Pros
Company has an established brand name in the commodity electronic component industry, so healthy sales are generated based off that recognition. Upward mobility for associate level positions, but it is due to the high employee turn over. You will be required to fill in and take over duties and responsibilities when employees leave, but you will not be fairly compensated for doing so. Lower management and associate employees: the non-executive managers treat their employees fairly and do their best to shield their team members from the senior/executive management team. Associate team members do their best to support each other. Global team: EMEA specifically, they offer great support and feedback. Health benefits: Abracon offers very competitive health benefits. They are affordable and offer great coverage especially for dependents. Flexible spending account for health expenses available. They offer 5% 401K match. Paid Internships: Abracon offers paid internship in the spring, summer, and fall. Most interns (~90%) have been offered a full-time position after completion of their internship or after graduation.
Cons
CEO: The CEO lacks basic sympathy and empathy for employees. Not respectful of work/life balance. Employee feedback for more flexible work schedule / work from home options was not well received and was rejected. The CEO doesn’t trust his employees, which extends all the way to their ability to make and act on informed business decisions. He is reluctant to support employee initiatives and ideas. He is overly involved in day-to-day issues/activities. He walks the office to take employee attendance shortly after day start and finish. He is not flexible with work from home during COVID or in general. Office has had multiple COVID outbreaks during the pandemic due to his desire that employees be present in office. Senior Management Team: Two (2) senior managers are related to the CEO, so nepotism is rampant, and business decisions are often made during Sunday family dinners amongst Triumvirate (the three related executives). Senior managers are rarely held accountable/responsible for their performance. Senior management is simply focused on maximizing their next incentive payout when the company gets sold (again). They are also very reluctant to share company information with middle managers and associate employees. Salary: Abracon does not offer competitive salaries for the Austin, Texas metro area, unless you are straight out of college or an executive level employee. The senior management team will not negotiate in good faith for base or incentive raises. Their most frequently used strategy is to offer employees take it or leave it ultimatums. Employee turnover: The employee turnover is extremely high. They can’t backfill the positions fast enough, so new job postings are open for months/quarters at a time and work duties and responsibilities are constantly changing for coverage. From 1/2020 to 8/21, Abracon lost over 20 employees including 4 product line managers, 3 product engineers, 3 inside salespersons, 2 customer service reps, 1 senior executive/manager, 1 marketing associate, 1 executive assistance, and at least 5 warehouse staff. Culture: The associate employees do their best to develop and maintain a good culture, but the culture is centered on the shared feeling of the struggle dealing with senior management. Meetings: Meetings with or involving senior management are always scheduled for an hour, and they usually go way over. Most meetings will get out of scope and focus on trying to fix every problem. Location: The office is in Spicewood, which is around 45 minutes to an hour away from downtown Austin. Most employees have at least a 45-minute commute.