An objective and constructive review from a grateful former employee (not one of the disgruntled ones).
Pros
Excellent opportunity for professional growth, if you have the vision to see all of the obstacles as opportunities. Working at Axon have me an education in business that I could never have learned with an ivy league MBA; or at any other company. I learned more than I could have ever imagined about the O&G Industry, drilling equipment & rigs, and drilling operations in a couple of short years at Axon. I would not change one thing about my employment at Axon, the good or the bad. There were plenty good and bad experiences/times at Axon. Axon has the best indoor & outdoor booths at OTC. Great branding strategy & execution at trade shows, and marketing in general. Most employees have good attitudes and work ethics. I enjoyed working with most of the people at Axon and have developed some good relationships through and at Axon. Axon has a good mix of complementing oil field products and services, but need to better leverage synergies between divisions and grow organically.
Cons
High turnover of employees due to layoffs. Layoffs in 2014 did not seem to make good business sense. Six divisions operate in silos with little interaction or cooperation between them. Centralized accounting and HR allows the CEO & CFO to micro manage all hiring and finance decisions. Corporate executives treat upper management of the divisions unprofessionally instead of empowering them. Company initiatives are not communicated, not followed through on, and ultimately dropped altogether. There doesn't appear to be a corporate strategy, business plan, strategic plan, or strategic objectives; or at least any that anyone knows about or follows. Mission statement? Who knows? CEO's vision for the company, where he sees the company in the next 2 to 3 years - sold to the highest bidder - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, except the company's reputation is getting trashed. Vendors not being paid gives the impression that Axon is on financial trouble, whether it is true or not. Dunn & Bradstreet report is negative because of delinquent payment history, which causes vendors to charge Axon higher prices and give unfavorable credit terms. This must have a negative impact on cash flows, perpetuating the late payment & bad credit rating cycle. Former and current employees are trashing Axon's reputation by making negative comments on social media and by word of mouth. Trashed company reputation and bad credit rating equals reduced valuation at exit, and less return on shareholder investments.
