Welch's Reviews

Pros

Friendships, great brand, outstanding mid level managers

Cons

Poorly executed project planning! Needs improvement

Pros

CPG company just outside Boston, MA.
Half-day Fridays in the summer and winter hours.
Well-known consumer brand with a larger brand name than sales (although beware that the current CEO and leadership team does not know how to rectify).

Cons

Welch's is a small company (<200 HQs employees and <$800M) that has NONE of the positive traits of a small company (nimble, innovative, collaborative, decisive) and MOST/ALL of the negative qualities of a large company (slow, hierarchical, risk-adverse). The CEO and senior leadership team does not have a vision or corporate strategies to guide the rest of the company and they are indecisive when teams ask for approvals to invest, launch, etc. In addition, the CEO does not have a charismatic leadership style that engages and inspires employees to follow him. Employees do not believe that the CEO is leading the company towards greatness or even, at the very least, growth! Welch's is a "family-farmer owned" company but the culture is anything but family-friendly. The CEO has no interest in transforming the Welch's culture into a family-oriented company, let along a great place to work.

Advice to Senior Management

Develop a vision for the company and corporate strategies that can cascade throughout the company. You appear to be expecting the strategies to come from the bottom up. Care about your employees as much as you care about the growers. When you recognize employees who simply "manage up" rather than getting their work done and leading teams effectively, you are sending a message that the "do-ers" will not succeed at Welch's. Do you really want to reward people who say what you want to hear and regurgitate what others have already said, not new ideas or what is the truth of the current business situation?

Pros

People were great, the job was great, but losing a great job, not so great.

Cons

The re-org(s) were a nightmare to live through. If you enjoy looking over your shoulder half the day and wondering if you're next, please, join this company. If you look at yourself like a contractor when you go in, then it won't be so bad when you are shown the door. If you are looking for a place to stay employed long term, maybe this is not the place for you.

Pros

Great Location, USED to have passionate people, Tremendous Brand with storied history, strong marketing presence, ability to work in almost every area of the business, now has plenty of elbow room.

Cons

Very poor execution of recent reorganization
3rd rate senior management team
Terrible communication program
Computer systems support from senior management non existent (just MAKE it work attitude)
Senior management with no industry/business organization experience with no intent to learn.

Advice to Senior Management

Sometimes the best course of action is to admit a mistake or poor judgment, then work to correct it. The attitude has been that once they make a decision, they're going forward with it regardless of the outcome. The reorganization was the most poorly executed I've ever seen. The business process re-engineering that was promised never occurred, so the work load on those left increased exponentially.
Decisions were made with no input from the existing employees that understood the complex operating structure of the company, so many critical success factors for continued operations were missed.
The ERP system DOES NOT WORK!!! And telling people to make it work will not fix the problem. Roll up your sleeves, sit with your employees at lowest level of the business and understand the business, the institutional environment, the cooperative system, and your business model before making changes. Your history of making change and promising to deal with the problems then falling down on that are going to kill the company!!
Board of Directors - Challenge your senior management team!!! Find out what they're doing and verify that it will work in your line of business, with your business paradigms. Remember, although it's still a business that needs to compete against other businesses in the same industry, your company was set up as a cooperative for a reason. There are benefits and costs that come with that structure and you can't ignore them when your senior management (who has no idea what those benefits and costs are) act with blinders on against the mandates of a cooperative!!!!

Pros

It is a really, really great brand with a storied history. Lots of upside, but also a lot of turmoil.

Cons

Talent is all over the place. Some people wouldn't make it a day in larger companies. Makes for a harder job.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep listening and really pushing the culture to get better. Could be a really great place if morale were better.

Pros

Location (near Boston), nice colleagues, good brand equity, reasonable pay and benefits package, very few other CPG options in Boston

Cons

Welch's lacks the resources of a smaller CPG but is surprisingly slow to market for its size - the worst of a large and a small company, all rolled in one

Advice to Senior Management

Empower your people. Allow them to make and own recommendations, without fear of backlash when those recommendations aren't popular. Put yourself in your employees' shoes.

Pros

The location is convenient and it is one of the few CPG's in the area
Historic brand
High quality products

Cons

Employee morale is very low and people are very open about their dissatisfaction and lost motivation. Welch's is extremely political it often feels as though performance comes second to political acumen. People are evaluated on personality and political popularity rather than on job knowledge, performance, and results. People are afraid to take risks and challenge the status quo because there can be severe penalties for doing so.

Advice to Senior Management

Welch's would be a better organization if you could find a way to minimize the politics.
One way to start moving faster is to start pushing decision making authority down, rather than letting it live only at the senior levels.

Pros

Great brand name and one of the few CPG firms in Boston. Excellent location just outside of Concord allows for good commutes.

Cons

Poor leadership from VP levels, very political environment where politics count more than results. New CEO extremely hands on and working conditions are extremely demanding. Morale is poor and falling, much turnover and more layoffs expected. Company has trouble competing in many of the categories it sells in, against bigger, stronger brands with much larger budgets.

Advice to Senior Management

Empower people, lose the politics, reduce role and power that HR has in day-to-day running of business, demand execution and results from Sales department.

Pros

great brand
people have pride in the company
goog benefit package
healthy product

Cons

company just like many others is going through alot of change but that also can create opportunities

Advice to Senior Management

be more visable

Pros

one of few CPG companies in Boston left, cafeteria on site

Cons

poor work/life balance, poort management, no development of staff, very clicky and like high school and not open to new ideas

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees more and give them an opportunity to speak