-Despite new marketing, still Same Old UL (SOUL). Old, slow, conservative.
-Challenging technological systems, slow & cumbersome, Same story last 20+yrs.
-Constant reorganization/realigning. Constant course correcting. Constant positions being created & eliminated. Do they really know what they are doing?
-No one should be confident in job security. Healthy amounts of involuntary turnover.
-UL is a publicly traded company now, so if things are not looking good for quarterly public reporting there will be layoffs.
-Things are very Northbrook-centric (headquarters). Staff outside of Northbrook, IL feel like sloppy seconds.
-Some areas are very male-dominated with sparse women.
-Though diversity is touted not very much diversity in areas.
-Vast differences in culture depending on where you work.
-Technical staff: (Engineer, Lab, Field) fingers worked to the bone and absolutely terrible tools to work with.
-Technical staff: have collegial work environment within teams but very competitive amongst different departments
-Engineering: All largely follow the same project management process.
-Engineering: The technical knowledge for some areas is quite niche making it harder to transfer to another job, (where do you go after UL?)
-Laboratory Staff: The least engaged job group and one of the most overworked, (2nd to Field Staff).
-Field Staff: Toughest job in the company. The most overworked & least supported group. Left on an island most of the time.
-Non technical staff: in non revenue producing areas are the 1st to experience layoffs
-HR: Not like any other place in the company to work (in a bad way).
-HR: Aggressive, cut-throat culture. Lots of blame shifting & trash-talking.
-HR: Thinks staff throughout the company don't have good sense.
-Brand-centric company (So very frustrating). Every Powerpoint must be in the company brand format approved by creative services. (unnecessarily hard)
-Director level & above have private offices, everyone else has to fight for a place to sit every day.
-Promotional opportunities can feel limited outside of the junior levels.
-Lots of new leaders hired that have questionable ethos.
-Big difference in what is said at townhalls vs what happens on the floor.
-At townhalls & company meetings the leadership teams speak to themselves not to the interests of the people doing the work.
-UL's name is prestigious in the product safety industry, but it is not a house-hold name.
