NIKE Reviews in Portland, OR Area

Pros

The people in the trenches are awesome to work with and become great friends. If you love sports this is the place for you. The culture of sports and being around others who love sports is amazing.

Cons

Since the layoffs in 2009 there has been a big shift in the mentality of the Senior Leadership. Self-Preservation is taking precedence over team building. Leaders are micro-managing suboridinates more and more and not allowing people to do their job. It is becoming a big corporation with all the political trappings.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop micromanaging people and let them do their work. Senior Leaders need to make teambuilding a prioritty. The self-preservation of senior leadership does not lend itself to a lot of trust.

Pros

Met some fabulous people all feeling the disdain of incompetent leadership.
Very bright people (subordinates with high degrees) work there that try to make a difference and live the Nike maxims.
The campus is beautiful and there are great networks to get involved with regularly if that's of interest. Occasionally, premiere athletes show up and you may get a glimpse of them. Box seats to certain Portland athletic events, discounts on product but you need to wear the product anyway.

Cons

INCOMPETENT LEADERSHIP all protecting their fiefdoms who overtly BULLY others, and the ones who want to do well for Nike versus just themselves are quickly ostracized. Nike's leadership is coasting, just ask those who work there! It is resting on a brand that sells itself while the leadership sits fat, dumb and happy. Very few truly belong in the roles they have and if anyone points out that the emperor has no clothes they are bullied and made to look as if they are the problem...have seen it too many times.

They say they are all about equal opportunity...but "honey will you get me my coffee" and just how many minorities are in roles of leadership, or those who aren't heterosexual??? It is embarrassing how poorly this company is managed in this era.

And how about customer satisfaction? It's not about the customer, it's about who has the best idea, whether it's what the customer is asking for or not. The business is so heavily matrixed that no one is accountable, and yet they all live with their blinders on and in silos refusing to see they should all be part of the same team.

It is mind-blowing the $$$Millions$$$ this organization throws away on a rolling calendar because it didn't use data to drive its mission. Living as cost centers and requiring charge backs for service among silos has driven the wrong behaviors and if they would quit satisfying their immediate appetite for longer-term gains they would enjoy much more employee satisfaction (which by the way is no higher than 30%) and only 100 people responded due to the lack of respect in feedback that has been given over the years.

Advice to Senior Management

You are too internally focused! It's not YOU that matters, it's the CUSTOMER that buys your product. If things do not change soon, it is fully expected that competition will easily surpass your antiquated model of business.

Mark Parker should involve himself at a much greater depth in the businesses so he can see firsthand the spoils of victory. I highly doubt he would approve.

Pros

availability to move up within company

Cons

not many locations in the US

Advice to Senior Management

Start opening factories in the US

Pros

Constantly innovating in performance products. Stylish, cool lifestyle products. Smart people (mostly). Gorgeous campus, great perks. Two gyms, running trails, beautiful landscaping, just a wonderful physical environment.

Cons

In my group (Legal) it was very difficult to get ahead, and nearly impossible to escape to another part of the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Mark is very smart, and has good judgment and instincts. I fear he does not always have access to good information though. Since the 90s the company has become much more corporate and less flexible, more hierarchical. I wish it were not this way..

Pros

I'm proud to work there, I like the people, great benefits, and of course great product. Also great events to attend.

Cons

It has been MUCH harder to advance than I expected. It's mostly a case of right time, right place, and connections - NOT job performance

Advice to Senior Management

Figure out a better way to recognize talent. It is impossible to get promoted based on good work. You can only get a new position if you apply for one, and you can be drowned in competition.

Pros

people, attitudes, environment, and always changing

Cons

extremely politcally correct.......hard to breathe sometimes

Advice to Senior Management

keep hiring from outside of Nike.....new people are the fresh air

Pros

Great career opportunities within the organization
People across the matrix are willing to give time for informational interviews, I have never been turned down.
Management and Sr Management are accessible and interesting in hearing employees ideas

Cons

Salaries are not the most competitive across the industry.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep listening to employees and seeking feedback

Pros

- Cool, relaxed place to work.
- Awesome campus environment.
- Great discount on Nike, Cole Haan, and the rest of the portfolio.
- Fun events on campus occaisionally.
- Very driven people, can be addictive.

Cons

- Nike is a company that is forged in brand loyalty. It is a cult. Questioning the captain, even casually is mutinous and heresy.
- They have failed, on many occasions, to rectify problems with their environmental and labor issues abroad. Passing the buck can only go so far. This trickles down into the workplace.
- Work life balance is a joke in many roles. They have great gyms (yes, in the plural) that rival any modern athletic club, but good luck using them after a 60+ hour week.
- The jobs here are about lifestyle, not just working. That can be a good or bad thing.

Advice to Senior Management

After the re-org, people are kind of (still!) adrift. Hold managers accountable for their performance. There is a tendency to over promote women into roles they are not ready in order to improve diversity. (FYI: I am a woman) This isn't a sexist comment at all, but these people need to develop organically into these roles and not be placed out of their comfort zone.

Pros

- Beautiful campus
- Great work/life balance
- Great benefits
- If you work in Marketing you get to work on some really cool projects
- Athletes on campus
- Employee discount!
- Casual work environment
- Senior leadership values employees

Cons

- Poor career pathing/training
- Pay can be low depending on what group you work in
- Focus is really on Design, Marketing, and Sales. If you work in another function, you won't have the same opportunities.
- The matrix is dfficult to navigate

Pros

defined processes and proven business practices, global business, inspirational place to work, strong senior leadership, good benefits, sporting facilities, lovely work environment

Cons

male-oriented culture, complex political environment, without being placed on a talent plan by your manager advancement can be challenging, long-hours, corporate culture is quite intense- you need to love it. this is both a pro and a con.