Rodale Reviews

Pros

For the most part, the employees are smart and dedicated. The quality of the magazines and products is pretty high.

Cons

No positive feedback and little professional growth. There is a tendency to think the world revolves around publishing, so it can feel a bit small and claustrophobic.

Advice to Senior Management

Company used to encourage employees to develop new ideas. That seems to have gone away. Give positive feedback when deserved and make constructive criticism when it's not, instead of no feedback or only negative feedback.

Pros

Salaries tend to be higher than competitors - they have to be, to get people to agree to work at such a sub-par, poorly run company.

Cons

The CEO of the company has no strategic vision of her own and fails to recognize the 'strategic vision' of her senior executives for what it really is: the advancement of personal agendas and internecine competition for power and influence. Frequent - and flagrant - violations of corporate policy by senior executives for personal enrichment only serves to outrage and demoralize further. This place is like a third-rate Hollywood parody of the ego-driven, cutthroat media company. It's so trite and obvious it would be spectacularly funny if it didn't adversely affect so many people's lives.

Advice to Senior Management

Put a non-family member in charge. Someone who knows how to run a business.

Pros

The only reason to work at Rodale is for the benefits. They have good health insurance, good dental insurance, 401k, gym membership is subsidized $60 a month, and you get 16 days off.

Cons

The atmosphere is horrible and everyone is miserable. The pay is awful for lower level employees who do most of the work. This sounds pretty typical of any corporate situation but it's not. At Rodale you will not get a raise unless you quit and come back or get a job offer somewhere else. They don't care how hard you work or how ambitious you are. Also, don't think you can get free coffee in the kitchen because you have to pay for it. The mission of Rodale has completely dissolved in the past few years. The treatment of it's employees has deteriorated tremendously.

Advice to Senior Management

hire someone new

Pros

Has the potential to be a great company "content"
Running the risk of becoming an absolutely terrible company "management"

Cons

Your opportunities for professional growth at Rodale? (1)
Your opportunities for career advancement within Rodale? (1)
Your compensation compared with similar jobs elsewhere? (1)
Your benefits package compared with similar employers? (1)
Information and knowledge sharing within Rodale? (1)
Communications from management about important issues and changes? (1)
Rodale as a place you would recommend to others to work? (1)
Rodale as a place you are proud to work? (1)
Feedback you receive about your job performance? (1)
Recognition and praise you receive when you do a good job? (1)
Leadership abilities of Senior management? (1)
Competence of Senior management? (1)
Management support in permitting time off when you think it's necessary? (1)
Employer support in balancing between work life and personal life? (1)
Fairness in how promotions are given and people are treated? (1)
The level of respect shown by management toward employees? (1)
Overall, how satisfied are you with Rodale as a place to work? (1)

“Live Your Whole Life as opposed to half of it.” Good Luck.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire experienced leadership, clean out the current (archaic) management closet. Respect and reward the talented employees you hire. Break down the silos and promote a unified collaborative environment.
The CEO has been left holding the bag filled with a terrible and unproductive management staff.

Pros

To put food on the table. Nice campus and cafeteria. People below top management are professional and fairly competent. Also in close proximity to NY.

Cons

- Maria believes in rotating her management team out every 5 years or so regardless of performance.
 - Maria has absolutely no understanding of the business and what drives it.
 - HR is by far the worst I've encountered in my career with 7 companies spanning 30 years. Rude and cannot be trusted.
 - Top and upper middle management encourage back stabbing and mistrust among their employee.

Advice to Senior Management

Fire Maria Rodale and hire someone who seemingly cares about the business and values their employees. Encourage teamwork and reward excellence.

Pros

excellent amount of paid vacation time

Cons

Entry levels are not treated well at all

Pros

It's always a positive environment and the company mission is to inspire a healthy lifestyle, it is what they do. Overall it's a fabulous company.

Cons

Most Advertising Managers treat the Assistants like personal Assistants and lack leadership and management skills. That would be the only con I can think of.

Advice to Senior Management

You might want to take management classes to know how to delegate and lead your supporting staff. Assistants who work for multiple publications know that prioritizing is an important part of their job. When you make yourself priority over everyone else, work becomes tedious and a waste of time. Treat your Assistants with respect and they will reciprocate.

Pros

Live your whole life is their motto, and for the most part the company as a whole tries to facilitate that, even for its employees

Cons

Workload is overwhelming
Upper to mid-management is for the most part incompetent.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire qualified people, stick with your core content

Pros

health and vision benefits, gym membership reimbursement (if you ever find time to get to a gym), other benefits

Cons

office politics, you won't go anywhere if you're a woman, long hours, very low pay, senior managers take credit for other people's work and get credit and promotions based on that while the person who is doing all of the work gets no raise or recognition and works longer hours, most "lower level" employees are treated poorly

Advice to Senior Management

If you're going to make people work 60+ hour weeks, you should pay them more and show them some respect. If you're going to give bonuses, either give them to everyone in the company or no one. Senior management doesn't deserve bonuses for the hard work that their teams do, considering their teams make dirt pay.

Pros

Excellent benefits and talented employees

Cons

Constant turnover and re-orgs, different agendas throughout the company, no unified vision

Advice to Senior Management

Develop a realistic plan and get everyone on board