Turner Broadcasting Reviews

Pros

The people are easy going but professional and hard working. You are given a lot of resposibility compared with other companies and this responsibility can grow if you do well very quickly.

Cons

Sometimes the work can be tedious but if you prove you can do well then they give you more interesting work.

Advice to Senior Management

To make sure that the staff are constantly busy, also to make sure that the work differs enough to remain interesting.

Pros

Good work-life balance in my department. No problem in getting time off if I submit request within a reasonable time frame. Great benefits package. Excellent perks, like sporting event tickets. Professional Development Center is a great resource for training in a variety of areas: software skills, management & leadership skills, and even an online "Turner 101" course which gives great background information on the history of the company. Very good recognition program. Improving satisfaction since AOL separation. I can't say enough good things about working at Turner.

Cons

The 24/7 divisions tend to have morale issues. Many people get held back from career opportunities because their management doesn't want to let them go. Burnout is also a major issue with 24/7 operations. The majority of upper management in most divisions, including mine, is white male, especially in technical areas. Upward mobility in some departments is not an option. Some technicians tend to be "pigeonholed" by their skills. Recognition program not utilized by enough employees. Often do not hear from HR when applying for internal positions.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to address morale issues in NetOps & News divisions. Provide a sanctuary for burned out employees in those areas. Help employees who would like to change directions in their careers but don't know where to start.

Pros

It's a prestigious company. The Techwood campus is especially nice if you are someone who appreciates a less corporate atmosphere. And there are perks such as free tickets to sporting events. Before I left the company they also opened a small health clinic on site. At CNN Center you will see personalities such as Nancy Grace and Robin Meade. This contributed to a more interesting work day. You could also join special work groups for employee networking. And in my opinion it is a great place to start a career if you move on after less than 5 years. The company is so well known that it's great to have on a resume. All together, these things made the company a nice place to work....at least on the surface.

Cons

I did not work in a media department, so my department (although necessary) was not a priority to company leaders. And I found that my department heads were not really interested in employee competance (we generally hired contractors and consultants for that). Instead, the culture stressed personal relationships to a fault. There were too many people hired based soley on who they knew. This meant more qualified people were disregarded. As a result processes weren't as good as they could be because "middle" managers often didn't know how to handle their management duties properly. Some subgroups within the department did the lion share of tasks while other groups coasted. Some jobs were broken up into two jobs, therefore the "chosen" could do the more interesting tasks, whereas the "not chosen" were left with grunt work. Friendships could boost or kill a career. Quite a few capable people lost jobs once upper management changed. And managers were typically not interested in employee feedback, however they were required to ask because the over all company culture pays lip service to this idea. Because people often get and retain jobs based on friendships, you are a real threat if you are perceived as more qualified than people in higher positions. Relationships were the key to advancement and protection. I was the type who talked to and met a lot of people in different departments, and I found these insights echoed throughout the company. Also, an important point is that the pay is not as good as it could be. You are generally payed 15% less than you should be - however you will be told that your perks make up for the lower pay...but that really is far from true if you are single with no kids...

Advice to Senior Management

HR should do a better job of making sure that managers as well as all employees meet the basic qualifications of the job. Employee moral suffers when it's obvious to everyone on staff that a manager is unqualified and just collecting a check. Better starting salaries would be nice too.

Pros

The benefits are excellent - especially the 401k match and a lot of silly perks like casino night during the day, games and contests on campus, vouchers to sports games in Atlanta and discounts on any cultural events in Atlanta.

Cons

What does it take to get promoted? They are handed out like candy to some, while others are often overlooked. It seems like if you do nothing or do your job poorly, you are better off than people who work hard and deliver consistently.

Advice to Senior Management

Man up! If employees aren't doing their jobs or are performing poorly - address it. Reward employees who do their jobs well. Make your expectations of employees clear and follow through.

Pros

Good benefits package. On the cutting edge of technology if you are in the right departments.

Cons

You really need to play the office politics game if you want to advance. The bottom line is infinitely more important to sr. management than loyalty to their employees. Work/life balance differs greatly depending upon your immediate manager. Managers are not necessarily trained how to manage and so getting a good one is spotty.

Advice to Senior Management

Show loyalty to your loyal employees and stop forcing people to leave and return in order to advance. Train your managers how to actually manage people and not just promote those who can perform their tasks well.

Pros

Great environment, excellent benefits, many creative people

Cons

Need more career growth opportunities

Advice to Senior Management

Find ways to grow employee career aspirations. Too many people languish in the middle because there is no clear career path.

Pros

Lots of creative people and open culture. Will get a lot of experience in the industry. Work hours during the week will fluctuate throughout the year. Average is about 45 - 50 hours per week.

Cons

Not many raises and hard to get promoted. Depends on who your manager is. Need to recognize work accomplishments.

Advice to Senior Management

Promote from within. Based promotions and career advancement from client ratings and reviews. Focus on client deliverable and not internal administrative tasks.

Pros

Great benefits, great environment. As work continues to move back from New York City to Atlanta for financial reasons I suspect things will be even better.

Cons

Shortsighted management decisions cause key technology folks to look elsewhere. But as far as business infrastructure is concerned (HR, etc) it's a great place.

Advice to Senior Management

Middle management has taken over. Direction of what actually needs to happen should be handled by the people capable of making it happen. Folks in the middle are just sucking resources with no value add.

Pros

- Top notch benefits
- Brands/Networks you can be proud to represent
- The company focuses on taking care of good employees
- Good blend of creative talent and business mindset
- Lots of areas to move within in company

Cons

- The usual corporate politics
- Personal relationships sometimes take place of merit
- Need for bolder (but smart) moves in order to keep up with competition and the new media paradigm

Advice to Senior Management

Do a better job of soliciting innovations that will maneuver the company through these confusing times from the many smart employees that work for you. The new media landscape requires measured but significant risk. Be willing to experiment with new models that will not just improve the product that you sell but move it to the next level beyond the current chaotic landscape of content monetization.

Pros

The environment and people make Turner a great place to work. The CNN Center buzzes with activity which befits the news environment. The Techwood campus in Midtown is very laid back and fits in well with the surrounding Georgia Tech area. Turner often gets a couple of bonus holidays given during the year that aren't planned. The pay is pretty good overall. The employees at Turner are all generally terrific and regardless of the group, I've always found it easy to work with people across the company.

Cons

The biggest downside is that Turner's senior management can be dysfunctional at times and unable to make tough decisions. Unlike other places I've worked, there are times when someone must make tough calls. Instead, things at Turner always seem to have to float up to the executive (i.e., the CEO's direct reports) when those hard decisions are required. While other people here may complain about the directors and VPs at Turner, in all honesty most of these people seem pretty good. I don't think the rank and file knows just how much has to go to the top for decision, thus rendering SVPs, VPs, and directors unable to make a decision: not because they don't want to, but instead because they can't get the buy-in from above.

Promotions as well are impossible to achieve generally within a group. If you work here, figure on having to move elsewhere in the company to get promoted.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't be afraid to delegate decisions to your business group leaders. Forget the mistakes that were made with investments like GameTap. They're over and done. Executive staff: you don't have to like each other, but you could at least make decisions in a timely fashion.