Georgia-Pacific Corporation Reviews

Pros

For those in Marketing, will help those seeking responsibilities of a general manager. Try understanding of the full P&L, their drivers and challenging the member and their team on how to affect a better bottom-line through true ownership of the bottom line.

Cons

Work-life balance was an extreme issue, particularly if you lived outside of the perimeter. A common problem in any corporate job, but feel that senior management team could do a better job of investing of themselves in their people on a more personal level would have done much to get people to truly "buy-in".

Advice to Senior Management

Company lacks non-monetary, public recognition of employees. There are more highly valued currencies than currency - meaning peer / public recognition that is well deserved needs to happen. Sure it happens at the level involving the direct manager-direct report level, but need to explore ways of doing this at a higher level that just direct manager.

Pros

great benefits which take place almost immediately

Cons

Watched a promising man get hired in Maintenance as a Millwright. The man told us during the interviews he had no experience as a millwright, supervisor wanted to hire him anyway. The man did have machining experience. Man was hired and was a fast learner, came in on time and stayed late when asked. After 20 days on the job, GP decided they wanted someone with more experience. "Transferred" him to the line along with a cut in pay by 6/hr and a cut in hours by 10. Seems a horrible way to treat someone. In the old days, they would have never done that. They would have finished training him and had a hand-trained, loyal worker. These characteristics don't seem to matter any longer.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't change your mind about who you hire 20 days into their job. Decide who and what you want from the beginning. Realize that employee loyalty can't be beat.

Pros

Years ago GP was a prestigious company to work for. Employees used to be loyal and give their best because they were respected and treated fairly by most of middle and upper management. Adequate opportunities for advancement, growth and professional development. Employees knew their customers and respective industries.

Cons

Most of the "Pros" above no longer exist. Koch places an inordinately high emphasis on hiring those with advanced degrees with no regard to their personality or ability to connect with customers.....you know those people who buy the billions of dollars of product that GP makes. It has become a place to go and work 5 days a week and collect a check. Long time, loyal and valuable employees let go with no warning or rationale and replaced by a 26 year old with an mba who wants to beef up their resume with some real experience before moving on to another company with better pay and perks. Very dissatisfied work force who would, and will eventually, leave as soon as a comparable position can be found elsewhere. GP has lost much respect as a valued supplier within the industries and markets they pretend to serve.

Advice to Senior Management

No need to give advice to these people. They couldn't care less. Their ultimate responsibility is to ensure Charles Koch maintains his place as one of the wealthiest people in the country and at the same time whittle the company down to a few profitable assets that they can eventually sell for a profit so that a once awesome company will be a distant memory and possibly continue to exist in name only.

Pros

Great pay and benefits. Most of the employees are great to work with. If you fully embrace the MBM culture you can develop yourself as a person.

Cons

Training is very poor, they expect you to ask the right questions before you have a foundation of knowledge about the business. Also, they promote their Market Based Management philosophy but most of the upper management does not walk the walk. Most of the people in the finance department are treated poorly.

Pros

Job stability. The manufacturing facilities are profiting well, and the salaried workforce is run so thin, it's almost impossible to get fired.
Very fine people working in GP. Very easy to get involved in a meaningful way.

Cons

Very political organization. Kock brought in MBM and there are many of the old-GP attitudes still prevailing. Upper management constantly preaches spreading MBM. All they want is for the ground level salaried workforce to do MBM for them so they don't have to worry about it.

Compensation below average. Raises are few and far between.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to appreciate the people within the organization. This could be a fun place to work, but it's not. It feels like there is a cloud constantly hanging over GP. MBM is great. Don't memorize the buzzwords. Internalize it. Don't let MBM be an excuse to be non-productive. Lazy people love to hide behind MBM.

Pros

The co-workers, when the workplace is positively co-ordinated. When, the true objective of providing a great services and products to your internal and external customers. It's GREAT.

Cons

The need for modern up to date technology and equipment for their employee to perform job task. Need for true productive support.

Advice to Senior Management

Things have improved over the years as far as streamlining production and employees. But, short changing and cheaping the employee with small rewards...is dishearting. It's like in the movie "Braveheart".......when you gave your all, but then the ultimate betrayal.

Pros

A true family, many people have had other generations work there and consider it an honor to be there. Koch Industries have help with some inefficiencies and are looking to always improve providing new opportunities.
Southern Hospitality from the day I started through the day I left.

Cons

Still a paper company so other roles have little turnover.

Pros

You worked hard and were pretty well compensated. OK benefits package. Good on expenses. They let you work with little supervision, if you were doing a good job.

Cons

Nice people to work with but all work and little play.

Advice to Senior Management

You have cut people to the point the MBM principles are hard to follow.

Pros

The employees of the facilities provide normalcy in your life because they are good people who strive to live normal lives.

Cons

The employees of the corporate office provide abnormalcy in your life because Koch Industries forces them to focus solely on the numbers, so threats ultimately ensue.

Advice to Senior Management

The red tape and MBM BS are weakening the company. Listen to management at the facilities. They have significantly more experience and consequently know how to profitably run the business.

Pros

Clear intentions of what the owners intentions are

Cons

Management is wasting a very solid business philosophy by not thinking critically

Advice to Senior Management

Walk the talk to avoid losing credibility and trust.