teachers have a title called “Teaching Consultant.” Officially, they are supposed to help teachers at various branches improve their teaching skills, but some of them do absolutely nothing. They collect consulting fees, yet provide no help with demonstration classes or other school activities—not even assistance. Some consultants who do occasionally want to help teachers still instruct you using methods from 40 years ago. Their unbelievably lofty airs make it impossible to see any sense of approachability expected from teachers at children’s English cram schools; their sense of distance is even greater than that of some teachers who travel around teaching classes. They think that simply playing games in class makes their teaching innovative and up to date. They refuse to learn, use, or improve upon things that other systems have long overused. If you propose anything, the top boss will scold you for neglecting your proper duties and fooling around.

This boss also likes calling people into meetings. During the meetings, you will hear him use personal insults such as “bastard,” saying things that are of no help whatsoever (and most of the time, these are problems caused by decisions he himself made recklessly or by the messes created by his so-called “elite” in the past). It is not really a meeting; it is just listening to him vent his emotions. Content that could be resolved in one hour will take about six hours because he wants to lose his temper, reminisce, talk about his theories from 40 years ago, and vent by insulting people (meaning you should have a very strong bladder).

At Grimm, even if you work in academic affairs, you still have to bear performance pressure when the school does not have enough students. Because you are in academic affairs, you are expected to produce results; because you are in academic affairs, you are also expected to recruit students to attend classes. What classes they take is not important—as long as students come in.

The boss is two different people in public and private. In front of the teachers, he pretends to be a good person and lectures them with the image of a wise old man. In private, however, he is someone who curses during meetings and cannot tolerate advice that is unpleasant to hear. Besides dealing with the big boss’s personal dramas and emotions, you must also contend with a small number of incompetent managers who have nothing but words. When they tour the schools, they simply wander around, look at things, say what they think is bad or inadequate, and then give a pile of suggestions from 40 years ago. They also tell you about how they used to do things and how capable they were back then, and so on, before leaving behind astonishing opinions or instructions. Once you actually follow them and the student enrollment or performance is poor, you must be prepared to be scolded by the big boss, because the person who toured the school will simply ignore you and say that you misunderstood what they meant at the time.

In short, if you are new to the cram-school industry and have a better opportunity, take it. If you do not have a better opportunity, use this company to build your résumé.

But if you are an experienced teacher, academic-affairs manager, front-desk admissions staff member, or school-operations manager from another system, I strongly recommend against it, because it will absolutely shatter your worldview.