Pactiv Reviews in Lake Forest, IL

Former Employee – worked at Pactiv full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – My manager and supervisor were really supportive of my growth as an employee
Good pay and benefits
People that work there are freindly

Cons – Quite a lot of work to do
Upper management very busy and tend not to focus on employee growth

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Pactiv full-time for less than a year

Pros – I have a job (w/meager benefits considering how successful the company is)

Cons – First and foremost the people I work with have experienced the scorched earth called the Pactiv/Reynolds merger. Most of the trench warfare workers have all been with the company less then 18 mos. Management (if they've were lucky enough to survive the buyout) is cold and self-serving. Mid-management level is so ill-equiped to manage themselves let alone a team of people. The atmosphere is abusive, but it is known, accepted and tolerated.

Advice to Senior Management – I would not waste my time offering. They know what the problems are but are more concerned about appearances than doing what's right.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Pactiv

Pros – benefit and good people and opportunity

Cons – now no work life balance it just cutting people and just more work and work

Advice to Senior Management – bring more people and do some with benefit

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Pactiv

Pros – Starting salaries competitive
Pactiv owns Hefty brand which still resonates in consumer product market
Impressive corporate offices
Running on momentum from past successes, and continuing acquisitions
Significant penetration in a variety of markets should maintain corporate health in the near term

Cons – Top management seems to be a limited clique of good old boys and sycophants who are most adept at lining their own pockets. It is an atmosphere of arrogance, hypocrisy and callous disrespect toward the work force.

In my experience, employee morale below the VP level seems non-existent. Since acquisition by Reynolds, a number of mid-level managers not already fired are seeking to get out as quickly as possible. Several senior level executives, including the former President, have already taken their millions and run.

Hundreds have been fired by the corporation whose web site touts how much it values its employees. The company is being gutted as the experience and talent that actually did the work is being dissipated, and there is no end in sight.

Big on buzz words like "lean manufacturing" and "kaizan," many agree that this is just lip service with no true buy-in or understanding at the corporate management level. Talk of employee education, development and empowerment is just that - talk.

Advice to Senior Management – Treat your employees with some minimal degrees of honesty and respect. Determine if Pactiv is to be a functioning manufacturing concern or a blue light special to be pieced out to the highest bidders. Put the focus back on quality in your people and products, service and value to your customers, and not just cost cutting.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Pactiv

Pros – Smart coworkers, good processes and focus on continued improvement
Good position in the marketplace and good innovation
Decent amount of resources

Cons – Headcount reductions removed good people and left dramatically more work for others
Company focused on short term wins and sacrifices long term investments
Very little communication on changes

Advice to Senior Management – Go back to a long term focus and staff based on long term goals
Share personnel changes when they happen

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Pactiv

Pros – Fitness center on site that includes a nice locker room, classes and weekly massages (you pay for), independent work environment, competitive salary, flexible work hours, casual business dress code, and onsite dry-cleaning & car detailing (you pay for)

Cons – No set performance goals for your position, not a teamwork focused company, no information on salary ranges for your position, hard to know if you are meeting expectations at times and lack on onsite training opportunities.

Advice to Senior Management – Develop a better learning management system and job descriptions for employees. Provide information on what employees should do in their roles to move on to another role or for a promotion. Provide better salary information so employees know where they stand when annual reviews are done.

Current Employee – been working at Pactiv

Pros – They offer a competitive health insurance package. They also offer 2 weeks vacation, and have a free gym in the building.

Cons – No room for growth, also very muddled leadership. A lot of fragmentation due to lack of communication. Very low pay.

Advice to Senior Management – Create a more positive work environment and do a better job of identifying the talented workers. Pay competitively and focus on becoming a better company long term.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Pactiv

Pros – - Competitive pay
- Very nice home office facility (cafe', offices, workout, etc.)
- For the most part, nice people working alongside you on the lines.
- Club Med for most departments outside of Engineering/Sales/ Marketing. Manageable hours.
- Top player in their space (also a Con - see below - just bought!). Top brand "Hefty" on Consumer too.
- Beefy Logistics and Customer Service Depts. Make it, move it, etc.

Cons – - Get you in with the 'bait' (money), but very hard to move anywhere even laterally
- Old boy regime dating back to the 80's. Cronies protected. One or two guys tapped on shoulder for promotions.
- Just acquired in Nov 2010 by a foreign private equity. MASS layoffs have just occurred with more to come likely. Creating a very hectic work environment with the new owners' hard line focus on profit. I'm sure some areas are less affected, but the last few months were nightmarish, and provided a pretty good '8 ball' of the new focus in 2011.

Advice to Senior Management – "Sold" to the highest bidder.

Former Employee – worked at Pactiv

Pros – -Decent pay and benefits
-Well organized corporate structure
-Good location to raise a family
-Neat office space at corporate headquarters

Cons – -Corporate culture embraces the ordinary
-Not the best location for recent graduates
-Atmosphere varies considerably based on division
-Limited coworker interaction outside of workplace

Advice to Senior Management – Pactiv might benefit from adopting a more progressive corporate culture. This issue feeds from management down to the sales force. Competitors have been quicker to develop innovative packaging designs and go above and beyond to cater to different end users.

Current Employee – been working at Pactiv

Pros – Family friendly. Nice people. Small enough that you can have a wide span of responsibilities but large enough to be professionally run.

Cons – The company is not growing. We are challenged by high oil prices as our raw materials are oil-based and a negative perception of the environmental friendliness of our products.

Advice to Senior Management – Trust the judgement of your employees and let people take more risks.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend