Daktronics Reviews

Pros

Everything about the work is enjoyable. If you have a positive attitude and a desire to learn, you will enjoy the large majority of your co-workers, and also have great opportunites for growth and advancement.

Cons

Pay is not frequently average or below in comparison to similar positions in other companies.

Advice to Senior Management

Excellent job of providing opportunities for growth ability for the individual to take initiative. This provides excellent motivation and encourages a very positive culture.

Pros

Great opportunities to start and grow a career. Great internship program for college students - performers get noticed and usually get offers after graduation. Diverse opportunities and paths within the company.

Cons

Pay and benefits are substandard for an international tech company. Culture is a bit ingrown. Too much reliance on the internship pipeline for new employees - need more outside perspective. Internal processes are cumbersome.

Advice to Senior Management

Stick with quality. Kudos for avoiding the traps that have sent so many competitors out of business. Value the human part of the equasion as much as you do technology and operations.

Pros

A lot of travel opportunities.

Cons

Daktronic had lower pay compared to other companies.

Pros

I have made a lot of friends here. A lot of flexibility within the company. Reasonable hours and time off.

Cons

Medical benefits package could use some help.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work.

Pros

The benefits are fairly good, and the hours of work are consistent yet flexible when necessary

Cons

There is more entrenchment than advancement, to the point where it is even difficult to reach your own potential.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer more consistent feedback to individual employees on job performance at regular intervals. It may allow them to become more aware of their particular strengths and weaknesses as you perceive them; and it will inform them as to whether you are really paying attention to their performance (or not).

Pros

Great summer job for the pay
Optional Over time offered regularly

Cons

Micro managed
management doesn't implement changes very quickly

Advice to Senior Management

Care more about employees

Pros

Flexible hours--they are willing to work around your schedule
$0.20/hr raise for each A and B obtained for relevant classes at SDSU
Applying for new positions within the company is encouraged
Pleasant and professional office environment
Trust and accountability is embedded in the culture
Most people are friendly and are willing to help and explain things

Cons

There is no one-on-one training for the first couple weeks (all online videos and manuals)
Hard to know when you are asking too many or too few questions
Sometimes work can become monotonous with the same types of tasks everyday

Advice to Senior Management

Work on improving the training program and the knowledge database. For mechanical design training, emphasize sheet metal modeling in Pro/E more than solid modeling. Also, you have the Wiki pages established, but there is not enough information that could be usable or even understandable to new engineering employees.

Pros

The company and management live in the same small community as you. A strong relationship exists with the State University and they work with students to accommodate school schedules. They offer great opportunities for engineers to gain real work experience in manufacturing processes. The company offers overtime opportunities. Being part of an organization that has community pride.

Cons

Company often hires more student positions than it should because they pay students less and provide them limited benefits. Management is a "good ole boys" club and it can be discouraging having to deal with incompetent management that are in their positions because they know someone. Unless you are in the "offices" your job is expendable - even then you have reasons to fear being fired without proper reason.No

Advice to Senior Management

More attention needs to be paid to effective management. Stop treating employees as expendable. Stop the anti-union scare tactics and permit employees to unionize if they so choose.

Pros

Most people who work there are hard-working people who just want to do a good job at the task they are given. If you are working for a good boss then things can go well.

Cons

Incompetent leadership being put in place on a regular basis based more on their ability to get along with the interviewers than their ability to improve an area and lead. Many in leadership rolls have the inability to actually lead, or just don't have the intellect for it. But that only gets noticed by the workers. The higher-ups will be patting that person on the back while his workers are the ones who deserve the credit. But they will never let them know that. Despite workers knowing much about how processes work and how they can be improved, their opinions aren't considered when the higher-ups look to do changes or improvements. Also, many times the person/people who actually are the key players in a major change/improvement don't get the credit they deserve. It usually goes to their boss or supervisor.

Advice to Senior Management

If you really want to know how those in leadership positions are faring, ask their workers. Despite many in leadership positions getting high-fives by their colleagues for doing a great job, the workers shake their heads as improvements they know would work and suggestions they know would be effective are disregarded because that crew leader/supervisor either has too big of an ego to listen to anyone under him, or he just doesn't have the intellect for the position. Just because someone wants a position of leadership doesn't mean they will have the ability to lead. Many times that assumption is made and individuals who are egotistical yet spineless get put in positions of power to the chagrin of the workers.

Pros

Time off is rarely denied
Head office in smaller community
Youthful employees
Clean campus and factory
Strong admin su[pport staff

Cons

Arrogant employees
Lack of immagination and vision from managers
Too much invested in sales and not enough in product development

Advice to Senior Management

Remember the core values that Al Kurtenbach established
Don't add more managers to solve problems, give your employees the chance to show their worth