Pros
good health benefits and remote work
Cons
The company framed a period of harsh austerity and widespread cuts as “rightsizing,” but in practice it resulted in the loss of experienced employees and their replacement with fewer and less prepared hires. Remaining staff appeared stretched thin, and burnout was very common. I joined as a new North America sales rep in January 2025. From the outset, the role felt nearly impossible due to structural issues outside a rep’s control. There was no formal onboarding plan, no documented SOPs, and yet full performance expectations were imposed within the first month. Leadership in my territory relied heavily on outdated KPIs that were disconnected from what customers actually needed. Internal communication from management was frequently demoralizing. It was common for leaders to take excessive, public shots at employees for missed metrics while ignoring the broader systemic issues driving those outcomes. This created a culture of fear and defensiveness rather than accountability or problem-solving. Several customers openly stated that prior to my arrival they felt as though they effectively had no sales support, despite accounts being formally assigned. Internal priorities did not align with market realities, particularly as customers were more concerned with supply chain reliability and extreme lead times than with legacy metrics. The CRM worked more like a KPI surveillance tool than a sales enablement platform, reinforcing the wrong incentives. Most IT systems felt unfinished or unreliable, adding friction rather than efficiency to daily work. Inter-departmental conflict was quite common, and factories often lacked the support needed to meet demand. In some cases, customers were being quoted lead times approaching two years for standard products, which significantly damaged credibility. Sales expectations also required extensive travel and long hours well beyond what felt sustainable. The cumulative effect was a sales team that appeared physically run down, with little organizational support or time to maintain basic health and work-life balance. Overall, the gap between expectations and reality made success extremely difficult despite strong effort. While the bearing products themselves appeared to be good quality, and there was at least one excellent Application Engineer in the territory, the commercial and operational environment made this a deeply frustrating experience and time I wish I could get back.