Leaving my coworkers was hard. Leaving leadership was freeing. - Anonymous employee Gopher Sport Employee Review

2.0
10 Dec 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Mission-Driven Products: The company offers solid, high-quality products that genuinely benefit the end users—specifically, Physical Education teachers and schools across the country. It is rewarding to work for a company with a strong, positive mission. Talented and Personable Sales Team: The sales team is a major asset; colleagues are unbelievably talented professionals and among the most personable people I have ever had the opportunity to work with. The daily collaboration and support among team members are excellent. Opportunity for Territory Travel: Employees have the opportunity to travel several times a year to their assigned territories. This allows for hands-on experience showcasing products, meeting directly with teachers, and engaging with key decision-makers. This travel is a great way to stay connected to the mission and the customer base.

Cons

Executive Disregard for Employees: A pervasive lack of care for employee well-being appears to start at the top (CEO level) and permeates decision-making, leading to a constant internal struggle for fair treatment and basic resources. Weak Middle Management: While supportive of their teams, middle managers are consistently undermined by upper leadership and lack the necessary authority or influence to advocate effectively for their employees' needs. Absent and Ineffective VP Leadership: The VP of Sales demonstrated a profound lack of accountability and integrity, consistently failing to follow through on commitments to the Sales Team. This individual did not deliver positive or impactful strategic change, rendering the position virtually irrelevant to the team's success. Inefficient Communication & Strategy Rollout: Bi-weekly meetings, intended for growth and problem-solving, were instead used to introduce poorly planned new processes or metrics that were often delayed. This failure to communicate timely information severely hindered the team's ability to be efficient and successful. Poor Work-Life Balance and Benefits: There is virtually no work-life balance expected, and the provided benefits are poor. The mandatory 5-day-a-week in-office policy is inefficient, requiring employees to sit at a desk and use an unreliable, web-based phone service to interact with colleagues across the country. Highly Demotivating Incentive Structure: The compensation and incentive structure is "all or nothing," which is highly problematic. For example, a salesperson could perform all the work to generate substantial revenue (e.g., bringing in a million dollars for their territory), but if they miss the target by even a small percentage (e.g., 1%), they receive no incentive payment. This structure actively punishes high effort and near-success. Culture of Employee Dismissal: There is a clear lack of desire from leadership to listen to and address fixable issues raised by employees. This creates a feeling of being "stuck in the mud," suggesting that leadership is indifferent to the impact of high employee turnover.

Explore other reviews about Gopher Sport

5.0
16 May 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun company, with good office atmosphere. Focused on employee growth

Cons

The lack of autonomy allowed for a good amount of micromanagement.

1.0
26 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people are the best part of this company hands down excluding some. Many employees genuinely care about each other, work incredibly hard, and do their best to create a positive environment despite leadership challenges. There is flexibility in some departments, which can be valuable depending on your role. The CREW team deserves recognition for trying to maintain morale and employee engagement, often while working with limited budgets and constraints outside of their control.

Cons

This company was once family-oriented, employee-focused, and a place where long-term careers could be built. Unfortunately, over the past several years, that culture has changed significantly. Insurance goes up every year making it literally impossible to afford life in general because you are trying to be the keeper for your families health. Senior leadership appears heavily focused on metrics and financial performance at the expense of employee development, innovation, and retention. Internal growth opportunities are limited, and capable employees are frequently overlooked for advancement. Employees with strong ideas, initiative, or constructive feedback often feel unheard rather than empowered. Upper leadership has created an environment that feels disconnected from the day-to-day reality of employees. Decision-making often appears top-down, with little openness to feedback or collaboration. There is a strong perception that leadership believes they already have all the answers rather than valuing the experience and insight of the people doing the work. If you are a puppet this is a company for you. A particularly concerning observation has been the apparent lack of female representation in leadership after several women in management roles left or were let go, with those roles subsequently being filled by men. From an employee perspective, this has raised serious concerns about equity, advancement opportunities, and leadership culture. If you're looking for a place with meaningful career growth, transparent leadership, and a culture where employees feel valued beyond their output, this may not be the environment you expect.

avatar
Gopher Sport Response
1mo
Thank you for your thoughtful opinions regarding your employment at Gopher Sport and we’re sorry that you departed with a negative experience. Medical insurance premiums is a challenge for all employers in the U.S. and Minnesota. The average increase in Minnesota was as high as 22%. Gopher Sport’s average increase across our options was 13%. Gopher Sport’s HR and Finance teams work closely with our partner brokers to provide the best value possible for our Team Members in our applicable market and are confident in our 2026 offerings. Regarding Career Paths and development, nearly every hourly and salaried individual contributor role has an assigned career path and is documented to all People Leaders in the Gopher Sport Intranet/SharePoint site. Gopher Sport is a privately held for-profit company which strives to maximize our value to both external and internal stakeholders. Part of the Executive and Senior Management’s responsibilities are to ensure strong financial performance for our customers and internal team members. Again, thank you for your many years of employment. We value each of these responses and wish you the best in your future employment.
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All