Jackson-Dawson Reviews

3.2

50% would recommend to a friend

(118 total reviews)

Sam Dawson

67% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Jackson-Dawson has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 118 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Jackson-Dawson employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

118 reviews
2.0
12 June 2017

Overly Insulated-Resistant to Change

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of free food (charged back to corporate clients indirectly), some very nice people.

Cons

It took me a while to decide whether to post this review. The culture is enclosed and cliquish in ways beyond other organizations. I've worked in many places, all have internal politics, many undesirable. The difficulty with JD is that they've been a private company and fixed in their ways for so long that, despite rhetoric for new ideas/strategies, when introduced, they are dismissed and buried. There's a profound refusal to receive or listen to new or different ideas with vast judgment attached. I've heard comments such as "s/he hasn't the skillset" s/he doesn't produce quality. However, said quality is never defined or explained. The vagueness protects these judgement assertions, which are frequently inaccurate. I've seen excellent work by several employees be so judged and dismissed without valid rationale. These work products were , however, "different" than those existing, either in strategy, technique, process. Conformity is key in an almost cult-like manner. Because JD has a familial atmosphere, the management appears to rely on whispers for information. The gossip climate is not as Theory X as sometimes happens, rather it is used to determine whether the person "fits" in a non-professional, overly-familiar, borderline unethical manner. Communication, ironically, lacks in terms of expectations, feedback, scope. JD is Darwinian in terms of "Impress Me" is an apparent position description, camouflaged in language like "entrepreneurial spirit." A pronounced managerial deficiency results. Rather than coach, mentor, discuss, etc., bosses ignore, shut down, refuse confrontation. Then the manager will huddle with others to devalue the employee until eventually HR calls the meeting to fire him/her. There have been mentions regarding religious overtones. This is true. Although not all individuals subscribe, the inner circle/upper management relies on these loyalties. True advancement only happens to those, described by a few employees, as the "Handshake Club." It's rather scary.

1.0
28 Nov 2016

No. Just no.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I'm racking my brain and I honestly can't think of anything besides that there was always a ton of free snacks in all of the offices and conference rooms.

Cons

Everything that everyone says about management favoring church members is completely true. I worked for one of the JD offshoots and I was the only person in that office that didn't attend a church in the religion of the owners. When I had to hire someone, I was only allowed to interview applicants they picked for me, and they were all from their church. I was fired because I made a mistake, even though I owned up to the mistake and proactively worked to correct the mistake before it became an issue. It was an easily correctable issue, but instead of helping me (I had only been there about 6 weeks at the time), they set up a bunch of complicated, impossible to achieve goals for me to reach and didn't even give me sufficient time to do what they asked. The director of the office I worked in loves to say that he loves to work with people that know more than him. It's not true. He is very much intimidated by and prejudiced against people who know more than him.

1.0
13 Jan 2017

Privately Owned, Insulated Entitlement.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Many good people and talented persons in company. Those who are politically and religiously aligned with management will be at advantage for advancement.

Cons

Conversely, should you not be part of the inner circle, you are subject to a "set up for fail" scenario. Under the erroneous guise of "entrepreneurial spirit" lay the burden of subordinates to succeed or fail at the whimsical behest of superiors. Should one succeed, management gloats and claim credit. Should one fail, s/he is hung to dry. Defined roles, standards, expectations, support, guidance, mentoring are nonexistent. Policies, procedures, position descriptions, IIPP, regulations, safety adherence, discrimination protections are disregarded, ambiguous, not available, or difficult to access. Gross HR and labor law (including FSLA) violations permeate the company. Workplace bullying is not only tolerated, it is tactical.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 118 Reviews

Glassdoor has 135 Jackson-Dawson reviews submitted anonymously by Jackson-Dawson employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Jackson-Dawson is right for you.