Mars reviews

4.3

87% would recommend to a friend

(4,391 total reviews)
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Poul Weihrauch

92% approve of CEO

77% positive business outlook

Mars has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 4,391 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Mars employee rating is 24% above average for employers within the Manufactura industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
2.0
Feb 18, 2018

Current associate review

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I do love the culture/5 Principals and think they help keep the business honest. I’m proud to work for a privately held company that has major social/societal concerns and acts to better the world.

Cons

This company is hemorrhaging talent because they are so slow to reward high achievers. It’s one of the most discouraging environments I’ve ever been in because you’re constantly asked to prove yourself over and over yet you get nowhere. They pretend to have a flat structure but the leadership team definitely loves to label people “entry level,” even though those “entry level” associates often times have way more work experience than their managers. It’s insulting and again, highly demotivating. Change management is a nightmare here. Communication is a nightmare. Get ready to constantly be “dealing with ambiguity.” The responsibility is placed on the associate to deal better with ambiguity rather than Mars taking responsibility and fixing the underlying business issues.

3.0
Dec 9, 2017

It's a Deep LOVE / Often Frustrating relationship

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work / Life balance is real. Mars gives trust and freedom to the associates and expects you to manage your work as you see fit. The mindset is always to take care of yourself and family first. That's a wonderful thing. Working from home occasionally is common. I don't know if there is a more flexible company. We now have paternity leave as well. Good people. Collaborative. Helpful. Fun. It's always people first, then work. There is no other place that cares so much about associate development and "how" you get stuff done vs. objectives and "what" you get done. Overall, it's a good culture. Team focused. Awesome brands. A company that cares about the environment and its stakeholders. People are proud to work here. Decent pay and benefits. Overall good job responsibility. There are many reasons to LOVE this company.

Cons

Slow to promote - If you are someone who is ambitious and hungry, you are going to get frustrated by having consistent amazing performance reviews but with slow response to do anything about it. Many stellar performers leave because it's easier to get formally recognized and promoted at other companies. I think the slow to promote is actually a function of below... Decision making! And quite frankly being slow to promote is a threat to Mars overall because talent is the most important thing and great people are leaving! Wake up! Decision making - It's snail speed. It took over a year after they announced that they were merging the candy offices to decide and share with employees the final location and in the mean time did an awful job easing concerns, managing change, and being transparent. It has to go down as one of the worst change management processes of the entire company history! And guess what - it's not over because the company is letting this drag on until 2020. Also, who is the decision maker is a question that is never clear at Mars. It's never just 1 person. There are always tons of people that have to give their input. I have seen decisions made and then unmade because one person didn't agree or wasn't brought along in the journey or changed his or her mind. Speed comes with alignment. Managers cannot align because they are stuck figuring out the mutuality principle: Who is going to be the person left with the short stick? It's nice that you care about every stakeholder, but you have to make a decision and move on! There are trade offs to everything. Bite the bullet! Be decisive. Yes you can! Stop being so internally focused! Meanwhile... people make up stories in their head, try to guess what you are going to do, and worry. Productivity could be significantly increased if you worked on stronger decision making and communication of those decisions. With Mars, it's we win or lose together. You can hit/ exceed every one of your goals, but if the company doesn't - your bonus is adjusted down like everyone else's. That can be shocking to people who are used to meritocracy and also who had a strong performance year and crushed their goals.

1.0
Jan 11, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

pay and benefits are how they lure you in... start your career here don't come here mid career.

Cons

This is a mash up of environments, think of the people that ruined kraft and P&G, these are your leaders here... don't adapt to market changes, can't move quick enough, all of that. Company has huge lack of focus, one of the reasons is because its run out of Belgium, and secondly because the family is moving into pet healthcare not mass produced dog food. European leaders think they are smarter and force outside US leaders on the US market. The international Presidents then hire up and comers that aren't ready to be execs and let them run wild. Think about the guys that would do anything to keep moving up, that is your boss. It is a dishonest environment where they don't tell you what they need to you. More than half of marketing turned from the merger, and thats not common even in mergers. Nashville is great, Mars is not. Very limited opportunities that will pay you the same in the Nashville area. You will have to move to keep your income high, don't fall into the trap

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Mars Response
8y
Thank you for taking the time to provide your honest feedback. Mars is a company founded on trust and collaboration and we’re very sorry to hear about your experience. While we are certainly not perfect, it’s our goal to be a destination for top talent and we take feedback like this very seriously. Our goal at Mars is to provide an atmosphere where all Associates feel empowered and engaged to do great work alongside great people. The pet care category itself is a very exciting one, with lots of opportunity and growth. In support of that growth, we pride ourselves on our ability to leverage talent within our company to accomplish great things, while giving individuals opportunities to develop through diverse experiences. We are wholeheartedly committed to our purpose of making A Better World for Pets and, most importantly, achieving that purpose in alignment with our Five Principles. We do thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We’ve shared your thoughts with our local leadership team who are always looking for ways to enhance our Associates’ experiences. All the best in your future endeavors.
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