Alberto-Culver Reviews

Pros

People are the best thing
plenty of change, keep my job interesting.

Cons

Unilver has just purchased AC

Pros

team members
benefits
company store with the various products

Cons

poor senior management
Upper management is totally concerned with themselves

Advice to Senior Management

take a hike

Pros

There are a lot of great people at Alberto Culver. Work/life balance is usually decent. It's a fast paced environment. Employees are generally empowered to make and act on decisions

Cons

Has become much more political over the last 2 years. Sometimes the most competent and productive people get overlooked, while the more connected people get recognized and/or promoted. Pay is ok, but not spectacular by any means.

Basically, AC will take from you as much as you are willing to give, but will only give back just enough to keep you from leaving.

The company has recently been acquired by Unilever. If you are looking for a long term position, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Pros

The People are great to work with.

Cons

Not a lot of advancement

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the Communications

Pros

Ability to take on alot of work
Drive/ own projects
Fun industry to work in
Summer hours is awesome
Good about training and development
Good about information sharing
Recognizes top performers

Cons

Biggest con is that the pay is low, under market
Also, it appears that men are favored over women when it comes to promotions
Finally it is difficult to have work/life balance. When women get pregnant, they are usually moved from brand marketing into a support function.

Advice to Senior Management

Overall it is a good company to work for, but I think people would be more satisfied if they were compensated better.

Pros

The people here are genuinely nice folks to work with.

Cons

Need to do bigger initiatives

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your people more

Pros

You get a lot of experience early on compared to peers in other companies

Cons

lack of company communication, conservative workplace, dismal benefits, career development is unclear

Advice to Senior Management

provide more transparency, recognize the value of employees, treat everyone with respect

Pros

The co-workers are one of the best things about working here. People really own their projects and take responsibility for them. Upper level management really gives great input and lets people grow into their roles. They definitely encourage innovation.

Cons

They have had a hiring freeze for about a year and a half. It would be great if it were lifted.

Advice to Senior Management

Management at Alberto-Culver needs to seriously consider lifting the hiring freeze and getting some fresh minds in there to help push the company towards its strategic direction. Management positions have very effective individuals, but they could always use extra help.

Pros

Good opportunities to move around, need to keep your eyes and ears open and know the right people. Good, friendly people for the most part. Casual environment. Ethical practices from what I can tell. Programs in place to recognize and award those who have made a significant contribution of some kind. SAP implementation is in the works, this may change a lot for the better - integration of current company systems is much needed. The gym is a nice perk with a small monthly fee. A lot of free product if you're in the right place at the right time. Company store is ok.

Cons

Not the most competitive benefits package, it's just average. No yearly bonus. Profit sharing after 5 years. Fully vested in 401K after 5 years. The annual raise seems to be barely keeping up with inflation, if even. Too many current systems to work in (but SAP should take care of some of these). Employee morale is questionable sometimes in certain departments, but that is probably the case in most companies. Not too many perks for employees. Headquarters building is embarassing from the outside, but work is being done. The workspace inside is tight, people scattered everywhere, some very small cubicles.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior management has gone through many changes in the last couple of years. Many new faces. It may take a while for things to stabilize somewhat. Not much feedback to give at this time.