There is zero room for advancement, promotion, or pay increases. None. In the years I worked here, I saw one person promoted in my department.
The running observation among employees is anytime someone has gained the skills and experience for promotion, one middle manager changes the criteria for promotion to tailor it just outside of anyone's ability. "Training opportunities" in different departments who were short-handed were a common way to build experience for promotion, but were never recognized for actual progression.
People were moved from department to department with the promise of promotion only to be holding the promoted position for months/years while being told they were unqualified for promotion -- to the job they're already doing. People would be "temporarily" assigned to other departments for months only to be told that they're unqualified to be permanently assigned to the higher paying position -- for a job they're already doing.
Supervisors and leads seemed to have the employees' best interests and professional development in mind. The middle management team did not.
HR is a part-time contractor here with ZERO ability to actually influence personnel policy. It's clear that the contractor (who is great) is only employed to allow managers/middle managers to misbehave just enough to make everyone miserable but not so much as to over-expose the company to litigation beyond the "settlement" range. There is zero actual personnel policy. Promotion / advancement / development in my department was shaped by middle managers' slanted opinions of those seeking promotion. It's like Lucy constantly moving the football on Charlie Brown.
The racism here is apparent to anyone willing to scratch the surface. This site hires black and brown new college graduates, strings them along for years with promises of promotion and advancement, and universally creates unattainable hurdles for anyone who exceeds their criteria for promotion. They even have one black person on each shift like they're checking blocks. Honestly, watch "Hidden Fences" for an accurate depiction of this job site -- replace the blonde lady in the movie with an Asian guy and you've captured this job site.
The pay is a joke but the retirement package is OK. Amazon, Home Depot, Any hospital laboratory, BestBuy, HEB, and every competitor pays more -- even McDonalds is catching up to them. The pay is within 2% of the burrito shop around the corner. The company's wages are less than poverty level and the company seems to be using payroll analysis data from 10 years ago; middle managers seem to be dumbfounded by employees' leaving while competitors are paying 50-75% more.
I left because of the racism and pay disparity with competitors after my 401k vested. I now make 62% more at a competitor while my job duties are essentially unchanged.
