Pros
Great team and support from fellow Supervisors, Account Managers, and the Account Director. Health insurance. 401k.
Cons
These cons come from before RR Donnelly purchased Williams Lea but are still relevant, or made worse since then; Scope creep is expected. You will be doing tasks that are not part of your job description and you won't be adequately compensated. Clients will abuse you and nothing will be done about it. In fact, just concede that you are the problem and move on. Any HR matters you report will result in you being investigated. Not worth it. On top of your normal duties, you are expected to take a plethora of mind-numbing training courses and update operations manuals while simultaneously servicing the client. Pay is a joke and the metrics used to determine it are extremely outdated. A livable wage in Wheeling, WV is not livable for California, period. For a company who touts they are on the cutting edge of staffing and technological solutions, at least from the services and products they sell the client on, the tone deaf and robotic approach to salary is extremely telling. They'll rake in the profits and feed you crumbs. Williams Lea expects that you need the job and will do nothing to help you. Don't work here if you have dependents or expect to have any unless you're ok with the low pay (you shouldn't be). The pay is not competitive in California. Merit increases are low, even if you exceed expectations or go above and beyond. The norm hovered around 3%, now its half that or less. Not worth the effort. Unless you live in the symbolic ivory tower of upper management, where you get to permanently work from home, you are not valued. Speaking of merit increases, you're expected to put your heart and soul into your reviews. I myself have put every effort into propping up my best performers only to see them get a pittance for their achievements. The urgency to get reviews done on time is not reflective of Williams Lea's efforts at doling out merit increases. The intervals between reviews and pay increases widen every year. Supervisors and above used to get bonuses. I guess those are reserved for the ivory tower crew now. Don't ask for earning reports or the like. You won't get it. The most you'll get is 'we've had a great year' and you'll get table scraps. There is no transparency like before. 401k match has been neutered since being purchased by RR Donnelly. Expect to contribute even more from your already low wage to make any meaningful impact. In fact, expect to contribute that 1% merit increase into your 401k to really stretch out that dollar. There are members on my team who work two jobs and do Uber on the side just to make ends meet. Other sites will pawn their problematic employees off on you and you are expected to take them in. Other sites will need assistance and you are expected to help them out. This is not reciprocal. Heaven forbid that the client wants to gift you a $30 gift card to recognize you for a job well done. Can't have it unless Williams Lea gets a cut of that Fro-Yo money. Good employees are rare and recruiters will not help. They'll try to pawn people with job adjacent sounding resumes on you who will mostly be duds. Save yourself the headache and find your own people, that is, if that barista at Peet's doesn't laugh in your face at the compensation you're offering. Poor performers are expected to get put on a performative action plan, written up, and eventually terminated. To be expected. However, as stated earlier, a vacancy would require you to fill the gap. There is a floater pool available, however, its luck of the draw that you either get a superstar or a lukewarm body. Vacancies cost Williams Lea money so you have to get someone in the door ASAP. What kind of employee will you get if you offer a little over minimum wage? Diamonds in the rough are rare, so with you'll get a fool who desperately needs work, or someone who who is using you as a stop gap for a better paying position. Either way, you're back at square one as there are better options out there. For a company who is all about diversity, they won't give you Juneteenth off. You are expected to burn your own PTO or find another site that is open to work at. On that note, it is the opinion of upper management that we are all a bunch of lazy and entitled children who need to be reigned in. I've been in those meetings and have cringed when they talk about a few bad apples and apply it to the entire non-exempt employees. Recognition is rare, these Above and Beyond meetings are a farce, and don't expect anything more than a 'pizza party' at the end of the year for all the effort you put in juggling your everyday duties, navigating the moving target that are the client's needs, keeping your team intact, being HR, being recruiting, doing the billing and finances, taking classes, facilities, managing the client's vendors as well as your own, maintaining your mental well being, and participating in soul crushing events and meetings telling you how great the company is doing and you should be thankful for scraps.
