Kimball International Reviews

Pros

Kimball International is a financially stable organization; cash flow is good and the company remained profitable throughout the recession. We seem to be well positioned in the markets we serve to compete for new business as the economy turns around.

Cons

Kimball serves very competitive markets; contract electronics, office furniture and hospitality furniture. As a whole, margin opportunity is an on-going challenge.

Advice to Senior Management

Nothing I can think of, specifically.

Pros

In field sales position, there is flexibility and the ability to be your own boss for the most part. Many different responsibilities so every day is different. The Kimball Office product offering is good and the company always puts the customer first.

Cons

New sales management is from another industry and has replaced over 40% of the sales staff (which they are proud of). People that were with the company for many years were let go without notice nor fair severance packages. While the customer is always put first, employees no longer are. It may be different at the corporate office in Jasper Indiana, but the company is no longer a good place to work.

Advice to Senior Management

Realize that you have quality people who know more about the furniture industry than you do. Treat your employees well and it will be returned to you ten fold.

Pros

The main reason that most people stay at Kimball Electronics in Tampa, Florida is that it pays better than unemployment.

Cons

Weak benefits package.

No raises for over 5 years, and when a raise is finally given it is in the range of 2%.

When work is slow on the production floor, people are sent home and are given the choice of unpaid or use a vacation day.

Advice to Senior Management

The company is making money. Share some of the profit with the average worker. The direct labor force in your employ deserve it for all they've endured. A raise of less than 2% is a slap in the face.

Pros

Kimball International is a financially stable company that is now focused in their established business segments. There are many great employees that make it a better place to work.

Cons

The company is not a dominate player in any of its segments which makes it a struggle to compete. Frequently changing priorities disengage employees and erodes productivity. They talk about developing employees, but there is little effort to fulfill that. Processes are very cumbersome and not customer-friendly which makes Kimball difficult to do business with. Creativity and innovation are discouraged as a result of corporate structure.

Advice to Senior Management

Create a cultue of encouragement and trust with your employees, but with accountability at all levels - beginning with senior management. There are a lot of good people who could do a much better job if they were not discouraged by leadership.

Pros

Kimball is a good place to work.

Cons

Downsides are best not discussed openly

Advice to Senior Management

None

Pros

Great company culture that fosters honesty, integrity, flexibility, teamwork, autonomy, open communication, family environment, work life balance and continious improvement mentality

Cons

The corporate headquaters is located in small town and there is not as much to do for entertainment. Accordingly, HQ lacks age diversity (average employee age is in early 40's).

Advice to Senior Management

Kimball needs to improve its recruiting efforts to a more age and ethnicly diverse workforce and do a little bragging as far as PR initiatives go because they are a wonderful company but not too many people know it

Pros

Kimball does offer flexibility to get time off for family. Kimball has a yearly Christmas party and Christmas gifts for kids.

Cons

Kimball's executive management is very conservative and delivers consistent poor results. Kimball continues to go through lay-offs (both furniture and electronics) and just announced an across-the-board pay cut for all employees. Employees can expect little to no job performance feedback and if you are waiting for a raise, you may be waiting indefinitely. Kimball does not reward execptional performance, nor does the company recruit top talent. Many positions are filled with people who do not have a college education.

Advice to Senior Management

Kimball can certainly use a refresh in terms of executive management. Jim needs to retire and then someone outside of the Thyen/Habig faimly needs to try and get the company back on track. Dan Miller has certainly lasted longer than anyone thought, so a change would certainly help there too.

Pros

I don't think at this time they could give job security to anybody. Before this economic situation we are in now they were cutting pay and benefits. I know of one plant shutting down now and 80 or so getting laid off.

Cons

They do what they want with out letting the employees know what is going on. Several times they flat out lie and then blind side the people with pay cuts and dismissals. Imagine working at a place for 30 years and then one day at lunch your having a good time with coworkers and, with police escort, you are asked to leave and have to come back on the weekend to get your personal items. I seen this happen several times. No job security at all. Plant I worked is shutting down in March 2009.

Advice to Senior Management

Try being honest and after giving pay cuts to employees don't give yourselves an over 100% pay raises like you did in 2006. I took a $3.00 an hour pay cut and the new vacation / holiday pay scale took over another $1200.00 away from me a year. Then I read in the paper the huge raises the board gave themselves, biggest in history, I just wanted to get out.