Great People, TERRIBLE Upper Management - Headquarters
Pros
The people you work with directly at JCP are wonderful!! The team I was on was amazing, everyone was really great at collaborating and it became like a small little family, we had fun, and tried to make the best out of every situation. Even people you don't interact with that much are usually super nice and wonderful! The company tries to have a laid back/fun culture, and there are definitely little pockets of that, but they don't really succeed (see cons section referring to management). The benefits are good, the compensation starts out fair but doesn't really keep up, even if you do achieve the highest review rating possible the'll barely meet the inflation rate for the year.
Cons
Upper Management. I wish that was enough said just with that.... They cycle through CEO and C-Suite executives, but until JCP can clear out some of the upper management that has been around for 30 years they won't be able to survive. People who have been there for decades are rigid, stubborn, and extremely slow to change with the times to a more digital age. On top of that, there is absolutely zero respect for work-life balance in the marketing department. It's Friday afternoon at 3 PM and you're done? Oh wait, the someone with a high enough title decided they don't like the way this offer looks on all the digital assets, sorry but now you're here until 7 PM or working additional hours this weekend. Why? All because some guy (not in the creative department) decided he didn't like the way the colors looked, or he wanted to lead with a different offer... It's very sad to say that's how decisions are made, on a whim and without care for the employees. This is where the attempt to be a fun culture is ruined, there are countless processes in place to prevent this kind of hectic scramble and blatant disrespect for employees except, someone has a "title" so unfortunately you really don't have a say in the matter and because this person has a title they are in charge and you're wrong. Don't even try to bring data/information to back up your ideas, that's accepted to your face and then disregarded the minute you stop talking. The last issue is the chances they give to extremely under-performing employees; there were multiple instances where employees simply didn't come to work, didn't communicate to anyone, didn't get work done that was crucial on time, couldn't understand the basic functions of their jobs, and they were still employed. That makes for an extremely frustrating work environment when you have to constantly work around these people, despite having had constant conversations with their managers and your own and there being multiple complaints.
