Pros
Its been 18 months since my last review, and since then I feel that things have been improving. Amazon started coaching managers in how to do the associate's jobs, and that has made it easier for them to understand problems and help make solutions. Our management in the areas of outbound where I work has been great and they have been very easy to get along with. I have been employed for nearly 5 years now and it seems that in the last year and a half more emphasis has been placed on quality and safety than in years before. There has also been a more postive outlook among the associates in my area, which has made working here more enjoyable. (Or at least they are not complaining as much?)
Cons
The worst thing about this job is the constant management turnover. As soon as you get used to somebody they are gone. I understand that they want to move on up, but for some reason they have to go to another facility to do that, when that particular job opportunity is also opening up in same facility. It doesn't make any sense. They also have a bad habit of hiring outside the facility and not promoting from within as much as they should. I don't know if there is some sort of quota the facilites have to go by, but plenty of associates have applied for tier 3 jobs only to have another employee from another facility get the job. This last peak season we had issues with filling hiring slots. Amazon has been in our town long enough for the whole place to know what it is like to work here. I have heard from people "on the street" ask me what is going on over there, as they know people who have worked here and they do not want to go back. Every time it has been about the picking department. They all say the same thing; "we feel that we are set up to fail". Until the pick department takes care of this problem the hiring for peak may get worse and worse. The associates who work in the facility do not like to go to pick, and it has been like this for the 5 years I have been there. I have read the VOA board and their has yet to be any solutions for the problems with the department.