There are some nice staff there who work very hard and the majority of the students are very nice to teach.
Unfortunately, what started off as a fun job at a company which cared about its employees development in the classroom has started to change in the past year. Most employees are expected to work several unpaid hours as there is no longer an admin fee paid and you are only paid for the hours you teach. There are opportunities outside of the classroom, but some of these should actually be full-time positions meaning teachers are often having to do two jobs at the same time, meaning faults and errors happen frequently. Meetings and training are unpaid. The higher hourly wage is a disguise to make them stand out from other schools when advertising. The CEO tries to insist that this is down to them raising the hourly wages, but there is now more workload for the teacher to do due to the LMS system, monthly tests and PBL. They also have a horrible sickness and leave policy meaning employees often have to work sick and put the students in danger.
The CCTV was also broken at my branch for the last three months despite it being reported multiple times. This is mainly down to the management structure as the company prioritises expansion/making money in China over making sure its staff have a good work-life balance, and students are placed in classes which aren't suitable for them. In the past few years, the contracts have also been made worse for entry-level teachers as well as the workload.
What would you improve about this program?
With some changes, a more hands-off approach from the CEO, making sure their teachers can recover when sick instead of being threatened with a notice by e-mail (even if it is just a day!) and employing a director of studies again to look after teacher affairs with a western management style, they have a chance of redeeming themselves. They do some great things for charity and the BigByte Worldwide program is an excellent opportunity for the students.
