Archive for December, 2008

Employees’ Choice Unveiled: Glassdoor Announces Top Best Places to Work

Posted by • December 29th, 2008 • 6 Comments

Since launching early this year, nearly 75,000 employees have come to Glassdoor to anonymously contribute salary information and share opinions about their company’s work environment and rate their overall satisfaction. We decided to tabulate the results and see who rated highest… and lowest. We are proud to announce the ultimate Employees’ Choice Awards for Workplaces in our first annual Best Places to Work Top 50¹ list.

Congratulations to General Mills, which topped the list of companies rated by their employees with a 4.5 company rating (on a 5-point scale) while giving General Mills CEO Ken Powell a 96% approval rating. It’s not hard to see why when looking at reviews². One employee writes “I’m proud to work for GMI! They are good community partners, they genuinely care about diversity, and they are well respected as a company. They are consistently ranked among the best companies to work for and their pay/benefits are competitive. The headquarters…is rather impressive as well boasting an impressive cafeteria, health facility…You could probably live on campus if you wanted to. These amenities go a long way into making the real life more manageable so that you can focus on performing well at your job.”

Another General Mills ...

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Who’s the Lowest of them All? Glassdoor Reports Companies with Lowest Overall Ratings

Posted by • December 29th, 2008 • 105 Comments

With a New Year right around the corner, it may be time for some companies to take a look at what’s working and what’s not. We all know and recognize that things are tough right now, and for employers this is an opportunity to take a look inside so that you retain your talent and get the most out of your employees while keeping them happy. As we thumb through the data collected throughout this past year, there are companies who shine (stay tuned for top companies) and there are those who – well, let’s just say their ratings aren’t a bright spot.

For your perusal, we have identified some of the lowest rated companies on Glassdoor.com¹. DHL Express ranks as the least favored company on Glassdoor (of those with at least 25 employee reviews). DHL Express is headquartered in Plantation, Fla. and receives a 1.7 company rating (on a 5-point scale). United Airlines headquartered in Chicago, Ill.  takes the number two spot, followed closely by automotive supplier Reynolds & Reynolds headquartered in Kettering, Ohio. Both Reynolds & Reynolds and United Airlines receive a 2.0 company rating².

What’s also interesting to note is which CEOs from the 50 lowest rated companies recently ...

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Laid Off? Remember: You are Talented!

Posted by • December 24th, 2008 • 3 Comments

Let me start first with saying that “you are talented!” If you just lost your job through one of the layoffs occurring around the world, you are not alone, even if it feels that way.  If this is the first time you’ve ever lost a job or been asked to leave a company, a whole range of emotions are swirling or are about to swirl within you. While there are some that others can help address there are ones that will be left only up to you to get over.  Regardless, it’s important to remember that just because your company downsized, you are no less talented than you were before.

Over the years, I have seen many different outplacement services and job searching skills training.  Most are pretty elementary and cover the fundamentals — which are important — but hardly enough.  I’d like to offer a few thoughts on helping those facing unemployment with a few tips to build a foundation to execute the fundamentals andbetter prepare you for when the market comes back.

Learn that your self-worth and your job are not the same. But, it sure feels that way doesn’t it? Wherever we go people ask, “What do you do?” ...

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Lay off Lessons: Are Companies Learning?

Posted by • December 23rd, 2008 • 4 Comments

It’s been since the early 1990′s that most companies had to go through large scale, coordinated layoffs.  The internet companies went through it this decade but those were still heady days and people were provided round-the-world-vacation-sized severance packages and most had a job waiting back in banking or consumer products.  However, today is different.  This is the first time that most in the job market are facing a time when job loss means no other are jobs available.  Because of this, most companies are being more deliberate about what they are doing, but many still are making mistakes of the past and you wonder, “Haven’t we learned anything?”

Why December?

Was it necessary to have massive layoffs leading up to the holidays?  Let’s face it, the economy has been bad for more than a few months now and could we not have seen lower-than-expected revenues and profits that we could have gotten ahead of the holiday season?  The holidays are the worst, if for no other reason, because everyone remembers the company who laid them off during the holidays.  Companies that have learned and retain foresight are the ones who communicated well before the holidays that they would ...

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Glassdoor Makes it Easier to Find Salary and Job Information in Areas Important to You

Posted by • December 20th, 2008 • 4 Comments

We’ve made some improvements to Glassdoor.com that makes it easier for our community members to find out for free salary and company reviews in the locations that matter most to them. Want to know what it is like to work Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina or in San Francisco, CA? Or do you want to know what a software engineer salary in San Francisco is? Simply specify a location in our drop down menu when you start your search and you will only receive employee salaries, ratings and/or reviews for that location.

This makes it easier to compare employee opinions from location to location and evaluate how they compare and contrast. For example, employee ratings of Accenture and its CEO vary widely by location.  Employees in headquarters rate the company and CEO much higher than in other locations, indicating it’s better to be closer to the Accenture power source.  The table shows the differences in Accenture’s headquarters, versus all other offices and specifically San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Employees in the San Francisco and Washington DC office rate the company 8% lower than employees in the headquarter office located in New York. Even more telling is that the ...

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Which CEOs Have Been Naughty or Nice According to Their Employees?

Posted by • December 18th, 2008 • 32 Comments

Yes, that’s right. It’s that time of year where we’re making our list and checking it twice trying to find out which CEO’s rated on Glassdoor.com have been naughty or nice in the eyes of their employees this year.

Genentech‘s Art Levinson comes in as the #1 rated CEO (with at least 50 employees) with a 92% approval rating while and Office Depot‘s Steve Odland is the  least popular CEO with the highest disapproval rating of 80%.

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Preparing for Life Before and After the Pink Slip

Posted by • December 17th, 2008 • Leave a comment

Each day recently brings more gloom with news of our souring economy. Just about every sector — from airlines to telecommunications to healthcare — is contracting. Many sources say we should brace for more. We all agree the end of the year is a less than ideal time to get such daunting news — especially for workers who haven’t been in the job market for awhile — Gerri Willis, personal finance editor at CNN offers those preparing for a layoff some useful tips:

1. Get prepared: Get some savings together. If you don’t have six months worth of savings -  enough to cover your mortgage/rent, food, energy and transportation – GET IT. In this environment, when there is more competition and fewer jobs available, it may take even more time for you to find a job. It’s worth it to stop contributing to your 401k and sock the money into an savings account if you currently have no savings and you are reasonably certain you are about to be laid off.

2. Use up your health benefits: Get the annual checkup, specialty exams, shots, in short, everything, because you don’t know what sort of insurance coverage you might ...

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Riding the Pink Slip Tidal Wave

Posted by • December 15th, 2008 • 2 Comments

In terms of layoffs, November was rough but December is expected to be worse according to a recent CNN article. Between January and November this year, CNN is reporting that there have been more than 1.9 million layoffs. The article states that more companies are expected to issue pink slips this month as they wrap up the end of the year and brace for 2009.   

As we see with the three examples below (not to mention the hundreds of other reviews from employees whose company executives have announced or expect layoffs), its either ‘keep your friends close and your enemies even closer’ or the ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality that employees are expressing during this historic recession. Right now the pink slip tidal wave is building fast and employees are holding on for the ride as best they can.

For example, Anheuser Busch announced last week that they are planning to cut 1,400 jobs. According to Glassdoor.com, just 31% of employees approve of Anheuser Busch CEO August A. Busch Iva whereas the company receives a moderate 3.5 (out of 5 points possible) satisfaction rating. Based on employee feedback about the company, the notable brewing company is recognized internally for its cliques among ...

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Three of Top Five US Banks See Decline in Employee Satisfaction

Posted by • December 11th, 2008 • 119 Comments

With banks feeling the pinch externally due to pressures from a crumbling economy, employees at some of the top U.S. financial institutions are reacting to the dramatic cost-cutting measures.  In analysis of our ratings of the top five U.S. banks*, three watched their company ratings** drop two to ten percentage points in the past three months, based on employee reviews available at Glassdoor.com.  Not that surprising considering what’s happened in the industry, but we found it interesting that  Citigroup’s cumulative employer rating on Glassdoor is now 6 points higher than compared to this past August despite the fact that the company announced last month that 53,000 jobs would be cut . And although Citigroup’s CEO Vikram Pandit has the lowest approval rating of top banking executives, he did see his approval rating climb a notable 12% (up from a 25% approval rating in August). However, a Citigroup Director in New York commented “Time for a change at the top to somebody who can generate confidence in our product – not a technocrat.”

Wells Fargo has been the most consistent over time, boasting the highest overall company rating now and three months ago. On the other hand, JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., has ...

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Auto Industry Bailout Moves Ahead – What do Employees Think?

Posted by • December 10th, 2008 • 1 Comment

Auto Workers of Big 3 Sound off about life within…and too many layers of management…

While nearly half (44%) of Americans disapprove of an auto industry bailout, according to a recent CBS poll , the Big 3 auto manufacturers are seemingly on their way to receiving emergency loans from the government to stay afloat based on a tentative agreement reach Tuesday between the White House and house Democrats.

While we could certainly contribute to the continuing debate over the pros and cons of government intervention, we thought it more appropriate for Glassdoor.com to take a look at what employees of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have to say about working inside one of the most talked about – and uncertain — industries today.

When reading the hundreds of reviews employees from these Big 3 companies have contributed to Glassdoor to date (take a look at the November review of the month to start), we found a mix of sentiment: many have pride for their jobs and work but are frustrated – and even embarrassed — with the current situation, the number of management layers and poor decision-making processes.  Just look at some of these excerpts from auto industry employees:

A General Motors Journeyman/Trainer tells management:

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