Johns Manville Reviews

Pros

I have had 4 managers in 4 years. Only 1 of the 4 did not support personal and professional growth and that one only lasted for 6 months. My department is very supportive of work/life balance and we have the choice to work remote as needed.
We have a newly redefined technical ladder which holds great promise

Cons

hard to get level / salary increases. New technical ladder should help those of us who are not interested in management but do lead decisions and projects.

Advice to Senior Management

Having the option to work remote during bad weather or when you have personal situations is a strong ingredient in personnel retention.

Professional development and training have been a low priority in many departments because of the extremely lean work force. A lack of cross-training and passive assistance to individuals for defining and reaching goals has lead to a low salaried retention rate in highly technical support departments.

Support department managers should be trained better to be managers rather than promoted from the ranks and expected to knnow how to manage.

Pros

Berkshire Hathaway is a good holding company to work for.
JM develops and produces good products.
JM takes care of their own and rarely lays off their employees.

Cons

It is sometimes difficult to have open dialogue with upper management.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more open to suggestions from individual contributors.

Pros

Great benefits, good wages, open communication, treated as a person and not like a number, a place for career advancements, shows a great emphasis on the safety of the employees.

Just an overall great place to work, a company that actually listens to the employees.

Cons

The one con I can say is the fact that you do not get overtime pay if you take an eight hour vacation day during the week and you end up with over 40 hours because you worked overtime the days you were there.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work! Continue to focus on the safety of all your employees, give credit where credit is due.

Pros

money. growing concern for the enviroment and community. (recycling & community involvement)

Cons

work schedule. 6 and 2 doesn't give a person time at home with family.

Advice to Senior Management

honest communication

Pros

location, downtown Denver great location.

Cons

benefits are not good at all.

Advice to Senior Management

no career track to speak of

Pros

Decent pay structure, benefits are good, very financially stable- the company also recongnizes that you do have a life outside of work...or at least some of us do.

Cons

old school with some of the policies and procedures on the plant level, a keep the workers happy mentality which in turn has caused a ton of entitlement amoungst the hourly associates.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on talent development within the lower ranks of the management structure...also known as succession planning.

Pros

The people are great. The products are top knotch.

Cons

Compensation, opportunities for growth, succession planning

Advice to Senior Management

Need to focus on talent management and succession planning or may continue to lose good employees. Need to find way to weed out poor performers.

Pros

Pay is alright, benefits are good, great work/life balance. Stability with Berkshire ownership. It can be a stable place to learn a few skills, but you will exhaust the learning potential in about 9 months.

Cons

You will not grow. No talent pipeline program. HR and management seem oblivious to this. I saw great people come and go quickly as they realized this. I've been gone for a year. It is run with zero vision. The strategy is to not have a strategy... just keep things the same and try and generate a few bucks. Grow the business or change the processes... nope. While there may be a couple good Directors and up to learn from, there are far more who are just milking a paycheck and afraid to present ideas to senior management.

Advice to Senior Management

If you want good people to stay, you must create a vision of their career... give them a path. If you want to continue to be a mediocre company, you are doing a great job.

Pros

Good research facility
smaller company, better visibility
Good location

Cons

highly bureaucratic
Favoritism
management fail to keep up promises on bonuses and merit increments
Insecure senior employee impeding career growth for juniors

Advice to Senior Management

Be fair on your performance evaluation

Pros

Great history and tradition. Perceived safety of Berkshire Hathaway family. Opportunities for bringing JM into the 21st century with many of its business practices.

Cons

Very conservative both politically and organizationally. New ideas need to be socialized thoroughly before they are accepted. While there's a benefit to being part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, there are financial expectations that need to be met.

Advice to Senior Management

Educate the work force on innovation and seek input in a structured way that takes advantage of the good ideas.