Where to begin....
Let me break this down into 3 distinct areas. Work Environment, Job Duties and finally Overall Structure of the company.
~Work Environment~
The location at this facility is horrendous. Maiden, NC. It is in the middle of nowhere forcing an hour + drive from Charlotte, or a move to a closer city. For younger people where Charlotte is appealing with the majority of things to do are located this may a top thing to consider.
The Facility is outdated, office areas still fashion the 1960's grey cubes, no white noise so you can hear a person on the other side of the office have their person call with their doctor. There is a very distinct separation of the two floors in the company. One being updated with nice amenities the other as dated as the grey cubes.
~Job Duties~
The processes are outdated but there is a push to bring them up to speed. The company structure needed to push these processes through convoluted, authorization has to go through too many channels to get things implemented in a timely fashion. Most changes that are needed are not made because of the philosophy seen in many companies of "that's how we've always done it and that's the way we will continue to"
Many job roles are not distinct, overlapping roles causes confusion. Some people are overloaded, some struggling to find work; both are equally as bad. Clear work structures as work from home, PTO, "flexible work schedules", differ from manager to manager, group to group. There is no HR document stating this the rule everyone must use. This caused a lot of disgruntled employees and confused employees trying to understand the policies.
~Overall Structure~
The saying too many chiefs not enough indians comes into play here. The amount of executives and leadership is astounding. I personally felt as if there was so many executives and everyone was afraid to step on each others toes this impacted the day to day business. High level leaders were caught up in the day to day of the business and not the strategic planning and vision of the company. If there is a vision, and a strategic plan, then the day to day should be corrected to obtain those goals. This was not evident here.
True this is a conglomerate, and the structure is abnormal, but the structure does not work. Decisions were not strategic, the political game of appeasing those they must overshadowed the value adding activities of the decision. I'm doing it because I was told to do this, rather than why am i doing and what value does this bring the company and those who need it.
~Added Bonus~
Not much is done in the way of employee appreciation. Budget constraints forced team building exercises to be paid out of pocket, holiday parties had a lack luster feel, and the overall moral just screams help.
If you wish to obtain, and keep talented people you must shift the structure from the dawn of business to where new business that attract talent are today.
