Purolator USA – “Great Pre-Cursor to a Role with Greater Responsibilities Elsewhere”

Pros

If you are self-motivated and determined, you can really make an impact at this company. Generally, roles come with more responsibility and discretion than their titles imply. The barriers to trying new things or introducing new initiatives are fairly low. You will have a high level of ownership over your work. As a result, your ability to grow professionally is greater here than at other companies. If this appeals to you, you will be very satisfied in your day-to-day work and find yourself well prepared to take on even greater responsibilities and a greater paycheck in your next opportunity.

Employees are encouraged to pursue professional development activities. The company will pay for you to attend conferences and training to enhance your areas of expertise. On-site training is also available.

There are some really good people in middle management and in the rank and file. You’ll get to know your co-workers quite well. Co-workers openly share feedback and are appreciative of your contributions.

Benefits are above average with paid time off starting at 3 weeks.

Cons

Management is from another era. You need to play golf and wear a tie to work every day to get ahead. The place has more executive assistants and fewer women in management roles than the Sterling Cooper agency from MadMen. Cronyism is rampant. Executives are frequently “cross-trained” via promotion or reorganization into leadership roles over functional areas in which they have no experience, training or expertise. This leads to a talent exodus within departments where this occurs. Executives are very much removed from day-to-day operations – you will generally find them at the airport, in the air, or earnestly meeting with each other. This is not to say that every member of the executive team is incompetent or out-of-touch, instead, the talented execs have learned that challenging the status quo is detrimental to their careers.

Strategy changes on a regular basis. New initiatives are launched with much fanfare and wither away with barely a whimper. A product management function is sorely lacking within the organization.

Salaries are less than competitive, particularly for employees on the East and West coasts. The performance review, goal setting and bonus award processes are more obtuse than the U.S. tax code.

Workloads are high and you must be very efficient to manage demands. Because you may have a high level of ownership and investment in your work, be prepared to think about it, a lot, even when the office is closed.

Travel requirements are also unusually high across most areas of the company. A premium is placed on face-to-face meetings which seems simply archaic in today’s world. Much of the travel is wasteful and unnecessary.

Advice to Senior Management

This would be a good little company to work for if management evolved their approach to meet the demands of the 21st century market and workforce. A couple of executive retirements would probably do the trick.