For a company that prides itself on operational efficiency for the customer, this company is bogged down by bureaucratic and over-managed internal processes. This all distills into one key idea: despite the barrage of tests you take prior to employment, you are not trusted to do your job. As a sales rep, contacts at your customers are subject to follow-up calls after your visit to make sure you were really there. Warehouse and customer service team members are graded on errors - too many and you are simply told to find a new job. The company has adopted a "writing style" and it is an enforceable expectation that all your communication follows it. Your workspace is audited quarterly for personal items both out on your desk and in your drawers. Calls on your desk phone can be tapped by management with zero warning.
Do not believe their solicitations on LinkedIn - there is very little opportunity to be had here unless you fit a certain demographic. Low-level management is pretty diverse, but when you get to mid and upper levels, you will find it to be increasingly homogeneous (white male). President is very vocal about her political opinions - the company/family are the third largest donor to this years' Trump campaign. Promotions at any level are decided by her, and timelines are often delayed because the folks at corporate are waiting to catch her "in a good mood." You will lose customers because she is not afraid to share her political stance in a little soapbox section she has in the back of each catalog.
Working here is like being in a cult. You will be "asked" to chip in or donate to all kinds of things over the course of the year, and firmly reminded that the Uihlein family has "generously" provided you with a job and benefits. People who quit or who are asked to leave are openly referred to by management to be "not Uline enough." Awards, praise, and recognition are given to people deemed to be "Culture Guardians." Process improvement is non-existent here, even if new ideas are supported by a vocal majority. Despite flatlining sales caused by an inflexible business model, new ideas are quickly shot down. In face of retention issues, their number one question to me, asked by several times by multiple levels of management was "Where are you going?" instead of the more important: "What can we do better?"
