Advanced Drainage Systems Reviews

Pros

The benefit package that they provide and the financial stability that they have which has comfort in knowing that the company probably isnt going anywhere.

Cons

Mangement not really listening to what is really going on in the plants and what is needed. Every one seems afraid to tell company president the truth and only will give reports of what he wants to hear.

Advice to Senior Management

Give the employees a chance to be honest as to what they are encountering at times and not be afraid to report the truth.

Pros

The company has good benefits
It does well is financially secure.
There are some really good people and many who have been at this company for many years.

Cons

The IT management in particular does not listen to the employees ideas. They hire people with experience and then only listen to the advice of consultants and 'advisers'. They have no respect whatsoever for the people in the department having any life outside of work. They continue to make a few good people do extra work because others do not do their own work or are not capable of doing a good job. They ask for feedback but never listen or act on the changes. The changes they make organizationally and otherwise are not logical or intelligent. The middle level management across most departments have little ability to make decisions and are like 'puppets' to upper management. In the past couple years many very good people across many levels of the company have decided to leave because of the way this company treats the employees and makes decisions.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the employees ideas. When asking for feedback allow it to be anonymous.

Pros

Excellent benefits, good pay and industry leader

Cons

uncertainty about job security and opinions of management

Advice to Senior Management

reward sales reps with more money and more praise

Pros

Benefits, Stable Company, Entry to mid level opportunities. The first few years were great but the company and culture have slowly gone downhill since the recession.

Cons

No mentoring, minimal room for growth, arrogant upper management, employees are not the treated as the greatest asset.

Advice to Senior Management

Evaluate and reward the talented people within the organization. Part ways with the dead weight even if they are "veterans" in the company.

Pros

Great products, great people, good industry. Good customer service. Good field support.

Cons

Upper management does not communicate. Micromanagement, Little or no advancement opportunity, Expect 60 hour work week, No diversity, Insular culture, Product focused, Upper management out of touch with employees and customers

Advice to Senior Management

Management methods have not changed with times, management does not communicate with employees, the only way to get a raise is to submit resignation, no market analysis for new products, Upper management needs complete reorganization to respond to current market conditions.

Pros

If you need a job and all you have is a high school education, then ADS will give you a job opportunity. Especially after you just finished high school. On some major holidays they do give you the chance to spend them with your family. You will receive a steady paycheck, paid vacation, and the most important is health insurance. In todays work place, where many companies are making their employees pay for their own insurance out of their own pockets, ADS has done what they can to provide the best free health insurance for their employees. Probably THE best reason for being employed at ADS.

Cons

The downsides to working at ADS is whether you are working the line inside on the machines bagging the parts being made, loading the trucks outside in shipping, or even working in the fabrication department, is that the true hard working employee will not be thanked for his/her hard work. Management rewards the employee that will run to him over the most ridiculous of things, when the employee is clearly not doing his/her own job, which in turn slows production down. It can be called "the buddy system." If an employee takes a supervisor to go and do an activity outside of the work place, fine, there is nothing wrong with getting along with fellow employees. But when the supervisor/management starts to reward the employee for what was done outside of the work place, then that is wrong. There are many people that are not qualified for the positions that they currently hold, but have them because management sees them as a good friend rather than the poor employee/leader that they are. The employees that are most overlooked are the workers for shipping/receiving. They are the most overworked and yet underpaid employees at ADS New Miami. Through all kinds of elements thrown at them, they are what makes ADS function. If not for them it wouldn't matter how many parts the machines make, that doesn't matter if they can't get to their destination across the country. These gentle men work in rain, snow, ice, extreme heat, dusty conditions, and in a very cramped shipping yard. "The most overworked, and the most underpaid" is what you will hear from the shipping crews. When working in shipping the only true thing that you know is at what time you will start work. Your shift starts at 7 a.m. and you will not know when you will get off. When the supervisor is asked "what time do you think we will be getting off today?" the only response you will hear is "when i say you can leave." I understand that the job needs to be done, but many of us have wives and kids that need us just as much as ADS. Honesty and truthfulness is what is lacking from ADS. Management and the supervisors will not give the employees the truth that the deserve for their hard work. Instead, the employee will only get lies. When asked how to improve on a job, your thought will go unheard if the management doesn't seem to like you. Instead the poorest ideas are then chosen, costing the company valuable time and money. If you speak out, you will be lectured over it. I'm not going to say that things are "unfair", that's just childish. I am going to say that there is a right and wrong way to treat hard working, dedicated employees, and it seems that the wrong way is the most preferred choice.

Advice to Senior Management

Really take a look at the true workers in ADS. You just might be surprised by what you will see. The moral of the employees is slowly declining, and has been for sometime now. Another thing is, when the plant manager throws his authority at the employees it is very unprofessional. To yell out at the workers because you disagree with what they have to say, thats just shoots down all moral that they have. Our opinions do not matter it seems. How can a growing company continue to grow if the hard workers' ideas are shot down?