Eastman Reviews

Pros

Have been at Eastman for a long time and can say that if you are adaptable, enjoy challenges and are willing to shape your own role, this is the place to be. The Eastman I work for today has evolved over the years to keep up with a changing environment and demographics, and I like what I see and am proud of contributing to this constant change.

Advice to Management

Maintain the excitement!

Pros

Great place to work, beneifits

Pros

Good salary for the area. Competitive benefits. Friendly workforce.

Advice to Management

To retain world class talent, you need to pay and have benefits like a world class company. Too many professionals are NOT tied to the area and can relocate for much more.

Pros

Employee focused, good benefits, gym and group fitness on premises that spouses can also use, 401K company match, Fidelity advisors will come to plant to meet with employees, flex schedules, personal day in addition to vacation, and opportunity for additional paid time off for contributing to United Way, paid time off for doctor appointments and volunteering, and more. By far the best employer in the area. Good pay in comparison to other companies.

Advice to Management

Management needs to do a better job with communicating company policy to employees. Could do a better job of identifying non-exempt top performers and developing them for hetter positions. Need to be consistent and fair when applying HR policies.

Pros

The benifits were great, the people and talent you work with are amazing

Advice to Management

Remember without the employees you dont have a company.

Pros

If you've ever read the Harry Potter series, then you probably remember the four houses of Hogwarts. In the book, first-year students go through a sorting process when they arrive at the school of witchcraft and wizardry, where they each put on a wizard's hat (known as the Sorting Hat) that assigns them to one of the four academic residences based primarily on their personality and ambition.

Similar to Hogwarts, Eastman is divided into four business segments, and as it turns out, their qualities bare striking resemblance to the four houses of Hogwarts. If you're considering joining Eastman in a commercial role, you might find it helpful to know this before you get "sorted."

Fibers is the Hufflepuff House of Eastman. They're loyal, hardworking people, and they'll take anyone. Fibers used to be Eastman's largest business segment by selling cigarette filters, but once the world stopped smoking as much, the business went in decline. That's not to say they haven't worked hard to right the ship: Management was shaken-up, the business was relocated to Switzerland for tax savings, and they're developing some cool new products. But to the rest of Eastman, they're still the Hufflepuffs - good people at heart, but not belonging in any of the other three segments.

Advanced Materials, or AM, is like the Ravenclaw House of Eastman. People in AM tend to be witty, original, and outperformers, though at times a tad eccentric. Everyone is expected to beat their earnings targets 100% of the time. Every time they outperform, the bar gets raised and they are expected to outperform by a larger margin the next time. Then there's the identity issue. Internally, at least, there is never any mention of "Advanced Materials," as the term is only used externally. There are actually three businesses within AM, each headquartered in a different city and each under a different management umbrella. On the positive side, the products are really cool.

Chemical Intermediates (CI) is like the Gryffindor House at Eastman. The people in CI are generally good people, and they always seem to have the company's best interest at heart, even though their performance is generally not up to par with the others. Under a strategy of "just keep doing what we've been doing the last 100 years," CI's margins are approaching zero due to commoditization of virtually all of its products, and there is talk of divesting some product lines. CI is a good place to be if you're wanting to ride it out for a few years and then retire, but if you prefer challenge, you'll be happier in AFP or AM.

Additives & Functional Products, or AFP pairs nicely with Slytherin House. AFP has arguably as good of a talent pool and product portfolio as the others, yet the culture is back-stabbingly cut-throat. As quoted in Harry Potter, "those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends." It's not uncommon to be yelled at during meetings, asked to sacrifice long-term value to meet short-term targets, and/or leave work crying every day. It is really that bad. But on the positive side, with every challenge comes opportunity. Perhaps you can be the change agent this business desperately needs...

Advice to Management

Be more like a McGonagal or Flitwick and less like a Lockhart or Snape.

Pros

Family atmosphere and caring management

Pros

Opportunities to move within the company

Pros

I enjoy working here and the pay outweighs most of the negatives

Advice to Management

Appreciate your employees

Pros

People seemed to enjoy their work