Ford Motor – “Okay but not great for high performers”

Pros

The pay is decent if not great for Michigan. Most employees are quite loyal and invested for the long term. Most employees are fairly good at what they do. Management among the top C level managers is great and consistent. Good product strategy (currently). Alan Mulally saved the company.

Cons

Middle and lower level managers are hit or miss. They can be completely terrible. There is absolutely no leadership, no accountability, and no consistency with these lower level managers. Ford pretty much wants you to get married and get a house and family so that you don't consider leaving. Once you are in it is almost impossible to get fired so you have to deal with low performers a lot. Promotions are based 100% off years of service as opposed to performance. Communication across groups such as digital marketing is non-existent. Managers can be eager to hear about concerns but will do almost nothing to find a solution. What may take 2 months to do at a small or mid sized company will take at least a year at Ford. Shifting priorities. Micromanagement is terrible and there is absolutely no checks or balances on it. There is no opportunity to move around in your job or advance because the company is not growing.

Advice to Senior Management

Promote off performance, not age or years of experience. Thin your ranks. Don't micro-manage. Just admit you are sometimes wrong and then actually do something to fix it like the hard working rank and file do.