Vantaggi
A very collaborative environment - it's easy to just walk over to someone's deal or pick up the phone and ask for help. At least at the department I worked in, people are willing to lend a helping hand and work together to get things done. Since new CEO's arrival in August 2014, the direction of the company has pretty much taken a 180, but not necessarily in a bad way. Renewed focus on providing value to members (and the whole "membership is rewarding" deal) is honestly a refreshing breath of air. A lot more corporate events and fun little team building activities (food drive, team lunches, bake sale, etc.) make working there pretty good. The team I had the opportunity to work with was very fun, made some good friends. New CEO is also quite personable and has clearly sent the message that he is a more hands-on kind of guy (in comparison to previous CEO who may have been more distant) - you can see him going around head office quite a lot which was surprising. Also he has been encouraging more employee engagement among the departments which I've seen have a positive impact on the company culture. Also a fast-paced, generally dynamic environment - a great place to work if you're the kind of person who likes to get things done. You always feel like your work has an impact and if you are lucky enough to work with some great managers, they will often champion for you.
Svantaggi
BIG CON: This company doesn't deal with change very well. Coworkers who have been with the company longer than I have often complain that process changes are the hardest to implement and sometimes it's easy to be talking about a process change that should have been done 2 years ago. Lack of IT resources make it challenging to implement system wide changes of any kind. Under old CEO, who was moved to another AAA subsidiary, there was a culture of fear and lack of openness. Many often afraid to speak out lest they get fired. More stoic than personable, and kind of sat from his Ivory tower. With new CEO, change was inevitable. But it was immediate - department budgets were cut instantaneously...perhaps the new CEO's way of making a mark. Despite that, senior managers and top level brass were being shuttled to "Leadership Forums" and being put up at resorts and expensive hotels. Favouritism runs rampant, sometimes unqualified people are promoted. Advancing at BCAA is a bit tricky, and can only really be done if a senior leader champions for you - sucking up is necessary. If you do move around, it's often without warning. With current "hiring freeze" and cost-cutting measures in place, many IT contractors (some who have been there for at least 2 years without benefits) were shown the door. Also, with hiring freeze, BCAA would rather burden existing employees (who are pretty stressed out as they are) than fill the role with another person, even internally. Regardless of whether these people have an interest in the role.
