OK if part of the office/management clique - Sales 3M Employee Review

2.0
Jun 24, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good work life balance (as long as you are not in sales), 3M uses a time management system (Kronos) which gives days of rest when long hours have been worked; it is frowned upon for sales to use this facility Brand name carries a lot of weight staff care in terms of facilities on site is great, for sales the policy on expenses is poor Good car scheme

Cons

Your career is only likely to progress if you live near a major office like Bracknell and if you are part of the office clique. Appointments/promotions are seemingly made based on location and frequency of being in the office and being seen. Sales staff are routinely missed out on promotions to other part of the business or within their group. There is no sales mobility into higher management. Career progression is also based on longevity. you have to be here 20years to see movement and when you do 3M policies restrict large uplifts in salary or position. I got promoted but told pay was restricted to a few % increase despite the job being nationally advertised at a much higher rate. Extremely Bureaucratic with all decisions by committee taking too long for distributors and end users alike. Sales teams are treated like drones rahter than business people, all prcing decisions are made by product/marketing teams who have spent none/little time in the field meeting end users - generally graduates who have entered the company on a management scheme. This means 3M is very un-competitive in the market Inherent arrogance that 3M is the best and clients will come to 3M and that the 3M product is the best on the market. Critiquing or showing issues with the products are frowned upon 3M have a talent development team.... but its not proactive. you can score highly in reviews regularly but no-one reaches out to learn how they can retain or help you develop. they are focused on "well being" or other holistic issues rather than actual talent development. People then questions why the good people have left

Explore other reviews about 3M

5.0
May 15, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay and coworkers were friendly

Cons

Rotating shifts were not for me

2.0
May 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay and decent benefits.

Cons

Current management is completely disconnected from the needs and concerns of individual contributors. Which appears to be on purpose, as the company is in an active strategy of both strategic layoffs and of driving attrition in general, so everyone's stress levels are super high. The head of HR just quit so I can only assume worse labor actions are on their way. Also, be ready to not have a desk but still be required to come in 4 days a week.

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