Koch Business Solutions Reviews in Atlanta, GA

Current Employee – been working at Koch Business Solutions

Pros – associated with GP
Large company
Close knit employees (former georgia pacific employees)
Financial resources
great location in Atlanta
Great resources in Georgia Pacific building (gym, childcare, etc)

Cons – cult like enviroment (if you don't drink the kool aid you will be eliminated from the organization)
Little to no diversity in sr management (which is rare for Atlanta)
little to no room for professional growth
does not value continued education
disconnect between Atlanta employees and corporate in Wichita
Koch Brothers Tea part politics is pushed down the throat of employees

Advice to Senior Management – Understand that Atlanta is not Wichita and can not be managed the same. Make diversity a priority. Value employees and middle management, embrace differences instead of punishing it. Stop pushing Koch brothers political views down the throat of employees

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Koch Business Solutions full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – If you happen upon a great idea and protect and merchandise as to get credit, you can expect a sizable bonus once the gain is realized.

Cons – Do not expect salary increases outside of promotions and bonuses. Good reviews are not rewarded with salary growth. Even cost-of-living increases are ignored. The philosophy of the company is to reward based on realized value an employee has achieved for the company only.

Expect to be worked to the bone, even if more efficient processes can be created. In one case an a salaried accounting group would regularly work on weekends at a mill location to complete required managerial reports. A report solution was estimated to cost $8000 and save approximately 48 weekend overtime hours of the "salaried" employees time per month. The decision was made to reject the investment since the employees were salaried and were coming in without pay anyway.

Expect a cut-throat environment in which every employee and department is fighting for ideas and service opportunities to survive. The group that "wins" the business opportunity is rewarded and survives even if the idea is stolen from another group. As such, groups often befriend other groups and individuals to "spy" and gain project ideas. Whoever presents the idea the best and the fastest wins. Be ready for a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

Advice to Senior Management – KBS is missing so many opportunities for real innovation and profit. Great ideas that drive revenue and cut cost don't always come from the loudest employee or group carrying the biggest sword. Find a way to rediscover innovation and opportunity and to reject the environment that is occurring at 55 Park Place in Atlanta. Competitors without the cut-throat mentality are quickly catching up and will surpass you in revenue efficiency.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Koch Business Solutions

Pros – Integrity, humility are valued and required. Company walks the walk on these principles. Feedback taken seriously. Feel "heard".

Cons – Extra hours required to meet expectations. Promotional opportunities limited. Very conservative company. Not sure that market analysis of salaries is accurate. Turn over rate high making it difficult to meet customer needs as defined.

Advice to Senior Management – Put some more $ into your people to enable them to succeed in project and operational support. Just running to lean.

Current Employee – been working at Koch Business Solutions

Pros – Not too much overtime
Everyone on the team is supportive and helpful
Pretty laid back, work items aren't shoved down your throat

Cons – Still using technology that is outdated (ie Windows 2000)
No processes in place, nor any clear path for a big picture solution
Only reason to work here is to collect a check, no real opportunity to learn.

Advice to Senior Management – Define a clear path, otherwise premium talent will be impossible to retain/hire

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Koch Business Solutions

Pros – KBS seems to be a stable company that is backed by the financial power of the Koch family. Most of the employees are friendly and respectful to other co-workers and non-management level employees want the same thing for the company and it's customers.

Cons – KBS puts entirely too much emphasis on corporate culture and compliance training while other far more important decisions seem to fall to the wayside. Hardware, operating systems and software are hopelessly out of date with no clear road map of when and how they will be upgraded or replaced. Web based compliance training takes up huge portions of everyone's time and offers very little value in return. All training must also be repeated yearly with no exceptions. Pay raises not considered unless you are promoted and it isn't clear what an employee must do for merit increases. Bargain hard when you go in because you will not be getting a raise during your tenure.

Advice to Senior Management – Have a backbone and make some real decisions based on the needs of your customers and the technology available in the marketplace. Stop focusing on pointless flavor of the week management styles and listen to the technical expertise of the employees you pay for.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Koch Business Solutions

Pros – If you are in the Corporate Headquarters town of Wichita, KS, you have made it when you work for Koch. There aren't that many corporations there and only one other with any size as the predominant area industry, the small aircraft manufacturing business, has steadily declined.

Cons – Some companies will say "Employees are our Company", not Koch. No "Culture is our Company" rules at Koch and it's in the form of the Koch version of the 10 Commandments. In fact, they have been known to call employees at home without warning and ask them questions such as "Which one of our principles do you feel is the most important?", etc. On a Saturday night, at your home no less.

Advice to Senior Management – It's hard to offer Management any advice since embracing those 10 Commandments is the path to Enlightenment, or in this case, Advancement. Hold on to your little piece of the pie. They say they embrace cultural diversity, perhaps Title VII, yes. For those in Atlanta, those in Wichita can't tolerate the flexible hours that the minimum 12 hour workday commute requires, nor are they very tolerant of work hours that differ from the hours at Corporate HQ.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend