Brunswick Boat Reviews

Pros

Great products, great people, and freedom to make decisions that affect you position. There is opportunity to grow within your job channel

Cons

It's hard to move from one discipline to another.
The boat brands we once manned by individuals who were passionate about their brands. As a result, quality, innovation and dedication to do what ever it took to make the customer happy was the norm. The creation of the "boat group" has watered down this brand loyalty, and the product has suffered.

Pros

Great people.
Really fun products.
President and CEO appear to be morally grounded and highly intelligent.
Fair pay and decent treatment even in bad times.
Layoffs have happened, but only out of dire need.

Cons

Some of the "Peter Principle" at work in local management.
Problems can sometimes be swept under the rug and left to fester.
Some uncertainty due to the fact that this is a luxury item industry.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more in touch at local management level. Listen to people. Take employee satisfaction survey seriously. Address problems head on. The people at HQ and at the plants are an awesome resource. Great people with a real family attitude. Foster that and there will be no stopping this company.

Pros

The people. Absolutely, the people that you work with day in and day out. Also, it is a fun and awesome product - recreational boating!

Cons

Top level management completely did away with the US Marine (aka Bayliner product) division eliminating every single production plant as well as the corporate headquarters. The Bayliner product is a value product and if they think the elites at Sea Ray are going to have a clue how to manufacture a value product they have another thing coming. I'll be surprised if we see the Bayliner brand around much longer... at least not owned by Brunswick. Another downside is that this industry is absolutely tied to discretionary income, therefore, the economy. Another troubling fact is that they are tied to gas prices and the production of big trucks to pull the boats. All of these things are risky for any type of long-term success in the times we are in. It will be many years before this organization is able to turn around due to the enormous amount of finished product inventory that is out there. Even if the economy does turn around the glory days are over for the recreational marine industry.

Advice to Senior Management

Grow a pair

Pros

If you like to work near the water and design marine products.

Cons

Low Salaries and fluctuations in market conditions can lead to job security issues.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to retain employees

Pros

The product, boats, is great. Very exciting and FUN. Many very personable, motivated and competent people.

Cons

As a company to work for, there is lots of variation depending on 1) what division you are in and 2) the competence and basic decency of the senior management (typically just a handful of people) in the division.

When senior management in a division is competent, want to foster a positive work environment, and have employees work efficiently, it is a great place to work. There are numerous areas of the firm like this.

If some of senior management are challenged on the competency scale, have a poor attitude about creating a positive work environment and have questionable intentions on having employees to work efficiently, the firm can be a less attractive place to work. This is not to say that all the senior management is this way in some areas; it is only to say that a small number of these types in senior positions can impact the environment for many (and set a poor example for others to follow). These areas of the firm have a higher level of discontent, business 'snafu's' and employee turn nover. Unfortunately, the very best (the most competent and most team oriented) employees often have a high likelihood of leaving -- and the facts prove that.

Advice to Senior Management

Carefully evaluate what you hear about the work environment. Get input from every one. Above all, DO NOT BE overly influenced by those who appear to be willing to help the most. THESE are the people you want to look at the closest.

LISTEN and REACT to the employee surveys!!! Money was spent on this -- it is the only forum you have to actually cut through all the chatter you hear from the above people creating the issues. The people creating the issues will tell you any thing to keep the status quo (and themselves employed in key areas).