In a statement posted on a new Web site, the airlines said the merger would have “minimal” effects on its front-line employees, with reductions in staff mainly from “retirements, attrition and voluntary programs.”

We think this will be interesting to watch as we’ve reported on some of the variances between these two companies in the past few months and it seems Continental employees are typically more satisfied than United Employees. (see chart below)

So what words of advice can United Airlines employees offer to its Continental brethren? Glassdoor shares the pros and cons of life within the airline:

Pros:

• “Most of the people are very enthusiastic about their work, and love airlines and the airline industry. The work-life balance is great, which gives you an opportunity to travel on weekends or socialize with friends and colleagues.” – United Airlines employee (Chicago, IL)
• “The overall compensation package is as good or better than most airlines and there are still some very experienced people working in customer service.” – United Airlines Customer Service Representative (Denver, CO)
• “Passionate employees, great industry to be a part of with rich history, management is taking the right steps to return to profitability.” – United Airlines (Chicago, IL)

Cons:

• “Totally convoluted org charts that result in a huge amount of “passing the buck” as no Manager or Director ever seems to want to actually MAKE a decision.” – United Airlines Senior Analyst (Chicago, IL)
• “The company is way too dedicated in earning money where they don’t really care about the pilots, they treat them very poorly as well as other staff members.” – United Airlines First Officer (New York, NY)
• “Some very senior flight attendants have a sense of “entitlement”, some are bitter and do not enjoy working there anymore.” – United Airlines Flight Attendant (Chicago, IL)

So what about advice for Smisek as he’s positioned to takes the reigns of this airline behemoth:

• “The company had only made a profit one year since 9/11. Lead form the top down, and don’t take a huge salary while your front line feels like they are suffering.” – United Airlines Supervisor Onboard Service (San Francisco, CA)
• “Develop a culture that appreciates all employees and their contributions.” – United Airlines Supervisor Airport Operations (Location n/a)
• “WALK A DAY IN OUR SHOES, and do it on a weekend when it seems you do not care about the business – we are a company open 7 days a week.” – United Airlines Customer Service Representative Lead (Los Angeles, CA)

And let’s not forget that with the Continental CEO at the head, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see some of the Continental culture cross over with him. Here’s a taste of some cultural aspects Continental employees comment on within their reviews to give you an idea:

• “Travel benefits, health care benefits, environment is probably not as political or competitive as similarly sized corporations, many highly talented colleagues with great skills to learn from.” –  Continental Airlines Manager (Location n/a)
• “Management is very supportive & communicative, and you are empowered to succeed to the best of your abilities. If you’re willing to work hard, you will be rewarded.” – Continental Airlines Senior Analyst Revenue Management (Houston, TX)
• “Unstable industry environment makes for ulcers at an early age. Prospect of furloughs and pay cuts very real if you lack many years with the company.” – Continental Airlines Airport Agent (Houston, TX)

If you are part of the United Airlines or the Continental Airlines families, let us know how your job is going, if you think this merger is good for your job and the company overall and any additional advice you have to offer the CEO.

United Lands Continental Airlines In Merger: What Do Employees Need To Know? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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3. Glassdoor Reveals Lowest Rated Companies; United Stays Grounded as Gibson Guitar Strikes A Cord With Employees

In concert with the release of the Employees’ Choice Awards for Top 50 Best Places to Work in 2010, Glassdoor has identified the 25 lowest-rated companies, according to employees who voluntarily completed a 20-question survey. Among those companies that have received at least 25 reviews from U.S.-based employees in the past year, the lowest rated is Gibson Guitar, followed closely by United Airlines and Spherion.

Here are some recent employee reviews that reveal why these companies fall short in terms of company satisfaction:

“Good people overall…[but] An absolutely bizarre culture that top-to-bottom seems to revolve solely around trying not to upset the CEO.” – Anonymous Gibson Employee (Location n/a)

“Job security is always an issue and stressful to one’s life and home life. Extremely dysfunctional pay scale system. Most of the employees have placed their heart and soul in to this company only to have their face slapped for doing so.” – United Airlines Supervisor Airport Operations (Location n/a)

“Poor communication from management regarding my assignment and other employment opportunities within the organization.” – Spherion Project Administrator (San Francisco, CA)

One thing common among lowest-rated companies is finger pointing at senior management and CEO. In fact, only two CEOs on this list have an approval rating higher than 30%: Cognizant Tech Solution’s Frank D’Souza (40% approval) and Fastenal’s Will Oberton (42%).  In addition, a handful of CEOs have consistently appeared on  the Glassdoor CEO Watch List, including: United Airlines’ Glenn Tilton, Rain Bird’s Anthony LaFetra and Level 3 Communications’ Jim Crowe.

The complete list of the 25 lowest-rated companies is included below along with the CEO approval rating:

If you are in the job market or just gauging what your company is like compared to others, keep in mind that ratings are just one aspect of the in-depth, work-related data Glassdoor offers. You can also get information on salary for specific jobs at specific companies as well as find interview questions and reviews.

If you haven’t yet taken time to anonymously voice your opinion or share your pay (for current job or any job in the past three years), we invite you to take a few minutes and contribute to our growing database.  Your contributions get you access to all Glassdoor.com and puts your company in the running for the 2011 lists.

¹ Ratings are based on a 20-question survey that evaluate eight key workplace factors including: Senior Leadership, Communication, Employee Morale, Career Opportunities, Work/Life Balance, Compensation and Benefits, Recognition and Feedback, and Fairness and Respect.  For reporting simplicity, a company’s rating on the Glassdoor website and this list is limited to one decimal space although the actual calculations extend infinitely to determine final rank order

Glassdoor Reveals Lowest Rated Companies; United Stays Grounded as Gibson Guitar Strikes A Cord With Employees is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Highest and Lowest Rated Tech Companies
2. Who’s the Lowest of them All? Glassdoor Reports Companies with Lowest Overall Ratings
3. United Lands Continental Airlines In Merger: What Do Employees Need To Know?

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 made our CEO Watch List that was highlighted in our “Naughty and Nice CEOs of 2008″ post.

In addition to news headlines about DHL and its failure to respond to financial and community commitments which will result in the loss of 8,000 jobs, current DHL Express employees point to the plethora of reasons why this company rates so low in terms of employee satisfaction:

A DHL Express Field Service Supervisor in Chicago, Ill. advises:

“Get Out Now” and adds “PROS: There are none! A highly disorganized company. I should have known better from the beginning.“

And, a Courier for DHL Express in Seattle, Wash. gives a laundry list explanation as to why the company takes top spot as the lowest rated company on Glassdoor:

“DHL Express is currently “downsizing” as it struggles to right a sinking ship in a recessionary economy. Upper management has continually mismanaged the company to the point that it is losing $5 million dollars a day (that’s over a billion dollars a year), even though their upfront costs were probably half that of its competitors, FedEx and UPS, and it had a diverse network and client base. It has continuously ignored whatever problems are actually occurring at the station level, has bungled numerous initiatives to cut costs and improve workplace efficiencies, has gone through a string of incompetent CEO’s, Presidents, and VP’s (who in turn were promoted into the upper reaches of the parent company, DPWN after failing to actually reach their “break even” target) and as a result there is a high degree of dissatisfaction by the dwindling customers we still have and low morale among the workers on the frontlines who run DHL’s service model (delivering packages). DHL USA is simply going out of business, and supposedly “retooling” to service international products exclusively even as international trade is slowing down and jet fuel costs are skyrocketing through the roof.”

So if you’re reading this blog as an employer, we hope you’ll take some of the feedback your employees are sharing about the good, the bad as well as advice they have to offer you about how to improve the company.

But if you’re an employee (of any company out there), use the opportunity to learn from your colleagues about what opportunities are available at your company… and other companies you bay be interested in.  Afterall, information is power in today’s market.

And no matter what side of the conference table you sit on, keep an eye out for tips from our guest contributor Rusty Rueff, a career and workplace expert, and take advantage of the advice he has to offer whether it’s on how to handle layoffs (as an employer or employee) or insights into handling an interview.

¹ Ratings are based on a 20-question survey that evaluate 8 key workplace factorsincluding: Senior Leadership, Communication, Employee Morale, Career Opportunities, Work/Life Balance, Compensation and Benefits, Recognition and Feedback, and Fairness and Respect

² For reporting simplicity, a company’s rating on the Glassdoor website and this list is limited to one decimal space although the actual calculations extend infinitely to determine final rank order

³ A ‘Not Rated” approval rating is due to the fact there are fewer than 25 responses for the current CEO. This may be caused by a recent CEO turnover or the fact fewer employees answered whether they “approve,” “disapprove” or have “no opinion” of the job the CEO is doing than those who completed the employer survey.

Who’s the Lowest of them All? Glassdoor Reports Companies with Lowest Overall Ratings is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

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2. Highest and Lowest Rated Tech Companies
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