SimplexGrinnell Reviews

Pros

This company is huge and needs good quality people to create and enhance it's image to the potential customers. With this stated it appears there are opportunities for growth in a big way. So here is a pro.... If you can procure a position in management or upper level sales there is a possibility you will enjoy working for this company. However, if you are a seasoned and experienced field technician and you work for a competitor, don't get the "grass is greener" syndrome because it's unlikely you will ever feel valued as one of the most important elements of a service and installation oriented company here.

Cons

I worked for Simplex in the early 90's, Grinnell before the merger, and SimplexGrinnell after the merger. I worked in two different districts accross the US from each other. So this is a totally fair and accurate review. First, Grinnell was a much better company to work for. Depending on which way the merger went (some districts were absorbed by Simplex management and some by Grinnell management) vastly determined the experience as far as working for this company. Let me say this clearly, "Simplex management has always been, from the early 90's until I left, the most ego driven, arrogant group of individuals I've ever worked for." Grinnell management was a pleasure to communicate with.

Why? Grinnell had a philosophy that understood that the fire and security industry is a service and installation industry. They knew how important the people that were in front of their customers were ie; sales and field personel. They treated the people that was the face to the customer with importance and the utmost respect. Simplex on the other hand, was and still is a "top down" company. It is riddled with highly paid management that is so out of touch with what we are all really here to do, "design, engineer, sell, service, and install facility protection."

Those service techs, sales folks, installation crews, ARE THE FACE OF THE COMPANY! And let's be clear about this, SimplexGrinnell is the most expensive company out there, especially where it relates to schools, industrial, institution, and municipal accounts. So if, as a company, you are going to be the most expensive, claim to provide so much more and on a much higher level, why you would disregard, gps vehicles to steal labor, treat with disrespect, the MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF YOUR COMPANY is beyond me.

The field folks and most salespeople I worked with were great people and they really cared about what they were doing. From middle management all the up has the position the FACE of the company works for them. Wow, and how backward is this.....

Advice to Senior Management

Who is really working for who? Unload all of the dead weight, golf by 2:00pm management and allocate some of those funds to re-creating a fun and reasonable workplace for the folks that really generate the income. Watch out how fast revenue and margin rises when the face of the company shows up in front of the customers happy and bragging about their company and employer. Hire me as a manager at any level and I will show a real life example of "who is working for who." You guys are so out of touch with your employees you have no idea what an opportunity you have to be the best in the industry. It's right in the palm of your hands and you can't get past your ego to see it. Simple as that.

Pros

International and national transfer opportunities. Decent benefits; 401K and match, vacation time sick time, holidays, night shift pay, overtime, and some training. Long term employees (12+ years)

Cons

Too many different management styles and old grudges die hard (due to the years mergers former competitors are working together and say it was better the way it was before the merger). Poor training. The only way to move up in the company is through sales and who you know.

Advice to Senior Management

Invest in your employees, give real raises (more than .11 cents), give work to everyone not just the people you knew before the merger, tell us what's going to happen next,

Pros

decent administrative staff, corporate name is well know across industry, many product resources available for use by sales and other staff.

Cons

high turnover, management is close minded to anything other than their own ideas,hard to deal with, cannot sell to regular clients when outside of local area

Advice to Senior Management

need a regional to check feedback of employees, not just the local general manager. Construction is not local so need to be able to continue work with contacts in other areas after building relationships with them. No GC wants to deal with 5 different sales reps from the same company, and no sales rep wants to lose a million $ worth of work to refer to another office 200 miles away. That's our contact and our lost commission. That's why I left.

Pros

Helps pay the bills, and fellow techs are great to work with. Also have a fair amount of paid time off.

Cons

Customers and employees are an after-thought here. I have never been micro managed to the degree that I am here, but they don't come to my house in the morning to tell me how they want me to tuck my shirt in yet. Notice I said "yet".

Advice to Senior Management

Contrary to what you believe, you have good, honest field employees. You don't need to track them with GPS. Oh, and ask your customers what they think of your central dispatch system. They are actually less thrilled with it as the techs are, and that's saying something.

Pros

Has been an okay place to work, some what stable, management is usually some what realistic towards needs of the employee.

Cons

There have been many jobs lost and lay offs of good people as well as the bad over the last few years, not what it used to be in regards to stability.

Advice to Senior Management

The management should realize that they need to treat people who work for them more as assets instead of liabilities.

Pros

Good salary, bonus, benefits, dynamic environment

Cons

Senior management has no long term vision, everyone looks after their own interests and employees get terminated depending on which way the wind blows, very little respect for employees

Advice to Senior Management

Treat employees with respect, establish a long term plan and reduce the sudden changes to the business, realize that people are the most important asset of the company

Pros

Great benefits. Great co-workers. District management overall pretty reasonable and empathetic. Open door policy practiced. Management receptive to suggestions.

Cons

Not enough testing of equipment prior to field implementation. Enforcing shady labor practices. Expect to work at least 45 hours and get paid for 40. Many double standards on policy when it serves mgmt best interest. ie..don't talk on cell phones while driving but, call the customer when your in route. No focus on serving customers. Overall lack of vision for the future. No accountability above the district level. Very evasive mentality.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to refocus on the customer. Improve loyalty to district field personnel. Extend vision to include long term goals other than profit.

Pros

Bonuses pay out, lots to do

Cons

Leadership doesn't care about employees anymore. Communication is at an all time low. Common for people to be doing 3 jobs.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate, pick your head up from out of the sand and listen.

Pros

If you are a hard worker, if you are self motivated and if you value education and training this company is wonderful. Yes it is a job so you will always find things to complain about but take it from me, a current employee who has been with the company for 5 years, it is a great company, stable and offers its good employees lots of potential to grow and move up. They value the customer in a sense that whatever was sold will get done regardless, the company values quality and prides itself to provide the best products, best value and best service in the industry. Yes again it can do better but, Simplexgrinnell seems to recognize that and they are always looking for ways to improve, whatever feedback customers give is taken seriously and used to force needed changes. The competition "Nationally" does not match or even come close to what SG offers. Please note that at any given time a certian office (they have about 150) may be struggling to find good local leadership and employees so, from time to time you will come across an office that needs some help, dont let that bet the tell tale of the company as a whole. Overall the company is awesome!!!!

Cons

Size, becuase the company is large and covers all of the US and most of Canada plus, it is a tyco company i have worked on projects where customers, consultants, Architects General Contractors or end-user customers have a pre-determined philosopy on the company, usually when or if it is a negative one, as i dig deep to find out what the issue was, i kid you not they tell me a story about something that happened 20 years ago and SG has long since rectified the sitiuation and made things right still, they remember that one bad experience, when the company has been in business for over 100 years some people only remember the bad.

Also, the Company Cars, i live in an area where we get snow and ice, we do work on mines and i need at the least a all wheel drive car or SUV but, they only give us cars, they use a fleet company and it is nice to have a Company car also for personal use but, now to save costs they have been trying to give us base model cars (try taking someone to lunch in a small compact car) :) try driving in the snow or on a mine in one, it is a dumb move and they need to fix it.

Advice to Senior Management

Spend more time in the field with customer, practice what you preach, i would like to see a manager make 2 or 3 sales a year, i would like to see managers visit customers more and also visit with manufacturers reps to see new fire and security products also to get a good feel for what is going on on the market.

Give the sales reps good all wheel drive nice vehicles, even if it costs us a bit more on our end we would prefer to have a nice safe vehicle to take our customers out in.

Pros

Extremely generous bonus structure based solely on district financial performance. Friendly, casual atmophere. VEry aggressive targets with full expectation to meet them. High pressure environment on the management side, but compensation is far in lieu of.

Cons

Poor head office support to the districts from almost all departments, particularily IT and finance. HO is located in the USA.

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage more support from our US counterparts and governing HO depts.