Alouette Cheese Reviews

Large amount of turnover in recent years due to very little direction from the top - many decisions are made by the French parent company who have little knowledge of the US market or customer needs. Innovation tends to suffer as a result and Alouette has difficulty identifying and capitalizing on market opportunities due to this lagged and flawed decision making process. The US management largely manages by patching holes and implementing the parent company initiatives without pushing back. They are mostly French ex-pats looking for a nice 3-5 year resume builder before heading back to the home country. HR is purely an administrative function which drives an even wider gap between management and employees.

Now on to the “bad”, which unfortunately is much more extensive: 1) Self- Absorbed: Remember those 70% of people who are good, competent people? Well the remainder are the complete opposite: back-stabbing, do-nothing people who constantly work to elevate their own status by taking credit and talking down about others. Unfortunately, these are usually the people in higher management. 2) Revolving Door: Usually when you hear that a company has people with 20-30 years of service you would expect it to be a great place to work, but in this case it is simply because they have nowhere else to go. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if almost everyone was looking for a way out, but when you work in New Holland, there aren’t many options to leave - I've tried. The Mahwah office is a different story- In 2013, they hired an entire new marketing and sales support team (around 12 people). Now, all but one are gone). Additionally, we just lost our ENTIRE Alouette Marketing team in the past 4 months (two with 5 years at the company) because they had had enough. (Please refer to “Self-Absorbed” above for an idea of what the remaining Marketers bring to the table). Fun fact: The Mahwah office now has 6 people vs the 17 they had when they moved there 2 years ago. 3) The French Influence: If you think there will be a chance to be entrepreneurial and make changes for the better, please check you ambitions at the door. Why? Well that’s because all decisions are made by the French parent company and the new tyrant CEO*. I have sat in meetings where I have seen projects presented, the larger group of employees all agree it is a great direction, only to have the CEO tell them to change everything last minute because he or the French executive team doesn’t like it. They will not provide a reason or allow discussion and if you push back, it’s likely your job will be on the line**. * As a non- French employee your job is to be a worker bee- follow directions, don’t ask questions and keep your head down. If you do that, you will be just fine **This does not apply if you are French. For all French folks you will be praised for your work and it will be held as the gold standard for all to follow. You will likely be promoted to a higher level as were all of the French before you. 4) The Iceberg: The items I’ve touched on above are just the tip of the monstrosity that lies below the surface. I can’t go into every instance of the incredibly poor decision-making, but I can tell you that the vast number of issues with this place are due to the arrogance of the executives who run it. They know nothing about a subject, but insist that they are right. They watch good people walk and say they are better without them. They have a good idea for a product and then mess with it until they are 10 years too late. What should be a nimble, entrepreneurial company with the financial backing of a Dairy powerhouse is slow, lethargic company that refuses to support their products. They are their own enemy and frankly it drags down everyone else who works here. One final point of advice: I cannot stress this enough, but for anyone looking to come here, please save yourself the agony and look elsewhere. We are in need of more good people to help with the work, but since the management here will never be overhauled, nothing will change and you, just like all those before you will be looking for the exit.