Great Company for Hard Workers in the Food & Beverage Industry Looking for a Future - Operations Manager The SSA Group Employee Review

4.0
Dec 28, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This is a company that I have been with for several years now. While it has its ups and downs, the ups definitely outweigh the downs (at least in the quality of those ups and downs). For the Food and Beverage Industry, this job is a cake walk. Extensive hours that are so common in the industry are not a necessity here. A work/life balance is a guarantee at an hourly level, and definitely attainable at a salary level, assuming you are efficient at your job. The general feel when working with this company is also a giant win. This is a corporate company that feels like a small family owned business. While every single unit within this company (as there are over 50 across the nation) may be a little more dysfunctional than other, most units still experience this family friendly vibe. This is also a company that has wonderful growth opportunities and is filled with management at many units whom are young, driven individuals looking to move forward. Training and mentoring is a focus within each unit. HQ has programs like the Cultureship Program and a Mentorship Program that gives lower level employees face time and training with individuals more advanced in their fields. The ability to move within the company, even at a linear level, is very easy. With over 50 accounts across the nation, you could go wherever you'd like with the right drive. Senior management for the most part at a unit level are good at what they do. They are individuals that respect one another and will continue to push you. This job forces you to work with a team. If you can't figure that out, you will flat out fail. It can be difficult at times, but when you get it right, you will find that the team ends up being greater than the sum of its parts.

Cons

First and foremost, the pay is not up to par for the work being asked most of the time. It is not bad by any means, but people are definitely underpaid for the value they put in. There is an argument that the opportunity to move forward and the work/life balance you can achieve offsets this, but it all depends on how you rank those specific ideals. Unless you are a salaried employee or one of the top dogs in the hourly category, there usually is an slow season that doesn't yield many hours. This can be hard if you are not prepared for it (or unless you are one of those individuals). Training is also another downfall to this company. While there are programs that are in the making, they are not fine tuned nor are they in every unit. Most of the time, it turns into sink or swim. This is a very young company. While that is a large reason that it has growth opportunity, it also yields a lot of learning as you go. Programs and policies are being built on a corporate level, but they are being built after one unit or another has put said program/policy in place and worked through the kinks. This is a great way to do it, but if you are the unit that is attempting something like this, it doesn't always work out for you or your team. When your job description gets to the point that it includes overseeing the operation, much falls on your shoulders, but the compensations is still not quite there. There is a large jump once a GM or Excecutive Chef level is attained, but until then, you work a lot and are underpaid for it. Working for a client, in that client's "house" can be difficult. Some clients are cooperative and more akin to a partner, however, others are difficult, unprofessional and know-it-alls (at least in their minds).

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The SSA Group Response
7y
Thank you so much for this well thought out and unbiased review. We're incredibly proud of the environments and people we work with, but also understand that our industry is robust, and has its challenges. But you are right. Our People Department is working on newly standardized training and a lot of other tools to make life more efficient in the operations. Pay and compensation are also going to be tough. From the top down, we would like to compensate people more, but this industry has tight margins, and we have to be smart about managing all of our expenses in order to ensure the company's continued growth. Again, thank you for your feedback, and we will be sure to share it the Executive team and the People Department.

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