Mars has no understanding of technology and it's importance in our society. Old laptops, terrible systems, slow internet, awful IT processes. If you like productivity, tech, and ecommerce - you will go nuts trying to move the needle at this company.
100% responsibility, but no authority. You are given targets that are not grounded in reality and do not take into consideration budgets. You will not get a bonus if you can't achieve these results with the shrinking bugets.
Capacity and work life balance do not matter. You will be in a tug of war for resources across the office and expect everyone to be overworked. Below the manager level, expect everyone to be grossly underpaid for the amount of work they do.
Performance reviews are bell curved. An entire team can't be excellent. Some people on the team must be "below expectations" every year. 2 years in a row mean you are on the street. You can be below expectations soley because of business results - so regardless how hard you work - if you are on a brand or customer that isn't growing, you will likely not get a bonus or have the ability to get a promotion.
No one can think for themselves. Rules are rules are rules. A process must be followed, because it always has been that way. Mars likes to have a lean office, and therefore there is no redundancy. If you get sick, your work just piles up. Departments looking to save money or create more capacity for their team will create processes that simply move the work onto another department. If you have a director not engaged with this political/process battle - you will get swamped with grunt work barely related to your job.
Not inclusive - if you have a food allergy, expect no support or accommodations. Good luck having time to leave the building to get a lunch somewhere else.
HR (P&O at Mars): Spread gossip and over share your personal information. They do not know how to troubleshoot. No one can think for themselves. I was set up in every system incorrectly: to the point I couldn't get paid the first few weeks.
Pay: WATCH OUT! 10% of your pay is a "punctuality bonus" which you will not get paid when you are on holidays, get sick, or for any reason do not punch in on time each day. I had a meeting with the VP of P&O (HR) an hour before my "start time" and that was not proof I was on time, so my pay got docked. DO NOT ever expect to get 100% of that punctuational bonus. As a watch out: when they first give you our offer, they won't separate out that amount from your base pay.
Pay roll errors: Mars makes mistakes on your weekly pay (yes, even office workers on salary get paid weekly, and your salary is converted to an hourly rate). They make so many mistakes it will bogglle your mind. Watch out though - if they underpay you, it will take weeks or months to get it back. If they over pay you, they will beat you up until it is fully repaid. Payroll and finance seem to not understand income tax and will come after you for the amount that Canada Revenue collects.
Clean desk policy: Expect to have a terrible time trying to store paperwork, samples, or any other physical item you want in the office. You can't leave stuff on your desk, but they don't give you storage to put it in. My desk, 1.5 years in, is still filled with stuff from the previous 2 employees.
Promotions and development: Mars talks an amazing game on this. Keep in mind, whoever is your manager controls your fate. Unimpressive employees can shoot through the ranks with a manager who wants to make it happen. I work on a team with a manager who believes they are brilliant and everyone else has way too much to learn still and therefore no one under them moves quickly. *You cannot get a promotion or move to another department without your manager's support.*
