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      First Leap

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      First Leap Reviews

      3.3

      51% would recommend to a friend

      (180 total reviews)

      Charlie Cao

      59% approve of CEO

      33% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.5

      Compensation and benefits

      3.3

      Work/Life balance

      3.1

      Diversity and inclusion

      2.9

      Culture and values

      2.9

      Career opportunities

      2.7

      Senior management

      First Leap has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 180 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Leap employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      180 reviews
      4.0
      22 Oct 2022

      Challenging

      Training specialist
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      The company was innovative and could rise to the many challenges faced in a growing sector. They gave opportunity for less experienced or less qualified staff to progress within the company.

      Cons

      Communication between departments was hugely flawed and often departments were at odds with one another. Too many initiatives were undertaken and not seen through to completion.

      1.0
      6 Mar 2017

      Bait and Switch Scam

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      When you get arrested for working illegally, a company guy will come get you out...after 3 days.

      Cons

      The most popular business tactic throughout Asia is called the "White Monkey Job". They put white people on all the marketing products, and a couple in the schools. Asian parents pay top dollar thinking their kid will be the next bill gates. First Leap takes it even further, by pulling a bait and switch on the foreign teachers. They give you a job offer for about 15000 RMB per month. After you arrive in China, they tell you that you will only get 2-3k for your first 3 weeks because its a training period. Then after a month they tell you that your first paycheck will only be for 5 days work, because of the pay periods. Then your second paycheck arrives, and by now you owe a lot of people money and are living on another teachers couch. Presto, they took 3000 RMB out of the check because one of the Chinese teachers doesnt like your attitude; its called the KPI system. It never ends...

      avatar
      First Leap Response
      8y
      Thank you for your review. I think there is a little confusion about the payment structure. First Leap as a company works with a number of recruitment agencies. All the recruitment agencies are given information about the payment structure and should be clear in the interview process as to how initial payments are done. New teachers will go through Junior Training, which has a set payment depending on performance. This is independent of the contract salary. After the initial training period, should the teacher pass the training, the teacher will be paid the normal salary for the days they have worked within the payment period (this is not including the training period of 10 days, as this is already paid by the set amount provided the teacher passed the training). Often recruiters will state to candiates the overall salary. This normally means base pay, housing payment (if applicable), and other monthly performance bonuses. I would strongly advise to potential candidates reading this review, if you are offered a contract please look at the salary break down. The KPI section is not guaranteed payment - it is a performance incentive payment. In corporate centres, KPI is broken into three parts: Parent satisfaction (50%), local teacher satisfaction (20%) and assessors (a teachers supervisor) feedback (30%). KPI breakdown will vary in franchise schools, however you should be provided with a clear breakdown of KPI before you assume employment. KPI will be a base payment and depending on performance can be increased or decreased. If a teacher is offered the base payment of 1000RMB (purely as a hypothetical example) and performs very well, the base is multiple by 1.5, allowing te teacher to recieve a payment of 1500RMB. If a teacher performance ok but does not go above what is expected, they are paid the base amount. However is a teacher performs poorly, they could lose the KPI payment. In most cases, teacher are paid either the base payment or the top payment. It is very rare for a teacher to not be paid any part of their KPI. If a teacher disagrees or feels the KPI score is unjust, they can raise a grievance with the International Department Manager, information of which can be found in the employee handbook. As a company, we can only apologise to you that this was not made clearer. We will work with our recruiters to ensure that new teachers coming in fully understand the purpose of KPI and the way in which the initial payment is made. To potential candidates, I would like to suggest saving money before coming to China, as the initial cost of settling into a new country can be a lot, so be prepared. You can speak with your recruiter to find out the costs of housing and living in cities you would like to come to in order to help you financially plan.
      1.0
      15 Jul 2017

      From good, to bad, to the worst.

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Once a pleasant place to work. A good springboard to kick off a career in China.

      Cons

      - Condescending and useless training, that takes precedent over class preparation, costs time and achieves about as much as re-taking first grade math would. - Teachers are compelled to offer their opinions and advice in order to maximise their salary, then ignored when they do. - Racist HQ and management, that will not offer employment to anybody who is not white, outside of large cities wherein they have no choice. - First Leap make cringeworthy decisions regarding the handling of foreign teachers, and cannot accept criticism. - Zero communication skills, demanding extra work be completed with 10 minutes notice if you're lucky. - Incapable of properly organising visas, leaving teachers in compromised positions such as being detained by police and/or deported. (ahem) - Often demand that extra work be completed outside of the contact hours, and failing to pay wages for extra hours worked. - Offer high salaries, then do everything in their imagination to dock that salary to as low as possible. To the point, may I add, that if they are questioned about the missing money, they'll return it without much of a fight. They seem to be hoping that foreigners won't notice. Which brings me to: - the fact that they seem to think foreign teachers are the dumbest creatures ever to walk the earth. Mocking us in Chinese when they think we do not understand, lying to us about things we already knew to be true, and generally being as misleading and dishonest as possible. This has of course lead to many foreign teachers packing up and leaving, making life for those who stay even more miserable. - Provide substandard accommodation, often small and lacking in basic living facilities like hot water, mattresses and proper ventilation. In the case that rodents or any other infestation is found, First Leap suggest that the foreign teacher use sprays and traps for the next year. I could go on... What I will say, is that there are better companies out there, and life in China is a real experience that is not to be missed. Here's hoping you find any one of the awesome places out there, and give them a try.

      avatar
      First Leap Response
      8y
      Thank you for your review. From your description, I am making the assumption that you were a franchise teacher, as corporate cities will not provide accomodation (instead will provide a housing allowance). With this in mind, First Leap can only apologise for your experience. The franchise structure means that many centres can be varied in the effectiveness of management. As a company we strive to improve, but can only do so with feedback from teachers about their experiences. Many issues you have listed could have been resolved if they were raised to the correct person. In most cases, this is the International Department Manager, or the Franchise International Teacher Supervisor and Manager. For visa, the visa team should always be contacted. All the contact information will be provided in the handbook and upon request from the International Department Manager or myself. Substandard accomodation is not acceptable, likewise any form of inappropriate/unprofessional communication will not be tolerated. Had this been raised to the department, we would have done everything we could to help improve your experience. For prospective candiates for First Leap, please note that the company has a clear policy that will not allow for racial discrimination. You may experience some racism while you are in China, particularly in smaller cities where foreigners are few and far between but there is no institutionalised racism in the company. Managers will try to support and protect employees from any racism through talking with parents, staff and students if there are any problems. Likewise, any reasons for deduction in pay is listed clearly in the handbook, provided at the point of recruitment and available to every employee. The handbook also details a grievance procedure if there has been any issue with payment. If you have any concerns about this review, please ask your recruiter for further information, and a list of teachers you can contact in a variety of cities for their experience.
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      Glassdoor has 201 First Leap reviews submitted anonymously by First Leap employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Leap is right for you.