Acxiom – “3 pros, a ton of cons”

Pros

tons of paid time off, schedule flexibility, leadership from business leaders down seem to care about associates on a personal level

Cons

no salary increases - even with promotions, pay cuts, unpaid week every month for most salaried employees, reduced hours (down to 32) for hourly and "critical" salaried associates, no 401k matching, Client Delivery Analyst and Client Delivery Specialist roles being phased out and replaced with "shift"-working college interns, leadership is constantly instituting new methods and policies without pilot programs to test the effectiveness. The company has gone from a test and tweak until it's right business model to a "here's how it's gonna be" model - virtually eliminating any opportunity of correcting the flaws in the way Acxiom manages its business. With new methodology, all creativity and pride in taking ownership of the accounts is gone.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop wasting our time with satisfaction surveys that you do nothing to address. Pay employees somewhat close to what they're worth and not as little as you can get away with. Stop cutting the hours and pay of employees who bust their butts to succeed and are instrumental in Acxiom's successes to save the jobs of those who barely scrape by on effort. Review salaries, even if the unit leaders have to tell everyone "there's no money for raises". Make it appear like you might actually be putting SOME thought into it. Hold a town hall and answer anonymous questions written on cards where for once you must answer to the employees instead of hiding behind the business unit leaders who just claim ignorance. Don't forget who got Acxiom to what it is today: its people. The more you neglect your employees, the less they begin to care about quality, process improvements, and saving money and what once was regarded as a "career" becomes just a "job". Stop asking (no, forcing) the employees countless times to make sacrifices when you are not willing to do the same for them.