Georgia-Pacific Corporation – “Great people but arbitrary compensation structure”

Pros

Well respected company that invests in its products and development
Honest, hard working people
Opportunity to really learn the paper business from R&D to operations to customers
People who do well financially do really well

Cons

-MBM seems to give license to greed and politics, particularly in promotions and compensation.
-Compensation is arbitrary - don't expect raises and don't expect the annual salary reviews that are promised; it's a have/have not bonus structure so if you are liked at the top, for whatever reason, you can make a lot of money, but that is the exception, not the norm. Everyone else gets little to nothing, and if you are fortunate to get a bonus, you can't tie it to your performance or company performance so you never know where you stand or what the year will bring you.
-Reviews are the same way. No one can/will describe to you what exceeding expectations looks like, and if they do and you hit it, it becomes "meeting expectations". Expectations are defined differently for each person, according to their capabilities, in MBM, rather than expectations being defined by the job you're in. Reviews are also changed to match the arbitrary bonus outcome.
-No career development or formal job training - you're on your own.
-Manufacturing drives a lot within the organization

Advice to Senior Management

Treat employees fairly. Compensate employees for a job well done and meet upper quartiles of salaries to keep employees. Recognize that B players are good employees too and do a lot of good things for the company, and focus on retaining them, not just the A players. Give clear expectations and targets and reward accordingly. Work with each employee on a written career development plan, and follow it and look for opportunities to develop employees to reach the next levels. Pay attention when employees leave and practice intellectual honesty about why, and not just tell yourself they weren't any good anyway or that the company did all it could to keep them.