It's a special kind of hell - Senior Analyst Burger King Employee Review

2.0
Oct 19, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are a lot of interesting positions. Recent college grads get experience that they wouldn't be able to get at most other companies. There is no better place to jump start your career. While I often get frustrated with the job and have a long list of complaints, it is difficult for me to imagine working somewhere else. There is a very strong and consistent culture, and management is very aware of what the culture is. If it fits you, you will thrive. The culture is not going to change as long as 3g is in control. If you get an offer as a management trainee or LDP, you have great opportunities to learn. Other companies recognize the caliber of recruiting at BK and take advantage of it. If you are terminated or decide to leave, you have plenty of options. I have had 2-3 companies reaching out to me each week on linkedin or calling me for the last 9 months. I interviewed with a couple and those companies offered me a 30% increase in salary. If you're willing to work for the long haul, you have great opportunities, but see below.

Cons

It is a very challenging place to work: * You are expected to work 70+ hour weeks. Some departments are more lenient, but some of us have been lectured for "not putting in enough time" in weeks with only 60-65 hours. * Starting compensation is terrible. While management trainees have the opportunity to get raises and move up quickly, it will still take 2-3 years to reach salaries of other competitors. * There is now a "waiting period" for management trainees to get promotions of 1 year. This makes meritocracy a joke. * They are very clear that there is no work life balance. Even if you go on vacation, you have to have your laptop and phone with you at all times. The company is very lean, so there is no backup if you are out of the office. * There are "engagement surveys" that are ignored. The magic solution to a lack of communication between departments (caused by departments competing against each other) was a newsletter that only covers HR topics and has a list of birthdays. Seriously. * The HR department is not on your side. If you go to them with issues, you will likely be terminated for not fitting the culture. * There is a great concept of ZBB (Zero Based Budgeting) where everyone has ownership for budgets and is expected to control costs for the company. This is great in theory, but there is one EVP who grants exceptions on a regular basis. This creates budget inequity between departments and devalues the efforts of those who can actually manage a budget. * During recruiting, BK sells how transparent and engaged the EVPs are. Unless you sit on the 7th floor, you won't ever see them. * BK hires people that it expects to survive. That means you get tough, analytical, intelligent, competitive people. These are great people. They are very effective at their jobs and have very high potential. With that said, do not expect to have nice coworkers. They never survive. * You will burn out. Everybody has limits, and BK doesn't care. Everybody is expendable. * As many people have mentioned on here, you need to be Brazilian, speak Portuguese, or be somehow tied in with 3G to move up quickly. * Most people get most or all of their target bonuses. This is done by negotiating with the people who report the metrics, not by achieving goals. * You may have a boss who asks you to do things that make you feel uncomfortable - modifying numbers, falsifying reports, running projects that could have severe consequences, etc. If this happens to you, RUN. You can not speak to HR about it, or you will be terminated for not being willing to take risks. If you stay and something goes wrong, which is frequent, you will be scapegoated. I have seen 6 people terminated for this in the past year, and those are only the ones i know of. There are several departments that are known for doing this. Nothing will land you in jail, but the ethics are still lacking. * There is no training. The benefits for tuition reimbursement were removed. There is a program called BK University, but the focus is driven on a metric of classroom seats filled rather than the content, quality of content, and relevance of the class.

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Cons

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