Uninspiring, bureaucratic, "go through the motions"
Pros
-Low stress -High pay vs what is expected of you -Good brands -Lite hours offer good work/life balance -Easy to show up, do very little, and collect your paycheck -The company stands by its mission of bringing people together -People are friendly for the most part -Weekly open bar happy hour -Many, many off-site events, retreats, parties, etc -Free branded merch -Sales teams seem good at what they do -It's in the alcohol industry. This makes it fun. And means the product will likely sell itself, regardless of what you do. -The NBV brands and some of the smaller brands seem to be very well run
Cons
I think I can say this is the most regrettable work experience of my career. It was not challenging, it was not rewarding, and I genuinely feel less capable in my job leaving the role than when I began it. -Corporate and hierarchical -Bureaucratic. Every decision is consensus driven and nobody ever stands up for what they believe is the right path forward. Decisions are made by gut feeling, rather than data, so reaching a consensus is like herding cats. -Reward relationship over competence -Dispassionate employees. Many seem to be there because "alcohol is a fun industry" and because they get access to parties. Surprised to see many working on the brand side and in marketing do not even know how their brand's products are made. -Emphasis on "doing things the way they've been done before" even when those approaches failed -Excessively wasteful spending -I cannot describe the amount of time wasted in pointless meetings. This will occupy the bulk of your time. -Most of the thinking is outsourced to consultants/agencies. Roles become executional. The title of "manager" more so means "agency relationship manager" -Sexual harassment. -Making the sexual harassment worse is the notion that HR is incompetent, so nobody will speak up. -Significant amounts of work are not done for any purpose other than to check the box that the task was completed. Even if it is pointless. -Deadlines are almost never met. But there is never any consequence. New "deadlines" are simply conjured... and again not met. -Culture of favoritism and nepotism -Re-org constantly -Little collaboration between sales and marketing -Innovation often means following what the competition has brought to market -Data only appears relevant to sales, finance, and the digital team. Data not relevant in brand marketing. -Operate with blinders, as though no competitors do anything worthwhile. Unwilling to acknowledge areas where they are not the best. And yet try to fast-follow competitors. -Always focused on the next reporting period, but rarely look beyond that. No long-term planning or concrete strategies develop as a result -Rely on their 4 hero brands, which receive 99% of the company's attention. Little consideration as to what will happen if sales slow among those brands. I could go on