BowTie Reviews

Pros

Great benefits, some wonderful people. Good training ground in publishing and efficiency.

Cons

Very restrictive policies. If one person dresses inappropriately, rather than that person's manager dealing with that person, the entire company will be served with a new, tighter dress code. Internal computer system, Dynamics, is a great big mess. Departments seem to compete with each other rather than cooperating, A lot of dissatisfaction and grousing. Depending on the department, positive feedback may be very hard to come by, no matter how good performance is.

Advice to Senior Management

The owner should actually hire a board to be chairman of, and let them do their job. He has a history of hiring good people and then distrusting their innovative advice and firing them, especially in upper management positions. The upper management staff with the most respect and power to get things done have been there for so many years "proving" themselves, that they are "lifers." Similarly, he should quit giving so much influence/power to people based solely on their attractive (female) appearance, and their ability to say exactly what he wants to hear, regardless of its relationship to reality.

Pros

Steady paycheck and decent health benefits. BowTie titles are widely recognized.

Cons

The BowTie work environment is unreasonably toxic. The company has an unofficial policy of not rewarding performance, with the assumption that people work harder if they feel their work is inadequate. BowTie is known to under value or cheat employees on performance reviews and promotions.

Many of those in managerial and supervisory capacities behave in a ruthless and nefarious manner. Workplace incivility is common. Expect great dysfunction, high drama and quick turnover.

(Also, the pay is below industry standard and the hours are long. However, these points are minor when compared to the dysfunctional culture.)

Advice to Senior Management

Adopt and enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace incivility--especially for those in management. A civil work environment will help you to retain talent, revitalize your reputation and improve business.

Pros

Working within the pet publishing industry is fun. BowTie products are fun and quirky, and the company has been around a long time. No chance of a layoff. You can have the same job for 20 years and become a legend!

Cons

Company has a toxic business climate of favoritism, backstabbing and eavesdropping. The HR department is always actively looking for someone to write up. No room for advancement - managers pick their favorite people and ignore the rest who are more qualified.

Advice to Senior Management

BowTie's family of websites need a complete overhaul - they are difficult to navigate and are not user friendly. Magazines are thin due to lack of advertising revenue. The overall performance of the marketing team needs to be carefully evaluated changes made to revitalize interest in BowTie magazines.

Pros

company is looked upon a leader in the industry. somewhat stable if you are in sales. after 6+ years of working here, i'm still here b/c if you are happy with your duties you are encouraged to keep doing it.

Cons

draconian. you are required to punch in and punch out. Lunch, breaks, or whatever. you are monitored on quantity not quality. first sales job where performance AND activity are both measured equally.

monitors phone calls, internet traffic and all.

they are behind 5 years when it comes to most business.

working in the Rampart district is like being in prison. during your lunch break, your 60 mins of time off is spent in one of the worst areas of LA.

Advice to Senior Management

opportunities for anonymous feedback to management and listening would provide a world of benefits. hire a consulting company to help better the work place. You will gain much productivity.

Pros

I can't think of any. I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone. Unless you don't have a life, because you will be working all the time. And it won't be appreciated, it's just the status quo.

Cons

The pay is horrible, and as a salaried employee, it's frowned upon if you don't work overtime. I can't count how many times I was told I needed to work more overtime. This, of course, from a company that offers no comp time. And the morale is horrible, so many employees are unhappy and constantly looking for other work. Turnover is quite high. Also, if you mention any issues to management, you are told of you are "privledged" to work for this company.

Advice to Senior Management

Show employee appreciation

Pros

BowTie is very good about promoting from within. You could conceivably stay here for your entire career with the promotions and support the company will give you.

Cons

The pay is very poor, and the reasons given for the low salaries are insulting, when actually addressed. Not nearly enough money is pumped into production of the magazines, resulting in outdated technology and a lack of resources and staff. Software is very far behind the curve - QuarkXPress and an early version of Photoshop are used. Each staffer gets his/her own PC, but the layout of each magazine is done on community Macs. Communication and training is poor. You will be more likely to get a seminar on how to adjust your computer chair than how to use a new company-wide program. Promotions can only be given after the employee has served a minimum of 18 months in his/her position. Ethical standards are questionable, both in regards to advertisers and magazine content. Turnover is embarrassingly high, for the aforementioned reasons.

Advice to Senior Management

Address the elephant in the room - salaries. BowTie is based in one of the country's most expensive areas - Orange County, CA - and yet pay lags far behind the industry average. Equip your teams with the resources they need to put out a superior product - give them enough staffers and up-to-date software.

Pros

Great place to learn the business and then move on to hone those skills learned.

Cons

Only feedback generally given is negative. People promoted are generally those that suck up to management and not necessarily based on the their talents.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat people fairly and with respect. Provide positive feedback and not just negative. Promote from within. Make employees feel valued.