Briggs & Stratton Reviews

Pros

Not overworked, management is open to ideas from all personnel, good profit sharing, tuition reimbursement, wellness programs, internal development programs

Cons

B & S offers low to average pay, is poor at internal promotion, its difficult to move laterally, is slow moving,

Pros

Enjoy the people I work with, pay/benefits okay

Cons

Advancement nased on who you are friends with

Advice to Senior Management

Advancement should be based on experience, abilities, not "friends"

Pros

Good work environment. A clinic on site which is very nice and is only a $5 copay for almost anything. There is a work out facility on site as well.

Cons

I think this is true in almost every large company, but management could use some work. Some are OK but others are promote others when they don't deserve it at all. And that really hinders moral when people see that as they stay stuck in the same position.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to realize that products don't sell themselves. Invest in marketing. There is a lot of competition out there. I'm very curious to see what this company is like in 10-15 years.

Pros

I learned a lot while working there based purely on finding things out myself. Most of the people are nice to work with. Was a great starting place.

Cons

With such a large organization there's a lot of passing the buck. Projects that should take a few weeks take months to get anywhere because you are constantly being put off because someone else is being put off. There are a lot of current employees who are a pain to work with and if you have a job like I did where you must communicate with other departments (which i'm sure is the majority) you literally suck it up. Management is not really into advancing your knowledge or creating ways to better yourself if it means having to put money in it. i've also known a lot of contract workers who are treated like second class citizen when it come to benefits, time off, and perks regular employees receive.

Advice to Senior Management

It would be great to work with people who don't condone backstabbing, negative office politics, and gossiping. There are a ton of dirty tricks people use to get ahead at this company. Promotions and jobs should be based on work performance, not how many people you flirt with and gossip to.

Pros

Low level of accountability for those individuals not wanting to prioritize careers. Onsite medical clinic. Many friendly people in an environment that offers freedom to spend time conversing and developing relationships.

Cons

Employees have low morale and trust in senior management, which is based on failure of actions to match the rah-rah message that is consistently delivered. Employees not truly valued. Very few true leaders amongst all levels of management. Career growth based on time served and like mindedness with managers. Progressiveness and challenging of traditional methods, thoughts and processes not encouraged, and is career limiting.

Advice to Senior Management

Begin creating culture change. Set expectations, challenge employees and cut-bait when they don't perform. Streamline organization by increasing authority of mid-level managers, drive decision making and accountability. Listen to what people are actually saying rather than just trying to talk a good story.

Pros

Good management, smart company, growing & spending on product development in the recession.

Cons

Threat from overseas competitors products

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you have been doing

Pros

The manager I worked for was intelligent and thankfully provided me with great learning opportunities that other (much better) companies were interested in.

Cons

I didn't fit the culture and was being pushed out the door. Getting forced to quit a job is one of the worst experiences to go through. I know it happens all the time, but I still haven't got used to it.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop writing page long arguments in the Milwaukee Journal defending your poor decisions. Get your priorities straight. Invest in engineering and not a Briggs and Stratton Museum. Establish a long term plan. Stop being so arrogant - your company is dying a slow death. Start cleaning up the polluted lake so when Briggs eventually turns into condos, the residents will have nice area to relax and tan in the summer.

Pros

Good benefits and competitive salary.

Cons

If you are not a relative in one of the families that dominate the company, forget career advancement. They say they are public, but it is a private fiefdom. Check out the President. His father was a President of Briggs also. He is not there because of ability. He had a gold spoon in his mouth since he was a baby. His education was done on company time with the company paying for it. Other employees just do not have the same opportunities. He has bullied the company's factory employees and likes to act tough. In reality, it is very easy to be tough, when you always had an unfair advantage over people who really never had a rich father.

Advice to Senior Management

Earn your job.

Pros

None. There are no growth opportunities for young people, or anyone for that matter.

Cons

The company is going under.

Advice to Senior Management

They need to do something different

Pros

It is the leader in its industry and has excellent benefits. Working for the leader means in purchasing I can get the best prices, because I have the volume to negotiate better pricing.

Cons

Briggs is really run by a family. The CEO's father was the CEO also. It is difficult if you are not in one of the families in this oligAfter a while, you stop trying, because it is impossible for you to advance if you are not related to some one in the oligarchyarchical company. Also, the personnel department has too much authority and interferes with the departments in the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Allow people who work to rise in the company instead of moving relatives up..