Friendly Co-Workers, Hard working employees, Obscenely strict Management
Pros
Hy-Vee always provided their part-time employes with flexible scheduling Provided an atmosphere that was easy to make friends with co-workers Most department managers and upper end managers were passionate about their work Middle managers were always supportive and cognizant of workers' needs/skills
Cons
The biggest con about working at Hy-Vee is the very small paycheck and little salary advancement. Starting pay is minimum wage and it takes at least three years of employment to see any real increase in the bank account. Several employees were promoted to the assistant manager position yet lacked competency in elementary math skills. Lower management was consistently supportive of employees, however middle management failed to treat their employees with respect or ever convey to their employees that they were valued. If employees do not feel valued, their work productivity suffers. It's not rocket science. Hy-Vee is undoubtedly passionate about "excellent" customer service, but often went too far by not allowing employees to eat downstairs (evidently it was "unsightly" for customers to see employees eating in their vicinity), insisting employees park five rows away from the store (which actually infringed on two other businesses' parking lots) and meticulously watching employees in case they weren't smiling every second. In short, employees were often treated with disrespect or worse, like children.
