"Reynolds American was just certified as a 2018 Great Place to Work" Did you survey anyone outside of HQ? I know the majority of TMs are displeased with the company.
Depending on where you live you can't afford rent on a TM salary especial in major metropolitan areas on the West Coast. The work load has piled on, we went from having a couple "drive brands" to an extremely large portfolio of brands.
We have lost creditability with our customers because we keep launching new brands that don't sell. The TM role has changed from "trusted advisors" to compliance police who jam new and failed products down our retailers throats even when we know these products wont sell in their store.
Work load has significantly increased with unrealistic monthly call coverage expectations. We are tracked on our ability to see 100% of our accounts on a monthly basis. In order achieve call coverage we can’t spend the necessary time in each store to complete all of our objectives. We then get marked down when a manager goes into each outlet and everything isn't 100% executed. Management needs to pick which one they want; 100% coverage or quality work where it has the most impact on the business.
There has been an increased amount of "emergency initiatives" where we have a short turn around time to do tasks such as product recalls, data input, and non essential administrative activities. Which has only increased the stress level of the TM role.
Consumer engagements. While the ability to provide coupons and start conversations with competitive consumers is valuable they shouldn't be forced upon us. They take more time out of our already busy day, most retailers hate them, and they make you feel like a used car salesman. If management really wanted to obtain benefits from consumer engagements they should hire a team dedicated to just doing CEs. As a TM our focus should be more on the selling strategy initiatives than forcing products on to consumers.
The promotion opportunities are very slim. They are mostly dependent on your management team. I have seen very qualified people get promoted and I have also seen very unqualified people get promoted over better candidates. There seems to be no consistency between regions regarding qualifications needed to be promoted, it's all luck of the draw on which region you are put in.
Lastly, the job is all dependent your manger. Luckily I have a good manager but I know a lot of colleagues that weren't as fortunate. The workload, exceptions, and possibility of being extremely micromanaged all depend on your direct boss.
