LORD Corporation Reviews

Pros

Excellent R&D and technical service facilities. Recognized as industry leader in automotive/industrial rubber-to-metal bonding, as well as vibration, motion and shock-control technologies for aerospace. Being a private company encourages long-term, strategic viewpoint. Profit-sharing, bonus system for all employees and preferred stock plan for upper management.

Cons

Reorganizes and changes key personnel too frequently, especially in business leadership. This results in a company lacking depth, both in terms of technology expertise and in understanding market needs. As a result, there is a "group think" mentality and the corporation is very slow to make decisions- both strategic and tactical- making successful new product launches rare. Personnel decisions heavily influenced by diversity considerations and personal relationships with Officers.

Advice to Senior Management

President and Officers rarely interact with customers or get out into the "real world". Too many VP's; top heavy upper management. Rick McNeel and Officers missed opportunity to display true leadership during economic downturn when they chose not to cut their salaries or forego their bonuses in order to avoid employee layoffs. Too many Officers battling for turf and positioning themselves as next President rather than doing what is best for LORD.

Pros

Good industry to be in, management running the business competitively, the people make it a good place to work. Many long term experienced and knowledgeable employees though many of these are now retired.

Cons

Serious cuts each year in salary increases and benefits typical of American companies have limited future earnings and promotions. Promotions have become rare unless your boss likes you enough to start the process, if not your stuck unless you change jobs. There was once a focus on helping employees advance their career and improve their skills but management has dropped this and mostly uses negative performance feedback to drive employees with increasing performance standards. The amount of bureaucracy has increased dramatically with the addition of many new VPs in recent years making it difficult to get things done. Everybody is extremely busy making it very difficult to get help from other departments. Most managers tend to manage from their desk and spend little time interacting with employees. People there want to do their best but the lack of time, rewards and interdepartmental help encourages a culture of apathy. Any type is constructive criticism is viewed negatively and so many problems persist because people are afraid to say something especially in the current economic environment.

Advice to Senior Management

Restore integrity and a culture of teamwork to management by helping employees achieve their professional goals and streamline the bureaucracy. Reward employees for strong performance and restore opportunities for advancement. The current system tends to promote cronyism making it difficult to get ahead. And, understand that what's good for the company is not always good for employees and may hurt the company in the long run. An apathetic overstressed work force threatens quality, efficiency and health costs.

Pros

Great Heath insurance, nice people and privately held

Cons

Not very techonologically advanced company.

Advice to Senior Management

Improve your technology, website and social media

Pros

Job was interesting and challenging. Fair infrastructure/reources. Average library, but with good access to online journals via librarian, resulting in fast turnaround to read latest relevant scientific work.

Cons

Lack of understanding the motivation for an employee to talk with other departments. Assuming the worst situation, that you were ‘looking for a different job within the company’ when all you were to try was to provide internal networking and cooperation. Harsh and distorted judgment on employee’s professional capability.

Advice to Senior Management

In order to make a positive impression on all employees, it is better to understand what is really happening. Don’t make stories in your mind thinking that you know better. That is presumptuous, immature and even unprofessional, and potentially illegal. The responsibility given to management is not to punish, but to understand and support.

Pros

Friendly enviorment, easy to get to know one another.

Cons

Small faciilities. Not much room to be promoted.

Advice to Senior Management

More opportunies for promotion and advancement.

Pros

good environment run like a university. Good pay good benifits, good people, family like business still instilled

Cons

top heavy with upper management, loosing some of the family run feel

Advice to Senior Management

need to trim at the top, people know and see their surroundings

Pros

Private Company, very interesting technology, has the potential to lead in future technology markets. Good job performance feedback, open door policy from management to employees. They do show some loyalty to employees.

Cons

"This is the way we have always done it" attitude. Some in management want to change how others operate to fit their processes instead of adapting to how an industry, as a whole, operates. Sometimes they show too much loyalty to employees to the detriment of team work.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to be open to innovation from outside the company and see if it fits inside the company.

Pros

The company has strong technologies and competitive advantages. It is a small company with big company resources and privately held so it directs itself. The company understands the value of its technical employees and provides opportunity for advancement in technical arenas and rewards employees for successes. These things coupled with a strong profit sharing plan give most employees an intrinsic interest in the success of the company.

Cons

There is a very strong culture at Lord. There is definitely an engrained way of doing things. For longtimers with the company, it is comfortable, for newcomers, it is something to adjust to. There is a new wave of talent joining the company so the culture may shift some.

Advice to Senior Management

Sr. management has done well to grow the company. Like all companies, they're beginning to trim benefits, offer less vacation, take away retirement benefits - it all benefits the company and its shareholders/employees but becomes less of a "great place to work" as these benefits dwindle.

Pros

Autonomy and a wealth of knowledgeable resources. Employees are very friendly. Employees are given authority over many day-to-day business decisions. Lord uses the latest technologies in IT. This means each project is a wonderful learning experience.

Cons

Few deadlines creates a minor lack of motivation to finish projects in a timely manner. Sometimes employees must juggle many very different projects at once. Requirements for development are sometimes infinite.

Advice to Senior Management

IT at Lord provides a very powerful and unique opportunity for ambitious innovation. Lord should look to IT more often to automate its many mundane tasks. As employees become less reliant upon manual, repetitive tasks, they can focus more on what Lord relies upon most to differentiate itself: innovation.