Pros
On a daily scheduling basis, there is some flexibility. I would almost say this is good for work/life balance, but employees have and will never get more than eight holidays and two weeks vacation.
Cons
Office culture: ADM has a punitive culture where employees are typically unhappy for several reasons. The first hurdle the company faces is one of the owners. He is blatantly sexist and classist. He can be heard throughout the building yelling at and belittling technical and administrative staff. His ethics are borderline third world across the board. Otherwise, the company suffers from a general lack of morale and professionalism. The building is old and overcrowded, meetings are administered to chastise and threaten employees, and the general feel is that nobody considers ADM a long-term investment. Compensation: ADM targets young professionals with high level degrees right out of college. They offer a very low starting salary with the false promise of a substantial raise on their first annual review. This is one of the many reasons the morale is so low and turnover is so high. Promotions: Titles kind of exist at ADM, but not really. Typically, a person will be hired with the title "analyst" or "evaluation researcher." From there, a person could end up taking over a project on their first day, or they could end up calling customers to schedule appointments with no regard for their advanced degree. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. I see many talented people spend their entire time at ADM as a scheduler or data entry person. Time off policies: As mentioned above, the lack of holidays and vacation time are an issue for many people. In addition, many people are forced to spend very long hours in the office to complete their work. Again, this makes little sense because there are many employees that are underutilized as well. Training: There is no training whatsoever. This did not affect me because I was fortunate enough to have tasks assigned to me that were new to the company and needed me to research and administer them. However, for many, this is unfortunate because they will fail with little to no chance of success. Personal growth: I used to think of working for ADM as a good way to get experience. Now I question that because their industry reputation is iffy at best. This is partly to do with their known affiliation with the "sister company" Matrix Energy Services, and partly to do with their own failings in the past. Now I can't wait to find another option.
