IQBar
IQBar Review
IQBar (offline and out of business) is based in the UK and teach Chinese children 1 to 1. They are looking for native speakers from Canada, the UK, New Zealand, the USA and Australia. They pay up to $30 USD an hour plus bonuses. Click here for the TwoSigmas reviews page.is the newest company from the UK. They are looking for native speakers who have at least 1 year of teaching experience with children. (It looks like they are really interested in getting students from UK universities.) As of January 2019, they want teachers to have a TEFL certificate too. They offer a flexible schedule and teachers can work full or part time. They want teachers to have an internet download speed of 20 mbps or more. IQBar pays between $12 to $18 per hour plus bonuses. Apparently some of their bonuses include discounted gym memberships, public transportation fare, mobile plans, phone insurance and Apple discounts.
Please leave us your comments and reviews of IQBar.
92 Comments
Anonymous
I’ll say what I said on Glassdoor. However, I will try to make it seem cordial and detail my exposure and what I witnessed taking place.
I loved working for IQBar at first. This was probably due to my reasoning that it was best to stay as far away as humanly possible from the managing director, which eased my trouble compared to others.
But over time, you begin to understand how a promising company can end up one falling so far off a cliff. Everyday being interesting and fun becomes dreary and frankly I’m quite tired of working here.
Pros:
– Freedom of Working Hours
– Not much else anymore.
Cons:
– Nepotism across senior management, which allows for baffling decision making in working environment.
– Senior positions are given to a favoured few. Certain high senior roles given their title in the space of a few months after joining as a teacher, despite there being better alternatives. Even if they were the best alternative, being promoted from new to management in 5 months is ridiculous and an insult to the longer serving members of staff. These new members then continued to engage with more nepotism. Promotions are generally given to the select few, irrespective of their suitability for the role. This excludes the “niceties” that are involved with some getting their position. I’m putting it nicely. Some of us in life have never been panderers to get anywhere. We did it through hard work and sacrifice, never playing to people’s egos. But I won’t say too much on this, as it seems a norm these days.
– A disastrous balance among lesson distribution for tutors. Some teachers get 10, some get 1 or none. This is due to students being allowed to choose, which allows for bias amongst race, gender and other factors. IQbar also clearly markets the same teachers over and over, contributing to the unfair distribution of lessons. A situation made worse by Covid, which has yet to be resolved, despite China’s position becoming majorly Covid-free.
– Staff of colour generally either leave or get fired. This is down to the lack of opportunity provided to them by the company, which proceeds to be an incredibly white-dominated environment, despite its teachers being from worldwide locations.
– Quality and Assessor positions are given to members of staff with less experience, and shorter spans of time at the company, once again promoting the idea that demographics and certain “factors” matter more than those who are suitable for the role.
– The failure of management to follow through with new ideas being implemented. It doesn’t seem there’s much structure to how these ideas are implemented, so they end up falling away over time.
– An inability to combat student discrimination against teachers. Students are moneymakers for IQBar, and so they allow them to do as they please, which means they can choose to make derogatory comments and actions towards teachers without repercussions. Teachers are simply told to let it go.
– Some teachers earn more than others, based on who IQbar decides should earn certain amounts. There is no criteria to this. It’s just who they “felt” was more deserving after the Covid crisis, based on a performance criteria that doesn’t exist. There was definitely a feeling amongst many teachers(especially of colour) that they’d been forced out.
– I have to reiterate. The sheer incompetence of management is just ridiculous.
This company had wonderful potential when I joined, but now I see it as a company on a downward trend and lacking sustainability, due to improper management practices and lack of structure.
It started as a good experience, but became a rather poor one in time.
The sheer arrogance of senior management means anything would be unlikely to be taken aboard. In the end, they’ll just type up some random generic message stating why this is not true, and why your opinion is garbage. Naturally.
Note: I don’t recommend any of you engage directly with the opposing comments. They’re indirectly making you out to be liars. Fact is, people will see the majority of negative opinions and make their own conclusions. Leave it at that.
Daphne James
I can’t believe IQBar is still in business! I really thought that the British authorities would have shut them down by now. It doesn’t help to warn teachers against this company, as many South Africans are so desperate they do not mind being treated horribly and paid nothing. All I can say is, if you are so desperate and you really can’t find work even to sweep the streets or clean toilets, first read this review page very carefully. Also realise that any good review on here is paid for by IQBar and that the teachers who warn you, are people who went through hell while working for IQBar. It is a terrible place full of terrible people.
Georgie
Dear Kulsoom and Adriana,
I too am South African and had the very unfortunate experience to work for IQbar. They seem to want us to work for them so they can pay very little. It is not a very nice experience. I suggest you read the whole thread carefully and see what people have to say. There are far better, honest and reliable places to find work, where you will be treated properly and with respect.
Bianca
Hi Georgie!
Thanks for your honest review (and to everyone else in this thread). I have been wanting to sign up with a company but I have been hesitant as I am yet to find a company with decent reviews. Do you (or does anyone else in this thread) have any suggestions?
Adriana
Hi, what are your minimum teaching hours? If you, for example, want to work two days per week is this possible? Can you switch off from your messages, meetings and your online communication and socialising the other 5 days of the week? Do you have group classes of say 4 adults preparing for Cambridge exams? Does your platform have breakout rooms like in Zoom? Is it possible to teach only adult classes? Do you have UK based students preparing for the Functional Skills exams? If not, do you know of any other UK company that does this?
IQBar
Hey Adriana! Minimum teaching hours is 5 hours per week, you could do for two days out of a week if you wanted. We’ve changed our system now so there aren’t constant messages and if you only worked 2 days a week, you’d only really need to look at messages for those days. Socialising is not a must as our engagement group is opt-in 🙂 We would suggest just double-checking for announcements the odd day though, in case any changes occurred to practices or courses in that time. We have a weekly seminar, but if it fell on a day that didn’t work for you there is the option to watch it back later. Whilst the seminars are important they’re not compulsory.
We don’t offer any group classes, only one-to-one. Many of these are for the Cambridge exams. We don’t have break-out rooms no, we have meeting rooms on Teams for internal meetings but all classes are in our online classroom.
Currently we don’t have enough adults for only teaching adults, but in the next month or so we’ll be starting an adult course so keep an eye out and you will be able to teach solely adults 🙂
All our students are based in China. We don’t know of any UK companies that do that unfortunately.
I hope this answers all your questions! Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Francesco Tessa
Does anyone have any new reviews about this place? I was thinking of giving them a chance but I’m getting worried from these statements.
Haz
Hey there Francesco! I’ve worked at IQBar for almost two years and I’ve been pretty happy with it. They always pay on time, their comments and feedback for me has always been reasonable and I’ve been offered additional roles which I think is a nice touch for an online school. I don’t think a lot of the bitterness on here is warranted, and a lot of the responses are quite childish. My advice would be go for an interview and you’ll get a good sense of what the company is like to decide whether you’d want to go forward or not 🙂
Daphne James
Oh goodness, I hope you didn’t ignore the warnings on here. If you did, I’m sure you have a lot to tell us about how terrible it was.
Esmeralda Hila
I started working for IQbar since May and so far I love it. I have had other teaching experiences before and the truth is: if you are hardworking and patient, teaching is always rewarding! Of course, much depends on one’s qualification and character. Unless you grow to love this profession, you won’t succeed, because it requires you to give a lot from your energy, enthusiasm and patience!
Guy
Sounds 100% fake sorry. There is no clear incentive for you to write this at this early stage in your career – therefore most people will assume it must be either incentivised or fake.
Guy
* no clear reason
Esmeralda Hila
Hi. While I respect your views on this matter, please consider that honest people in the world still exist, and not everybody would be necessarily paid to write down a simple but true comment, such us mine and others up here. Anyway, it’s your right to choose what to believe 🙂.
Daphne James
Esmeralda, what do you love? Being screamed at, interfered with all of the hours of the day, working on not, the continues messages that never, ever stop, the meetings you do not get paid for or the fact that you have to crawl up every managers arse? I don’t believe for a second that your review is honest. Did Sarah ask you to write this drivel? Probably. What did she promise you? More money or more students? Shame on you.
Raymond Connors
My experience with this company was atrocious. The on-boarding was full of condescending interviews with people who obviously did not know what they were doing.
Eventually, we made a start, and what a start it was- New to We Chat I was struggling, but the crunch came when they scheduled me 4 classes back to back, advising me on We Chat, while I was teaching another lesson. Being dedicated, I had my phone turned off so as not to be disturbed while teaching. When the lesson was over I checked that I had missed the start of the next lesson (because I was already teaching one of their classes).
I was then penalized and some of the money I had earned was taken away from me for being so naughty. This happened more than once and I ended up teaching for FREE because they kept finding excuses to penalize me.
A real amateurish outfit that has no real concern for real teaching- just wanting bobble head yes people.
AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE- Won’t look positive on your resume.
IQBar - Harriet
Hi there Raymond,
We stopped using Wechat in May and have switched to Microsoft Teams which is much more user-friendly, particularly during sessions as small notifications pop up without affecting your classroom so you can see if any last-minute sessions have been booked. You can find out more information on our blog here:http://blog.iqbar.co.uk/index.php/2019/05/01/tip-for-tuesday-using-teams/ . We try not to arrange last-minute sessions, particularly back to back, for new teachers so if this is the case, we are sorry this happened and will review.
We hope you find a workplace that better suits your needs!
Ellen
Hi do you employ South Africans?
Sue Spargo
Hi Ellen,
Yes, we do!
Andrew B
I’ve been working with IQBar for about eight months now. Before I start this review proper, I should note that I am what’s called a “Flexi Buddy”: this means I more or less set my own schedule, giving me time to work on other projects alongside teaching a handful of sessions per day. This option was ideal for me because what I needed more than anything after graduating was some sort of practical experience in something. I am privileged enough to say that the money is not so big a concern for me at present. If I were a “Contracted Buddy”, which I believe most commenting here are, then I dare say I would be burned out for a number of reasons. Flexi Buddies can monitor how many bookings they want and when they can work, and are also not obliged to contribute to the development of the company unless they want to. Bookings are generally less frequent, but for me this has given me the chance to work more closely with a few selected students (called “Breadies” in IQBarese). This, I think, has been the best for all of us.
I’m not sure if I agree with the idea that IQBar cultivates a cult-like work environment, because I can understand a number of the criticisms posted here. It’s true that we were all recently directed towards this page to offer our thoughts. On the other hand, I find some of the posts somewhat bizarre (I can confirm that Frank Arriaga, like Pepe Silvia, does indeed exist), and there are others I can’t reasonably comment on, like those about the South African workers. So I’ll start off with the bad as a change of pace.
– I can understand how some feel about the emphasis on gestures/props in lessons and how this might impact on your observations. I share the opinion that, for an older student, it’s probably not entirely suitable to be using toys and slow speech punctuated by body language – it’s possible that some studies disagree with me, but in terms of maintaining engagement and productivity in a lesson with an older student I’ve generally found during my time here that it often doesn’t fit. I don’t like the idea of teachers feeling as though they might be punished for this attitude, should such a lesson be observed. I think the main problem here is that some observers might not be entirely sure how to grade a teacher (they are generally other “Buddies” just like you), or perhaps the management side of things is overemphasising all of this in its criteria, but I have a mind to believe it’s the former. I’ve had recent observations of lessons with older Breadies, and these have been very understanding of me not using props and gestures.
– The security concerns with regards to WeChat are well-documented, and while I’ve never had to use TeamViewer during my time at IQBar I can understand some of the concerns people might have with it. The company is apparently working on switching its communication in-house, on a new website that (last I heard) was being designed by a British firm, but this may still be some way off yet. I would advise those worried about their online security to exercise extra vigilance, and not confirm things without checking them first, especially when it comes to sketcky tools like the online video converters you might use whilst working here. Make sure you close WeChat and TeamViewer when you’re not using them (the scare I read above about someone’s webcam activating covertly seems like it might be an issue with their computer’s webcam software doing something but I suppose I can’t be certain). You might find some solace in that, were you actually teaching in China, you’d find that WeChat is ubiquitous, or that there are no perfect applications out there wherever you teach, but on the other hand you might not.
– On the WeChat topic, I can also agree that there are probably a few too many WeChat protocols to remember as a teacher, such as which room to post in and who exactly to tag. I know I’ve had to clarify things a few times over before. This is another issue that will supposedly be alleviated by the new website and communication tools.
– I dislike the number of errors found in the “Picaro” material, aimed at younger students. There has been an effort to combat this (with another WeChat group, some of you will not be surprised to hear), but there is still some way to go. That said, the materials used are generally very easy to apply, and while a good deal of preparation is ideal for each and every lesson, I don’t think you need to plan your own lesson per se, as some here have perhaps implied.
Maybe I can add more to this, but I’ll move on to the positives.
– In contrast to most comments here, I actually find the “workplace” to be very friendly and supportive. This includes the management, who have been patient with my many questions and occasional errors. I like to think that I get along with them, and I feel as though I am at least respected by them whenever we interact. They might sometimes come across as blunt in text chats, but I don’t necessarily think this is intended as rudeness, and I think it is unfortunately a common misunderstanding in many of today’s workplaces. A friend of mine works in retail here in the UK, and has to engage every day with praises and scoldings via WhatsApp groups. Countless miscommunications have occurred because of this, so I can understand why some might feel the management at IQBar to be unfriendly. For me though, I’ve felt accepted throughout my time here. Perhaps that will change after this review if they are as “mean” as some here claim, but I wouldn’t have thought so. I believe they would appreciate my honesty.
– Trust me, I’m not a sausage brain: I understand that my online TEFL certificate probably won’t be applicable in most places, and the consensus in TEFL blogs seems to be that they may not even be applicable at a company like IQBar for very long depending on how the Chinese legislation continues to change. However, I am eternally grateful to IQBar for giving me the opportunity to do something when no one else would. They have let me learn, express myself, and find some meaning in my life again after a miserable time post-graduation. It’s no secret that I’ve had problems with depression and applying myself, but IQBar were able to look past that and let me enjoy myself doing what feels like good work. I don’t think it’s necessarily “ass-kissing” to be open about this, it’s just how my life has panned out at this point. They’ve given experience to someone who is still not necessarily sure what they want to do in life, with a manageable schedule and a smiling face (and pay that always come on time). I know I could do much worse.
– I like chatting with other teachers and the managers on WeChat. I know this isn’t for everyone, and I know it must be a little bit aggravating to constantly monitor your muted rooms for something you actually consider to be important. I like interacting with people, but I don’t necessarily think that the company has an aggressively insular nature. If you feel as though I’ve been “kissing ass” at any point, or you think I have done something else wrong, then I would invite you to add me on WeChat and we can talk about it. I’m always trying to improve professionally, as I believe the company as a whole is.
– The students are amazing, which might go without saying but I’ll say it anyway. I’ve taught some incredible kids here, as well as some very promising teenagers and friendly, inquisitive young adults. I’ve certainly had some bad lessons too, we all do, but they’ve been vastly outweighed by the good. As I said above, I don’t think some of the common teaching “principles” sometimes established by the company are always applicable, but they’ve never stopped me from having what I feel to be a good lesson with an older Bready. It might be true that we are sometimes regarded more as entertainers than teachers, as someone above said, but I think we should look at the context most of these students come from: some of them, especially the older ones, will likely come to you after literally hours of lessons, where they’ve been drilled with multiple topics and possibly even entire subjects beyond the school setting. I might be treading on a few toes by saying this, but at IQBar you’re probably going to be somewhere towards the bottom of the list as far as the Bready is concerned, at least before they get to know you properly. To me, it’s a great opportunity for them to interact with a native English speaker, but it also might be the first time that day that they’ve been treated as a human being with feelings and interests. The dangers of being the “nice teacher” are all too apparent to anyone who’s taught or done their research, but I think here it is more relevant than it is in other circles. The company pushes a more fun agenda overall, which I think fits.
Again, maybe I will add more here in the future.
I hope this has been worth reading. Again, if you have anything you wish to say to me personally I should be available via WeChat.
helen
You’re full of it! Also paid to write a review. Not an uncommon thing!
Andrew B
You’ll have to take my word for it, but rest assured that I was not paid to write this. It’s true that I was directed towards this page in order to share my thoughts by one of the IQBar team, but I wasn’t paid to do so, and I didn’t run them by anyone either. I just had some free time and thought it would be fun/useful to get them out there.
However, should anyone want to pay me, I do accept both money and white chocolate.
Guy
I Don’t believe you sorry. I believe the majority that it is terrible at treating its teachers properly.
It is not a school, it's a cult
…And there you have it . . . the hatred and the lies. The teachers that ran like hell from the mad cult and the mad cult trying their best to make the entire crazy show seem like a happy place. Just this, these insane comments and fights and sarcasm should warn you: STAY AWAY. And if you don’t: IQBar is probably the worst experience you will ever have. Good luck. I’ll send you some Prozac in the mail. You’ll need it.
Agreed
Best comment ever!!
Raymond Connors
They are absolutely the most disorganized, condescending bunch of nit-wits with whom I have ever had the displeasure to try to work. Impossible.
B for Balanced
The awful stuff
I don’t enjoy the unpaid lesson planning hours and attending weekly seminars that are also unpaid. Because of this I’ve learned to work smart by finding strategies on how to lessen my prep time and getting personal chores done while attending a seminar.
I was also heartbroken when my contracted hours were reduced due to low bookings when I was starting out. After a few months though, bookings picked up and now I am always booked.
I don’t love all the fines as well, although I understand why they are in place.
Having no sick pay or national insurance contributions is also a bummer. You can only have a set number of sick and vacation leaves, in that sense it does not really feel like freelance work but actual employment, without the employment benefits.
The good stuff
I like the feedback system where a teaching quality assistant suggests how you could do things better. This might be harder to take for more experienced teachers, but I believe we should always strive to improve ourselves as educators.
I like the general vibe of the team chats I’ve been a part of so far. Leaders and co-teachers are supportive, respectful and friendly.
I love the bonuses I received in the past.
I like the Picaro lessons where materials are uploaded for you. It lessens prep time.
I like how easy it is to ask for a vacation leave and how considerate leaders are in cases of sickness and emergencies.
I like the general manager, Sarah. She was never rude when she reprimanded me for some minor issues on different occassions. She is firm but not rude at all. But perhaps she can be if you are rude back at her. Tamsyn, Mark and the other team leaders are not rude at all. Far from it.
I love the small, cute kids I get to teach. They “spark joy” in my life daily (channeling Marie Kondo here).
Last note: I don’t want to invalidate others’ bad feelings. There are some truth in them, but each of us has our own truth based on how we see the world. I emphatise with those of you who didn’t find joy in this company, I am sorry for the struggles you had to go through. I sincerely wish that you find a company/job that resonates with your soul.
Adriana
Guys, I have been working for IQBar for a while now and honestly, I don’t share your negative opinion. Look, I have experience working as a teacher and I have worked for another company online and preparing for your lessons is nothing new, who doesn’t? If you were working for a mainstream school they expect you to use some of your own time to prepare, grade and plan for your lessons, so writing reviews are what you would expect. How can the student and the parents know what the student is working on, or needs to be supported on if there are not written reviews?!. Surely as parents, you would want to see and have a history of your child’s progress.
I read about IQBar employing non-native speakers, well let me tell you: so does 31ABC, VIPKID,51Talk, Magic ears and so on…that’s not a problem. That actually shows they are not showing any prejudice or narrow mindedness. It is interesting to know that Cambridge mentions the following on this topic:” Indeed, some features of native speaker pronunciation may be irrelevant to learners who use English as a lingua franca with other non-native speakers of English”.” A teacher’s own accent is relatively unimportant but it is important that they speak to learners using natural sounding rhythm.” Cambridge Certificate/ 7.2 Looking at pronunciation features in more detail / Cambridge Teaching Vocabulary and Pronunciation 2018. How interesting is that?!
If you think that there is something wrong with IQBar because they want you to have a TEFL/TESOL, how come the other companies do the same? I know that for a fact! I have worked for one of those companies and have friends who work for those companies and don’t have degrees as their websites claim. I think it is important to focus on what you can learn with the company even if you didn’t work as a teacher before.
I haven’t found a company that basically pays you on your contracted hours if you don’t have students, to study your certifications from Cambridge, seriously other than what company does that?!.
The fact that there are assessments, seminars and observations is all part of a growing process that you need which by the way all the companies that I mentioned above and others do because that’s what a company who invests in their teachers does. Again, when you work at a mainstream school you have to do that.
I’ve had a great experience so far with IQBar! Getting messages via wechat wouldn’t stop me from working for the company. I really like the fact that the student is assessed continuously and there is feedback from the team to make sure that the child is in the right class for his/her level of English. Instead of going on what the parents of the student say regarding their level of English and having them in the wrong one-on-one class or group class where the students are at different levels,IQBar excels in continuously assessing the student to make sure that the lessons are tailored to their level of English and monitors their progress.
Shenaaz Rajan
Been with Iqbar for a few months now and I have to say that its truly an amazing experience. Iqbar is the best online teaching platforms to work at. Iqbar invest endless training and resources to enhance and improve their quality of teaching. We as the teachers benefit from the training, resources and courses. So far I haven’t come across a company that invest so much into their teachers and learners. Great management and staff. Sarah works round the clock to ensure that everything runs smoothly and everyone’s happy. I look forward to doing my best and growing with the company. I feel truly blessed to be part of this great online platform.
John
I think IQ Bar is a good place to work. I’ve never had any issues, get paid weekly, get bonuses and my schedule is usually packed full.
Tara Epps
Totally agree with Debbie!! What is so wrong with IQbar wanting to insure standards are maintained and students are happy 🙂 I feel that the company has expanded quickly and this is never easy, yet this has not effected me in any way and I feel glad to be part of an ever expanding team!
Such racist comments on here, and I have watched a lot of lessons from people who do not reside in the U.K. but they still speak English! I think it’s great for the students to hear different accents and better prepares them for their multicultural working life!
At first I wasn’t convinced about the money from teaching online but with my contracted pay and no travel expenses I am living the dream and easily affording it! So what if I have to do a bit of lesson prep! The lesson PPTs mostly need little prep at all and I get to know what my students need and want so by no way do I feel as tho this is a burden. Bonuses are great (much better than other EFL companies)
Fines??? Fair enough if the company loses money because you are late, but they are NOT unreasonable at all and you talk to actual people about it, I can’t speak for everyone but I have never had a fine.
I have worked for another China based company and they were dishing out fines left right and centre! I NEVER knew what my pay check would look like and they have a cheeky way to calculate any days you took off so that you lose more than u would have earned!
IQbar offers me stability and structure.
Teaching online has changed my life! I finally have the time and money to chase my dreams! Anyone looking for a professional and quality EFL company should consider IQbar
I am loving IQbar and hope that I will get to continue with them for the foreseeable future!
Debbie Ellis
I have been working for IQBAR for over a year now and I can honestly say I admire their high expectations of staff. Why shouldn’t the quality of teaching be excellent? The regular observations are there for a purpose, to make us better teachers, and this is something which woudl happen in any UK teaching establishment. Yes, we are expected to attend unpaid seminars, but they are crucial to our professional development , plus we are able to take further courses for free to add to our CV should we wish. I am contracted and always fully booked, I am observed monthly and happy to be, as I am open to feedback and suggestions to improve my teaching. I have extensive teaching experience but choose not to return to a mainstream classroom in the UK , as my children were missing out. This job provides the perfect opportunity for me to continue my professional development, gain extra qualifications and keep up with current teaching practices and trends. Despite having approx 20 years teaching experience, I didn’t have a TEFL qualification and I was required to undertake and complete a course very quickly in line with new Chinese Regulations. The course took 40 hours, and cost very little, and I am pleased that I have added yet another string to my bow. Teachers are expected to tailor lessons to individual students and act upon reviews and plan future lessons accordingly, which is exactly what an excellent teacher should do. Some of the negative comments here about persistent messages do not take into consideration the fact that one of the reasons this company is great to work for is their superb communication and help at exactly the time you need it. I believe they are working towards moving away from Wechat in the future to enable a more direct messaging approach. The company has gone from strength to strength in my opinion and I am proud to be part of such a highly motivated team of superb teachers. From the negative reviews on here, I can only assume those people were not up to the high standards expected from this company and i have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending them to anyone considering an online teaching position. They have been nothing but helpful, flexible and supportive throughout the year I have worked for them, and I have no intention of moving on.
Noneofyourbusiness
How much were you paid to write this “review”?
Amanda Harrison
I absolutely love this company, they have very high standards and pride themselves on being an excellent ESL teaching platform. It’s a privilege and an honour to work with IQBar. If you are fortunate to pass the mock session, this company is a joy to work for. The support, camaraderie and community is absolutely amazing. I love working for a company that allows me to grow and IQBar has many job opportunities within the company which is absolutely fantastic. Iqbar is a progressive company and they make it easy to be successful . I’ve been working here since May, and they make it easy so to work here. Their standard of excellence is unrivalled. The support in this company is second to none. I am so happy to be part of this community and I love teaching here. I absolutely love their high standards and feel very at home with IQBar. It’s my home. If I had to sum up IQBar in 3 words, I would say, opportunity, excellence and extraordinary.
Kissasscindy
Kiss ass much? Seems you were also paid to “put in a good word” since 99% of the comments on ALL threads is just negative about the school and it’s managers.
Don't embarrass yourself
Amanda Harrison, you are a MANAGER! And a bad one at that. You are one of the South African managers from Centurion who would stab your own countrymen in the back. You did it to me with a smile on your face. Oh please, run back to your evil master. You are just a pawn, Amanda. You are silly to believe that if you keep singing the praises of a substandard online school Sarah will promote you. She will kick you in the teeth the moment she doesn’t need you anymore. But more importantly, have a bit of integrity and admit it is a terrible scam and that the teaching style is a joke. Come on girl you can do it . . .you can be honest if you try really, really hard.
Dishonest waste of time
Told you she was paid to post a positive review. It’s very well known iqbar pays people to write positive reviews to save face.
IQBar Ltd
Hi there!
I would like to clarify that IQBar has not paid anyone to post reviews on here. We have a number of Buddies who work in social media engagement which I think might be what you’re referring to – the same as recruiters who work for most online teaching platforms – but we ask them to not write on review pages unless it’s something they genuinely want to do as it would be inauthentic otherwise. All comments posted in here are done so without payment and without any guidance. I’m very sorry you had a bad experience at IQBar and I hope you can find what you’re looking in your next place of work.
Eleanor
The horror:
– Mostly from the management in England who were truly awful. They were all so narcissistic and yet so utterly incompetent and obviously lacking in any real management experience. Sarah, in particular, was extremely rude, disrespectful and patronising in her communication with teachers. Tamsyn, the new ‘teaching quality’ manager, seems to be cut in the same mold as Sarah. You feel like you are constantly walking on eggshells when a polite question that you supposedly should have known enough not to ask will bring on a tirade and neither of these two bothers to tell you you’ve done anything well or to put a simple ‘Hi’ before launching into berating you
– As time went on, the role became more and more regulated to the point of stupidity. First we were being observed monthly. Then it was fortnightly. Then it was weekly. Then our reviews were being checked too. Then we had to update our availability between 8 – 10am every Monday. Then we had to submit a speed test every Friday. A simple mistake in any one of these areas would lead to an extremely rude message from management and a threat of fines/ sacking
– You are expected to do a great deal of unpaid work for the company. I didn’t mind so much preparing lessons or writing reviews, but I drew the line at attending TWO unpaid seminars every week (one with central management and one with your ‘team leader’) that often went on for over an hour. You were also given virtually no notice of the seminars which took place at variable times and if not able to attend were expected to watch the recording online, again in your own unpaid time. I was also told to film various videos, e.g. Chinese New Year, Christmas, for the company to put up on the website and was chased when I didn’t immediately comply
– The website is very slow and bad with lots of glitches which makes uploading materials very frustrating. To make it worse, on several occasions I was unable to access the online classroom due to problems with THEIR terrible website (my computer was working fine on any other site) and so was fined £5.75 for every missed lesson on the basis that it was MY computer at fault
– Following on from this, fining £5.75 from money you have already earned for every missed lesson is just unfair and exploitative. Internet or power failure are not considered acceptable reasons to miss a lesson. Neither is illness or injury (when I needed to go to hospital at short notice I was duly fined £5.75 for all my sessions that day despite providing medical evidence)
– We-Chat. The thing operates 24/7 with hundreds of messages being sent to my computer and phone every hour. It made it impossible to switch off from the job but also impossible to glean any useful information. The company didn’t email anything to you and if you missed any WeChat messages you were fined (see a theme emerging here?)
– The company used Team Viewer to assist with any IT problems remotely, which was seldom useful and, more importantly, teachers’ valid security concerns were never addressed. I couldn’t wait to delete Team Viewer as soon as I quit because I didn’t want an unknown IT guy in China to have access to everything on my laptop, including my bank details. I was also told to uninstall my anti-virus software as it was supposedly causing the problems with their own bad website and was intimidated into complying
– Generally, IQBar is extremely disorganised and will go to any lengths to cover up their own incompetence. I’ve had last minute sessions booked with less than five minutes’ notice, details about students that are entirely wrong and, most frustratingly, an assistant in the classroom who would tell me to use one textbook, then change their mind five minutes later, and then change it back again after ten minutes!
– I disagreed with their very rigid interpretation of what it means to be a good ESL teacher. I was repeatedly criticised for being ‘too serious’ and ‘not child-friendly enough’ because I refused to decorate my background like a nursery, speak in a ridiculously sing-song voice, or use teddies in classes with teenagers. There is no room for your own personality; they want you to be a robot
I eventually left IQBar because Tamsyn messaged me out of nowhere to say that because there had been a ‘slight dip’ in my recent observations I was now ‘on probation’ and would have to pass even more frequent observations to keep my job. Although I had always been fully booked by students and had good reviews, the management at IQBar loved nothing more than to constantly tell me I was a terrible teacher, despite the fact that I had often gone out of my way to please them and was dedicated to my students. As has been said above, this is sad because the students and their parents are lovely and deserve good tuition from teachers who aren’t being constantly belittled and berated. I deleted WeChat, completed the rest of the lessons that I had booked, and said goodbye. I don’t regret it.
Supporting You
Everything you mentioned here is spot on girl. This was the most honest review yet accurate. Truly a horrible place to work. The entire management team are a bunch of narsists.
Raymond Connors
Correct- I got fined for not attending a class they double booked. The bloody useless We chat thing chatters all day and night and if you miss their instructions on it (maybe because you are teaching one of their classes) they fine you. Its a scam to get free teaching for paying customers. The people who manage it from UK are far from good managers, and are always seeking to move blame to the teacher. A truly negative experience and I am really pleased to be well rid of them.
Eleanor
Ex-IQBar teacher here. I worked for IQBar for around a year and a half until I finally snapped and decided to cut my losses. As I’ve received my last paycheck, an honest review follows with no fear of reprisals…
The positives: (let’s be fair now)
– They take people with little formal TEFL experience
– The hours are flexible and you can work from home
– There are a good variety of resources available to build your lessons around
– I’ve seen people complain about the pay, but I thought it was reasonable and you get a £20 bonus from every successful taster session which does add up – I was also always paid on time
– The children and their parents were mostly lovely; I also liked the management team in China
Don't embarrass yourself
Teachers should realise that working for IQBar is an embarrassment. It is not a school you want to be associated with if you want to be viewed as a good, respectable teacher. It is also not a school that you can put on your resume, as more and more people are aware of the low quality of their teachers. They employ people with no education, false online teaching certificates and non-native speakers who are just not up for the challenge. The reason why they do this, is so that they can pay them a really low wage and not at all what is advertised. There are a huge number of substandard teachers, who can’t spell and speak with terrible accents. They mostly “hunt” for workers in South Africa because there is a huge unemployment rate and people are so desperate they will work for absolutely nothing. They are paid 4.75 pounds a lesson! If this is not enough, these people are treated extremely badly by the managers, sadly some of them are also South Africans, with no respect or sympathy for their fellow countrymen.
Don't Bash a nation
I don’t like you bashing South Africans. I am South African with an American accent because I lived there. I absolutely do not have a horrible accent. Not assume all South Africans are the same. Just like the Essex accent is English which no one understands, does mean that all British people have an Essex accent.
Don't embarrass yourself
I am not “bashing” South Africans. I am talking about non-native speakers for crying out loud!!!! You will see that I said “non-native” teachers and I was only referring to South African teachers with accents (Afrikaans speaking) and if you are a South African then you know bloody well who say “fings” instead of things, “dis” instead of this, “dose” instead of those and mix up is and are. I am not bashing people. This is a fact. People who are Afrikaans and still speak with terrible accents are hired by this company. They can’t spell properly. That you can see clearly in the chat rooms. What must I have added? Oh, I am not talking about all those who worked in America and actually lost their Afrikaans accents? I am happy that you can now actually pronounce your words and not say things like “Yourrrr is wery rude. Dis are not a place to bass (bash) Souf Afrrricans.” Congratulations!
Ex IQBar teacher
Why would they fire people with fake TEFL certificates? They are paying them peanuts. This is not an honest establishment.
Still Suffering
so now they have a “complaints” department, LOL. All they need to do it look at review sites and see the truth. I am shocked to see so many teachers who admitted to having fake TEFL certificates and they are not fired? IQbar is the only school requesting police clearance. Reviews are coming up and I am dreading it because you are heavily criticised.
Amanda Harrison
No fake TEFL “certification” will stand up at IQBar. It’s imperative to know what you are talking about.
Really Sarah? We are not all idiots.
The original message:
Hi everyone! With a recent change in Chinese legislation, it will be compulsory for all online teachers to hold a completed TEFL certificate. This will need to be completed and uploaded to your profile by 10th February 2019 in preparation for the government inspections in that month. Please ensure you obtain one if you do not hold one, as failure to do so will unfortunately lead to the termination of your time at IQBar. Please let me know if you have any queries.
What I would like to know, is how on earth will anybody be able to get any of these certificates, from accredited establishments in this short time? Can’t these people see they are being played with? Or are they so dragged in to the whole “cult” of Iqbar that they just fork out more money to try to keep their really badly paid jobs?
Just another suffering Iqbar teacher
Yesterday, 11 January 2019 Sarah Spargo, the manager of Iqbar dropped the bom . . . if you don’t have teaching accreditation through TEFL, TESOL, CELTA TEYL by 10 February 2019 you will no longer be eligible to work for the company. These must be obtained from accredited companies, she stated. It was shocking to see how many people did not have the necessary certification and is now running around trying to find schools that will help them get accreditation before 10 February. She stated that it was “new legislation” in China, but I have been teaching online for years and most schools will not employ you without a TEFL at least. I presume this is just another way to get rid of the plethora of unqualified online teachers she hired in the past over February when China has their annual “big holiday”.
Amanda Harrison
Bomb with a ‘b’ it’s English. Thank you.
I hate Iqbar
I work for Iqbar and I hate it. I hate the falseness, the arse crawling, the deceitful people, the intrusion in to my privacy through hundreds of WeChat messages and some unknown IT guy in China that can now find my bank account details, my personal information and anything else I hold dear because of Teamviewer. I detest the manager. I detest the fact that she is so superior as if she thinks she is someone special and can talk to people however she wants. I hate the whole damn thing and I am forced to work there because I still haven’t found other employment. I hate every moment. It is the most terrible place. Please don’t apply at Iqbar. It is not worth your sanity.
Worst Company Ever
Agreed a 100% with all comments above, this is a horrible company. The manager is what grinds me, and some other “managers”. Every time I have to sign on I am miserable. Sure, there are small benefits but right now I am just too annoyed with them and all the changes. You aren’t allowed to comment, you must keep yourself in check all the time or Sarah will chow you out. Who does she think she is anyway? What makes her so perfect to treat people like dogs? She really must have no life. I do recommend that you post on Glass Door too, the more people know about how they treat people, the better. I hate my job at IQbar.
Shocked
I wanted to complain about them at ACAS (British Pay and work rights helpline and complaints) but when I needed to add Iqbar’s address, it said it doesn’t exist. So another reason to be aware. I’m not saying the company is a scam as such, but somewhere I read on here someone stating that the address is not correct and Iqbar came back and said their address is correct. Well Iqbar, tt does seem to be incorrect if you enter it into a government database and ACAS says it doesn’t exist. Scary place, scary people this Iqbar with the scary manager . . .
Anonymous
I worked for this company until my contract was terminated out of nowhere and actually previously made it quite far up in the company as a classroom trainer for some time for a pathetic rate of pay. Everything I’ve read in the comments I’m completely on board with, I would implore anyone to add there reviews to glassdoor as well. I often taught for 5 hours in a row without breaks. I’ve worked as an English teacher in schools overseas and was only ever expected to teach 2 hours without a break at most. I’ve also had to deal with many of the negative aspects to the role mentioned in reviews above. If you work for them as a trainer you’re expected to wait around on unpaid call waiting for training sessions to be booked and have to deal with constant changes in training conduct due to the lack of foresight and professionalism from the manager. The company is clearly looking to expand within South Africa which has a high unemployment rate where generally people are willing to bend over backwards for awful companies like this. It’s a shame because a lot of the children and adults I taught where really lovely and I would like to see them receive a good standard of education in English. But realistically they are not going to receive this if any self respecting teacher is demotivated by being constantly berated and threatened with fines. Aside from vague promises of bonuses from successful taster sessions there are no benefits to working for this company. You will receive no sick pay, holidays or national insurance contributions. It’s really not worth it and I regret having any involvement with them.
Amanda
Exemplary work is rewarded.
Sue
With regards to your comment, we would like to reiterate that the company is registered with Companies House, a Government body, with the registered IQBar address. It is therefore correct on the Government database if you follow this link – https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/search?q=IQBar
Shocked
Every negative word I read here is correct. This is no place for a decent, honest and real person. It is a fake, popularity contest with horrible people who will smile at you and stab you in the back. Especially managers.
I think the worst for me is that you have to send them your computer details through Teamviewer and so they can get access to your computer whenever they want. In other words, IT can see everything on your computer. Yes, your bank details and passwords too. Nothing is sacred and they can scratch around on your computer without your knowledge. My wife was sure they were watching us one night when my laptop’s record light next to my camera went on. It was strange. I looked to see if I activated my camera at all, and I didn’t. I switched my computer off and from then on, when I was not teaching, I would cover the lens with a piece of paper so I couldn’t be watched.
Another thing that irritates me, is that most of the teachers, who are Afrikaans, (this is a language group from South Africa) can’t spell. They happily send messages on the countless WeChat groups and their grammar and spelling are preposterous. It is actually laughable. These are the teachers . . . people that can’t spell or know the correct grammar to use and I heard some of them speak with the most terrible accents.
This “school” should be avoided at all costs. It is a joke and a terrible place to work for. Teachers should all be warned to stay away.
Annonymous
I agree a 100% with all the negative reviews about IQbar.
I don’t know where to begin, but every negative review written here is a 100% correct.
– The thousands of wechat messages, I can’t keep track and miss important information. On your off day, you also miss important info. They don’t notify you of anything via email. There is just no break. Google wechat vulnerabilities, yes.. your life can be ruined if you are hacked via wechat. Should a company use wechat for communication, it is their responsibility and legal obligation to protect our privacy and if not, IQbar will be audited and taken down.
– You must be the PERFECT teacher, ” remember IQbar’s lesson structure, you MUST follow it” you may not be spontaneous and adapt to the student! TPR all the way and use props, even if it’s a teenager! Yes… you are a entertainer! NOT a teacher. Ofcourse as a teacher we use TPR but for older student’s it is not always useful.
– Reviews on Filio from god knows who. Yes, you are reviewed on your most difficult classes. The feedback is not realistic at all and downright insulting. We don’t even know who reviewed us but clearly someone who does not teach for a living. All the reviews do is leave you angry and frustrated wondering if that person even truly understands what has happened in that lesson because you will never be able to do it well enough because they can do it perfectly themselves, right?
– Writing reviews for classes, you MUST follow the IQbar review policy or risk getting a strike. And it must always be over friendly and never honest.
– no support for unruly and rude students. It’s YOUR fault that you could not control the student!
– Constant seminars to attend or watch if you can’t attend outside of working hours.
– Wechat operates 24hours a day, these people don’t have a life.
– this company is just downright full of poor and like to call it standards when all they do is make you feel like you are a poor teacher and can’t do anything right by them.
– No manners, from management or “team leaders” Not a Hi, just a “here is a review” meaning there is no want to build a relationship with the teachers.
– You must upload materials to a very very slow and bad website
– You must login to the classroom at least 2min before the start or you will be fined for being late even if you started the class on time.
– very poor communication
– very poor leave policy
– the company is fine happy, loves to dish out fines.
– you must supply proof of your internet speed every Friday.
– if you are not booked, you must offer your time to do work for the company to increase your popularity ( said by the manager herself – Sarah)
– the school is absolutely a popularity contest
– most people suck up so much
– have people in “leadership” positions who I honestly believe are so narcissistic and clearly not experienced.
– Id recommend Sarah to go on a management course, work on her interpersonal skills and stop favoring.
This company makes most feel like we are not worth much (just like the pay) and wants to work us like a sweatshop. I have never been so bitter in my life and shocked that they are so blind.
I’ve never worked for a company that has made me feel … so… so bad and I might not be the best and perfect teacher but I certainly am not a poor teacher.
If you want perfect teachers, then hire robots. We are human.
Your whole system is complicated, from the training, to the 100’s of wechat groups, you don’t know where to post what and because there are so many you forget and god forbid you post something in the wrong group! off with her head!
You are thrown into lessons expected to do it a 100% from day one and remember the “structure” of each different type of lesson causing most of us to focus on the structure instead of teaching which is what you hired us for.
Anything they can find, they will nitpick at.
We don’t feel valued, or appreciated. Management cold shoulder approach is really disheartening. You are not equipped to work with people.
I can’t believe I wasted my time with you. Complete unrealistic expectations.
Amanda Harrison
The standards are high at IQBar, and I prefer working for a company that expects the best from their teachers. Hopefully you will find a better fit for yourself and your standards.
Kayla Garcy
I am reading all of these negatives reviews and I can’t stop. I find it crazy how this Amanda person keeps on defending the company. Ok we get it you love working
there. You can stop kissing ass. Oh wait! This is what this company wants right?
Ron
Oh goodness. I have read the messages above and it doesn’t really show the horror . . . I am begging everyone who loves teaching out there to STAY AWAY from this company. I am very happy to share my experience with you, but it is just too long and sordid to write it down. I will just state a few horrible facts:
– The manager is extremely rude. She is young and that could be the reason for her behaviour, but a puppy with a God complex is not what one wants to deal with when you
know your are a good teacher and love what you do best.
– You will be bombarded with messages on WeChat constantly. I used to get over a hundred messages per hour sent to my phone and my computer on WeChat, on the ten
chatrooms I was forced to join.
– There is a manager for every little thing. You have to remember who is in charge of what and what to post of where and to whom on a forum or you are in trouble.
– You have to attend seminars that are sometimes outside the hours that you are contracted for the school. I have another job and couldn’t attend those seminars and it
was a huge problem.
– There are a few teachers that are constantly chatting on the different forums, of which you will get a notification of, yes, every single message will be sent to you too.
– The managers will send you messages and expect replies outside of your working hours.
– Your classes will be watched and you will be expected to teach as if you are an idiotic clown with epilepsy. I have epilepsy so I know . . .Swinging your arms, making
extreme gestures and smiling like a lunatic. It doesn’t matter if your student is in shock because of your behaviour. I had students who refused to speak and I knew it
was because they were scared of the TPR and the other things that overwhelmed them.
– You better have as much stuffed toys and puppets as your salary can afford. You have to use them, even if your student is older and looks at the teddy you suddenly
introduced as if it was an alien who entered the classroom. Oh, and TPR the poor teenager into another life too. I had one kid who sat back, folded his arms and watched
me as if I am an actor in a sitcom.
– You have to write reviews, come up with homework, attend seminars and also weekly sessions with your group manager and you are not paid for any of this.
– You will be stuffed into a group with a name like roosters or dragons or monkeys and it will be your team. You will also be added to that group’s WeChat group chat. The
Messages will never stop. Your team leader will send out that they have a “session” once or twice a week that you have to attend and you are not paid for it.
– You will have no classes in your contracted hours, which is not your fault, but you better keep busy begging one of the countless chiefs for work. O
Oh there are much, much more horriblenesses (my own word) and it gets worse, but I think you are bored now and my wife is calling me for dinner. Just please, take good advice, don’t do it to yourself. Us teachers must learn to stand together and help each other. This school should be avoided at all cost.
Annon
I really regret having joined IQbar! The falseness makes me sick!
Amanda Harrison
The manager is super efficient and does more than anyone understands. Ineffective teachers will not succeed and will be “disgruntled”. Growing with IQBar is so beneficial to anyone who sees a future in teaching.
Search
Amanda, are you one of the rude, controlling managers or one of the teachers who keep annoying Ron and others with your chatter on WeChat?
Annonymous
I am about to start with IQbar and feel rather stressed about it.
Reasons are:
They use Wechat. If you are ok with receiving 2000 messages a day about everyone else’s issues, then great but for me, this is not good. Important information is missed.
Communication from managers are very poor
You have to have a minimum internet speed of 20 up and 20 down
You have to download materials and upload it to a slow website before classes and should they change the material last minute, you are screwed. They require you to follow a certain procedure regarding how to conduct a lesson, I mean we are experienced and qualified teachers, why spoon feed us?
You have to complete Cambridge training when you don’t have classes
You have to join all kinds of sites, padlets, and programs.
You must attend constant training and seminars
In my opinion, this is not a straightforward company to work for, all the little things add up and honestly, it is not worth the $$ in my opinion.
There is just too much going on at the same time making it overwhelming and frustrating.
Musicantus
Dear Annonymous,
I wish I knew you. I work for IQBar. Just concentrate on the students and try to find other work QUICKLY. You only need to give ten days notice, or that is what my contract states. Don’t upset anyone and don’t argue with the managers, because then you will not get lessons. Just take a deep breath, enjoy the teaching and look for other work. if you read the reviews on Glassdoor you will understand better.
Best of luck
Amanda Harrison
The Cambridge courses are free to contracted Buddies, it’s an opportunity to grow professionally it should be seen as an advantage. Best of luck finding the right fit for you.
J
I very much enjoyed the teaching, but I am disappointed with IQBar as a company. The training process is minimal; then you are expected to be prepared to teach to their incredibly high standards straight away. IQBar holds weekly training seminars but these are unpaid. I have never worked for a company that does not pay you for your training. The management at IQBar would respond by saying its only 30-45 minutes per week. But when this is combined with the time spent planning lessons and writing reviews it adds up to more than 30-45 minutes of unpaid time. This is not ‘just what it means to be a teacher’ – teachers are given a salary which covers lesson planning. If you are working at IQBar on a flexible basis you are only paid for the time you spend teaching so, in my opinion, it’s not worth it!
IQBar praises their fantastic support system which is over WeChat. In reality, you will receive a constant stream of messages that are not relevant to your job. IQBar says you can mute them – but this begs the question: why make your employees join a ‘social chat’ in the first place? Their answer to this will most likely be along the lines of ‘to share helpful stories, ideas, tips, to ask questions and so on’. But this kind of interesting content is so diluted with pointless chatter that it is easier to bother one of the members of senior staff with questions or queries, rather than wade through many messages to find an answer to your question. Personally, I see no need for a ‘social’ chat with people I do not know but it is clear others enjoy it.
I did not enjoy my time at IQBar. I did not enjoy the working environment and I found it to be unprofessional and disorganised. Admittedly, they are a new company so maybe when they find their feet things will improve.
Amanda Harrison
Had you stayed, you would have reaped the benefits of working with IQBar. The standards are high and therefore not for everyone.
Estee Booyens
“The standards are high”. Oh please. The standards are immensely low – judging from the spelling on the IQBar chat rooms. At IQBar anyone on the planet, who are desperate enough can get a job and be paid peanuts. There are no benefits to reap, Amanda. The only thing you get from IQBar is frustration. IQBar is a despicable place full of disgusting people – just like you. Here you write all kinds of nonsense, trying to get people to believe that IQBar is a decent place where teachers can earn proper money and get job satisfaction. You know, as well as I do, that it is a lie. You are lying to your own countrymen and that I find despicable!
Peter
Their standards are immensely low but their self-delusion and self-importance are evidenced by the reply from Amanda Harrison. I worked for IqBar for two years and saw them drift from a warm inclusive company to an increasingly remote organisation which thought bullshit was as near as they could get to the truth
Miss Chicka
It seems the company is trying to clean up their reputation by answering reviews and adding positive reviews. I hope these are actual reviews and not paid for. Anyway, I wish them the best of luck!
John
It is funny. The negative comments have good grammar while the positive comments have bad grammar.
Frank Arriaga
I have been working for IQbar for 8 months and so far I’m really happy. The pay is great, the flexibility of working from home is great, and the students are so cute. Most of the students really are motivated to learn. The curriculum IQbar in association with Cambrigde university have designed is very high quality, and not having to prep lesson plans or grade papers is absolutely awesome. The staff are very kind and usually very responsive. They provide lots of trainings to be sure you are prepared.For people Living in the US like me, It makes for a really flexible schedule and lets me have other part time jobs and pursue other interests. I hope I get to continue working for them for a while, because it’s a great company.
Santie Koekemoer
Strange “Frank Arriaga” I don’t know your name from IQBar . . . Yet another review made up by one of the countless managers.
debbie ELLIS
I can confirm Frank was an current employee of IQBAR,I work there!
Amanda Harrison
Santie, Frank has been and still is a long standing Buddy at IQBar, he’s qualified and he does an absolutely Fantastic job teaching here. Please check your facts before making sweeping statements like this.
Sincerely Amanda.
Trudie
I have been working with IQBar for around 8 months now and have had a great experience from day 1. This company are relatively new compared to other companies but they are constantly adapting and improving. They take on-board comments from the teachers they employ and you actually see them reacting based on what has been said. For example, they have now updated the teaching resources they use, which are not only great fun (with adorable characters too!) but they save time, as we no longer have to create our own resources.
IQBar treat you as as human rather than just another teacher number, there’s a real sense of a personal touch when you work for this company. The company even has its own chat group where all members of staff can share stories and ideas! I know some people commented about finding this annoying so if you are successful, all you have to do is simply turn off the notifications for this.
For me, one of the best things about working for IQBar is that there is always someone available to help or offer support – even if I ask a silly question! As the team has grown so much they now employ a number of staff to help manage any questions and queries quickly and efficiently.
Another incentive for me are the monthly bonuses. There are loads of ways you could earn some extra money! In the 8 months I have worked for IQBar I have received a number of extra bonuses for the work and effort I have put in. They even have a reward scheme, which means staff can get discounts from stores and shops. I use the reward scheme to get a free hot chocolate from my local coffee shop – love it!
This company is great to work for and I would definitely recommend it. It goes from strength to strength each day! I would pick IQBar over all the larger companies I have previously worked online in the past.
IQBar Ltd
We would like to reiterate that the head office of the registered company is in London, although it might not appear to be what people would construe to be an office as such. Being based online we do not feel the need to have an office in the conventional sense as our business can be undertaken through the internet. I’m sorry that your training experience was not ideal and you felt the review system was insulting to you. We do try to support candidates through the process as we appreciate that their performance could be compromised by nerves, however, not everybody is suited to the style of teaching that we require from our employees and we strive to maintain a consistent standard for our students. We do have Wechat groups for all of our employees in order that they can be contacted if problems occur. Saying that, this does work both ways, working online can be quite an isolating experience for some people and the groups can operate as a support system for our employees. Admittedly, at times, there can be a lot of traffic in the groups, but the message alert can be muted and some information that is discussed could be to the advantage of others. We have noted your negative comments and will implement changes where deemed necessary.
Laii
UNPROFESSIONAL, DISORGANIZED
They really dont have an office in London, they’re just a bunch of employees scattered all over the globe-passing on information and because of that they send different kinds of Emails and lessons that are not really going to be used on the actual mock session/or they send the correct email to you last min.and thats the only time you can go through it! They train you for their platform/blackboard and their lessons for only 30min and then you go to the mock sessions. In the mock sessions the teachers are so kind and supportive that you feel so welcomed yet give the most insulting reviews. This is the worst part, once you get accepted they let you join all sorts of wee chat groups and the admins there are so welcoming and engaging- then it starts. the wee chat wont stop notifying you every few min. all are newbies who passed the interview and are taking their mock sessions and weechat test that they really make you pass- Now you feel accepted right?not exactly! the mock sessions are actually test that seems like a training, bec. they’re practically correcting and teaching. I have worked with 5 ESL online schools and have been interviewed by many but by far this is the worst.
Miss chicka
Went through with them. Went through the mock lesson. Didn’t pass. Wasn’t hired. In the mock lesson they expect you to elicit heavily and use a lot of TPR when the curriculum is quite extensive and not geared towards the actual demographic they have. Because it’s book based, not with actual powerpoints like 51 talk, VIPkid, or ALO7 nor scaffolded correctly, you really have to make your own lessons which takes more out of you than it’s actually worth. If I had to make lessons, I would expect to be paid more than $12-13 USD an hour. The email they sent was very rude. But I was hired with some other company within the list. I work already with 3 companies, I was just trying to exchange one! Oh well. Don’t waste your time here people.
1. Uses Wechat. (most businesses use Skype)
2. Old website.
3. Uses books (have to make your own lessons)
4. Expects elicitation with children (2yrs-12 *ok for teenagers)
5. Never actually said how they would pay. Not in the contract you sign.
6. Rude approach to feedback.
7. Rude approach in denial letters.
IQBar Ltd
Sorry that you did not pass the mock session stage of the process, however, we strive at all times to employ people that we feel are ideally suited to our teaching ethos and standards. We think that you have got the wrong impression of our teaching methods, we do indeed encourage the use of TPR, which has been scientifically proven to be effective in the learning of a foreign language. However, we are also aware of its limitations with regard to student personality, level of English and lesson content. Lessons are assessed on an individual and progress basis to scaffold learning to the level and speed of learning of the students to ensure that learning takes place. Lessons are not solely book based, all literature is supported by PowerPoints along with homework which is used as an assessment tool. Elicitation from students is a part of the worldwide trend in educational practice, making the student feel more comfortable and involved with their learning journey hence facilitating the learning process. Again, we admit that the website is in great need of improvement and the new site is in the pipeline. We apologise if you found the correspondence that you received from us in any way offensive, we have taken this onboard and reviewed our communication systems.
Miss Chicka
Thank you for trying to clean up your reputation. I hope you were successful.
Educated Expert
False. TPR was designed to be use with ABSOLUTE BEGINNER level children aged 6-8.
Children that are older than 8 years find TPR annoying and not beneficial.
Children more advanced than absolute beginner does not require TPR since they can understand basic terms and vocabulary.
THIS has been scientifically proven and stated by the guy who created TPR.
Stewart Johnston
Their office address is not correct, and the details on the website are full of mistakes.
IQBar Ltd
The address given for the head office is correct, as is registered with Companies House. However, hands up to the website not being as it should be, we are currently having a new website developed so watch this space.
josh woody
A total waste of time. This is popularity contest teaching at its worst. I was interviewed by people with tefl certificates and given patronising sessions on how to teach English. They claim to pay 18 pounds an hour but in reality the regular lessons are paid at a much lower rate. The platform is awesome and interactive but normal sessions need lots of preparation of materials from the teacher in unpaid time. If you respect your time as a teacher then avoid this at all costs.
IQBar Ltd
Sorry that you feel our training strategy is patronising, however, we do strive to maintain a high and consistent standard of teaching within the company and are willing to employ people with limited TEFL experience. This system could be interpreted by more experienced teachers as being inappropriate, but we like to feel that we give equal opportunities to all candidates and we have many employees who have praised our training program. With regards to the pay scale, normal contracted rates are £10/hr weekdays and £12 weekends with academic sessions being paid at £18 and £20 respectively. The opportunity of attaining the higher monies is therefore reliant on the availability of students who wish to have tutoring within a person’s field of expertise. As any teacher knows part of the job description is preparation, it goes with the territory, however, a lot of lessons are planned around our pre-prescribed resources minimising preparation times. We will take your comments on board and make changes where appropriate.
Owe
Good luck finding teachers to accept 10 pounds an hour.
Stacie
IQBar is a disappointment. They will literally make you wait for 2 weeks before you even get a session. That does not work for some people, as they need to start working right away, At the moment, I see this company putting up job ads everywhere and it literally makes me sick. Once you get on board, you are expected to adjust immediately and way too much is happening all at once. The company is disorganized because they are trying to do way too much at once and they are not putting in effort towards current teachers that are being trained but on recruiting more and more. The staff is overworked, literally one person is your go-to for almost all issues. All in all, it is a waste of your time and there are better companies out there, that are way more organized and once you get set-up with them you can earn immediately.
mikedveenstra@gmail.com
Thanks for the info! Seems like there are a ton of new similar companies poping up these days with the same issues.
IQBar Ltd
We are indeed one of the newest UK based companies and as such we will admit to having teething problems at first. We have reviewed our training process, so now people are able to get started and earning within two days and our support system has also been expanded in order to give assistance to both our teachers and students alike. We have certainly take your advice on board and hopefully we will continue to improve and expand.