A very odd company. My nightmares have stopped and I sleep better now that I no longer work at Intertek.
Pros
An interesting company that offers a great service. Good amount of PTO offered to new employees. Company has a decent reputation in comparison to other NRTL's.
Cons
An appearance of outward diversity but this company does not foster a culture of inclusiveness. Sometimes openly hostile towards foreign-born employees. The phrase " you're lucky to have a job" has been said to me more than once. A very conservative, rigid, cold company trying pass itself off as a warm, fun workplace. Company does not behave as a good corporate citizen in their communities. Employees are not encouraged to volunteer, recycle, or give back in any way. Narrow-minded good ole' boy mentality runs rampant throughout the company. Management will often use abusive and vulgar language towards an employee without repercussions. Promotes a culture of degradation and humiliation. Competitive culture and not team-oriented nor supportive. Most managers are men, and the evidence suggests that they prefer to tap other men on the shoulder when it's time kick an idea ball around or promote someone. They give you a ton of vacation time and will work you so hard you'll need every minute of it. As a male employee it disturbs me to see how few female's work at Intertek. Female employees are disproportionably under-represented in managerial, engineering, and technical positions. There are a lot of people that have been at the company 10+ years and a lot of people that have been there less than 1. Not many in between. There's a 9 in 10 chance you will end up working for a manager who believes themselves to be a genius but actually rates high on the Autism scale. The only reason a person would subject him or herself to staying Intertek for a long time is that they have lost all confidence in their skills and abilities or are a part of the small few that are compensated fairly. You will pay heavily for your work VISA sponsorship. The workplace's are a gray cubicles, out-dated, dreary purgatory. You will work hard very hard for very little compensation or reward. HR aka "The firing squad" are ghosts unless you do something wrong. When you do speak to them, they are unfriendly, unhelpful, and for the most part unresponsive, snarling corporate robots.