Manpower Reviews

Pros

Good large corporate company in the recruiting industry; i work for the professional IT and Engineering side which in my opinion is very dry and boring.

Cons

In my position there is really no challenge or learning experience once you get the hang of on boarding and how to deal/direct consultants if an issue were to come up.

Pros

The management team is always willing to hear new ideas and work to help the vision of the corporate values

Cons

High stress and pressure of the job

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you are doing!!

Pros

Very flexible and accommodating for work/life balance. Technologically advanced. Sound business practices, active social responsibility efforts. Leadership team tries to walk the talk. Reasonable compensation. Great downtown location with free parking at HQ.

Cons

Communications varies by department. Lack of communication regarding benefits and time-off for contract employees. Don't move contractors to perm very often. Some very big egos at the director/VP level. Rampant overuse of acronyms.

Advice to Senior Management

There needs to be more of a customer focus--and not just in regards to clients. Candidates and employees also need to be treated like VIPs, like their time and efforts matter. Slow responses and lack of response, negative tones, etc. are common in some departments--not all by any means, but some.

Pros

Manpower expects its staff to treat everyone with great respect -- that's something you don't see in every agency. Staff that choose to treat callers and walk-ins with indifference are not tolerated. This engenders great pride among the team.

Cons

This is not a good place to work if you are seeking a place to "coast" or if you expect a pat on the back for putting in 37.5 or 40 hours per week. Successful people here buy into the vision and do what it takes to succeed. In return, management is very flexible about time off.

Pros

They get the job done. It's easy and quick to find a job if you aren't too picky... It is an agency so they do the work of offering you a job and you can decide if you would like to take it or not.

Cons

They may not be permanent positions. The pay is lower than if you would have applied directly to a company that Manpower might offer you a job with.

Advice to Senior Management

More communication between Manpower associates.

Pros

Flexible with work/life balance
They care about people
Leaders in all that is world of work related
Global reach with local execution

Cons

Not competitive with salaries
Too much group think at leadership levels
Need to get experienced people outside of the staffing industry

Advice to Senior Management

Engage and listen more to your line employees in the staff offices. They have very valuable things to say about how to improve things.

Pros

Challenging work and opportunities to help people.

Cons

Lack of Leadership and a lack of talent management.

Advice to Senior Management

To make it easy for people to find work and stop wasting time on the in-fighting between divisions. Live what is said.

Pros

Locally managed Global name! lot of opportunities to do lot of things. Locally focused if international is not your thing.

Cons

Poor mid / senior management, short term perspective. Sensitive individuals - may be mid-west thing? Lack of opportunities for international assignments.

Advice to Senior Management

Create opportunities for people you want to keep...

Pros

They pay a very good hourly rate for unskilled work. A rate which most of their "employees" would not be able to earn otherwise. If you keep your mouth shut, your eyes and ears open, know your job inside out and don't take time off you will be ok. There are some nice people there and you will make good friends with people from all over the world. It can be good as a temporary place while studying or waiting for a better job.

Cons

Working on the assembly line. Each job takes less than a minute and you repeat this over and over all day long, sometimes for 13 hours. The work is physically painful, uncomfortable and stressful. If you want the toilet you have to ask like a child and they might say no or ask you what you will do in the toilet so they can work out how long you will be. You will have trouble completing your process in the required time but will be shouted at and bullied for any mistakes or failures. Certain people stroll round doing nothing while others are near exhaustion. Lots of back stabbing and squabbling. Wages are often "miscalculated" (but only in their favour) and you have to fight and argue very actively to get them corrected. Lots of unnecessary rudeness and unpleasentness. You won't be given the correct attire (whch is part of your contract) but will be shouted at for not being dressed properly. The place is run on intimidation and fear and there is a lot of bullying. They can get rid of you any time they want and they use that against you every day. Breaks are much needed but few and far between and you may have to walk a distance to your rest area, then you have to que for everything toilet, wash basin, drink, microwave, canteen... by the time you sit down it's time to go back to work. They come down on you very hard for taking time off and always question it. The union is corrupt and not worth joining. They just act as a message service for management which the employees fund, do not join. Too many bad things to say about this place and it is always getting worse because they are always looking for ways to reduce costs and increase production.

Advice to Senior Management

You have a responsibility to your workforce and to the community you operate in. You do not fulfill that responsibility. I would gladly tell companies like BMW to get out of the country and we will find something else to do. Any time BMW feel like it they threaten to upsticks and leave so I say go and be done with it, you wouldn't get away with this behaviour in Germany.

Pros

You'll meet a lot of great employees doing good work. Friendly people on every floor, especially the ambassadors who greet people and run events. Downtown HQ has lots of restaurants in walking distance, and the building is LEEDS-certified so has recycled-everything.

Cons

The new Human Age movement sounds great, but when even Manpower isn't hiring the temps that are doing the work but hiring VP after VP to sit in meetings, something's not right. There's a lot of negativity among employees because management doesn't do anything about people who slack off, instead making the people who don't pick up the extra work. You want to get promoted, don't worry about having skills, just know the right people. Some managers prefer to keep people they can outshine versus people who know what they're doing.

This is a place I'd like to stay in because of the people, but I don't think there's any future for me here.

Advice to Senior Management

Open your eyes. You keep losing great employees because managers are too busy trying to get ahead. If you want to get out of being known as just a staffing firm, you need to learn how to treat people right.