Timken – “Decent place to work, but declining.”

Pros

Pay and benefits are better than most in our area. Proud tradition of helping the community, making me proud to work here. Lot of good people to work with; enjoy coming to work most days.

Cons

Pay variabilities between associates - it's not what you know, it's who you know. Some associates (mid-level and management) seem to be on the fast track - regardless of what they know. Many associates get the "basic" benefits package, but the "chosen ones" get extra vacation and signing and/or retention bonuses. Recent layoffs were questionable; there is still a lot of dead weight here and they laid off some of the best people we had. Even laid off our safety person, then had to bring in a retiree when they realized no one else could do the job. Who thought of that cost savings?

Advice to Senior Management

Treat everyone equally. If one new manager gets extra vacation and bonuses, all associates should. Department management should know the accomplishments of their direct reports; if they don't, that is his/her fault, not your own. Get back into the community! People in town used to look up to Timken, now not so much. We used to be involved in everything, now we're just another business. Communicate with associates. If you don't say it, they'll make something up and spread it.