Anheuser-Busch Reviews

Pros

Six weeks vacation and the great benefits packages of the past kept people from leaving.
Marketing is always of highest caliber and a point of pride.

Cons

was hard to leave for other local companies since everyone local always thought it was the best place to work... i had an interviewer ask me how she could get into A-B, while I was interviewing with her to get out!
They wouldn't change, never would take suggestions
Other departments are the enemy... not Miller! Silo's detrimental to company, if you help another department you get in trouble because it helps their P&L
Not for anyone with ambition or ideas... for those who ant to bide their time until retirement and stay under the radar.
I.T. has always been light years behind competition.
Old company never cared about the stockholders... look where that got them.

Advice to Senior Management

Dave, you know what needs to be done.... great job so far, you've done a good job at getting rid of a lot of the waste, but you still need to look for ways to improve. People are still fearful to take risk, bring in new technologies which will reduce costs and improve processes. You still have a lot of clean up to do and get rid of the old guard in IT management. They are still wasting a fortune doing things poorly, you have the worst ERP implementation in town and pay horribly, therefore you can only get sub-par talent today. Yet I'm sure your IT budget is still fat because you are paying all these senior managers who are protecting their jobs, by keeping out good talent who will challenge them or quality software tools which will reduce overhead and need for so many people. Your next focus needs to be continuing the clean-up of I.T..... it will improve morale and make it easier to attract top talent. Start spending wisely to save money.

Pros

Industry is fun and social. Before buyout by InBev employees were treated like they were part of a team/family. While you were never going to be paid a top level salary, you were always treated fairly, and benefits were exemplary.

Cons

Since buyout morale has steadily declined. Employees are constantly looking over their shoulders. No longer a fun place to work. Mercenary attitude dominates, as it's tough for employees to change jobs in this economy. Sr. Management knows this, and at every turn they are asking for more and compensating less. The need to pay back the $52B paid for the company drives all decisions, and many are made at the expense of the employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Top management won't listen, nor do they care about what employees think. Most of those that have been around for a long time should, if they aren't already, actively be looking for better opportunities. InBev would be happy to see their salaries come off the books...a "Win/Win".

Pros

Before InBev it was the best place to work. Work/Life balance was incredible, the benefits were
above other companies and the atmosphere was great. It was a place where you could be proud at the end of the day for the contribution you made to such a great company.

Cons

InBev made it a dark depressing hole to get though the day. The open environment was a joke from day one and the whole keep it simpole philosophy is laughable. They've made things that were so simple now so complicated, no one knows what they're doing. It's a shame how they turned a once great company into the local joke.

Advice to Senior Management

Value your people. Quit treating them like cattle. No trash cans in cubicles, really? The open environment has just created a hostile environment. I loved hearing my co-workers every conversation.

Pros

Budweiser of Clarksville provides a steady pay check, Good Benifits and steady work. The new work of other team members help with success.

Cons

Budweiser of clarksville provides NO raises structure. Long hours to include all major holidays are spent servicing your accounts and product.

Advice to Senior Management

A raise structer would be the first thing you should implement to your employees. A cut back in meetings would be a big improvement.

Pros

Stronger company financially. Pay for performance is an improvement over company before the take over.

Cons

Little to no respect for the people who work for them. Layoffs keep coming with no end in sight. Little to no respect for sacrifices that employes make for this company. Disorganization with new bonus system and pay raises. Only giving raises to small percentage of salaried employees, the rest get no raises at all this year.

Advice to Senior Management

Be careful how you keep treating your salaried work force. When the economy improves, you may find that the only ones who stay are the ones that don't have any other choice.

Pros

The magnitude of experience and opportunities you are presented with is without question worth the layers of "fat" that lies dormant. where else can you manage a multi-million dollar IT budget for 1 dept?

Cons

large layers of neopotisim - many old school managers that do not appreciate young talented MBA's - concerned about their pensions

Advice to Senior Management

promote the talent NOT the tenured - expense management is a must - the days of glory are over and buried

Pros

Pride in History of company
Great Benefits
Exciting work in Marketing

Cons

Managment communication was not always appropriate or timely

Advice to Senior Management

Learn how to better communicate with your team. It is better to let people know what is going on with the state of the compnay, than to have them learn from the media or have to speculate for months.

Pros

- Pay, the pay is still relatively better than other companies in town
- Beer, employees receive beers every month
- Pride, it may be changing soon, but Anheuser-Busch is still a very well known company to work for
- Employees, most of the employees give their best knowing what the company represents

Cons

- Politics, there are still politics but this largely depends on your direct reports
- Cuts, cuts on employees, cuts on spending
- Stability, the company changes all the time that creates this instability and somber work environment

Advice to Senior Management

The culture difference plays a huge role in management style. What works in other parts of the world may not apply in the U.S.

Pros

Still a leader in industry
Cool/neat factor working for AB
Fun and always busy

Cons

-No more resources
-Salarys will be flat forever
-Bonuses decreased execept for CEO
-No more pension
-Expectations are becoming unrealistic
-Cost cutting has gone way beyond normal cost cutting
-Company only cares about top ~ 260 executives & all others can be walked on and are disposable
-Only those in there 20s and early 30's are being promoted regardless of ability
-Celebrations of company successes do not exist any longer
-Moral is horrible at all levels of orginization and the company refuses to budge on simple requests

Advice to Senior Management

I am fine with cost cutting, but if this is done you must swallow the pill too (no outlandish bonuses for CEOs). No one really cares about the company anymore, so you must rebuild the trust of the employees if you wish to be successful. If you do not, sales will continue to fall regardless of your goals, your KPIs, or VPO. These are good items to bring to AB, however, share your cost cutting savings with your employees fairly and you will have a better chance at success.

Pros

2 cases a month
Well known name for resume (for now)
Learned how I should NOT treat my future employees

Cons

Does not care about family
Long hours for little money
Nepotism
No advancement
No Loyalty to employees
Outsourcing jobs

Advice to Senior Management

Your biggest competitors are working for you......