Pros
I worked for Spherion in one of the corporate offices prior to their having been bought out by Randstad. The employees were naturally concerned when we were told that our company had been acquired, and the "big wigs" came in and presented all sorts of slideshows and idealistic speeches about how the company was going to get much better. The pros for working with Spherion were wonderful - great pay, benefits, and a genuine desire to see all employees succeed. There was an open-door policy with upper management that made employees feel as though their concerns would be heard and addressed.
Cons
All the reassurances and posturing about the grand ideas Randstad had for Spherion were outright untruths. Since the acquisition, things for Spherion have taken a rapid downturn. The transition was a complete mess, with bad communicating, inadequate training on the new systems, and the general feeling that we had been subject to a "hostile takeover." Most of the employees were in fear of losing their jobs, and there was little done to attempt to reassure us. There have always been flaws in the training system, but instead of attempting to fix them, the CEO decided to send in an cold, unpersonable manager to fire anyone she considered to be "underperforming." As a result, many hard-working employees found themselves out of a job, and the company lost several valuable clients.
