LOOKS GOOD FROM THE OUTSIDE BUT A MESS ON THE INSIDE. - Anonymous employee American Crafts Employee Review

Sorry to hear that you are frustrated about your situation at American Crafts. The review you left is long on criticism but short on details, making it difficult to make specific improvements. Here is some response to the accusations, an attempt to provide specific information to those who may come across the review down the road. 1. Horrible, top-heavy management. Saying the management is unilaterally "horrible" isn't really a helpful critique. Are some managers better at managing than others? Yes. Do managers need more training? Yes. This is something the company is addressing in 2018. As far as the management being top-heavy, the approach that's been taken is to try to limit the number of direct reports mangers have to allow them to provide good oversight and direction. Additionally, everyone should keep in mind it's necessary to have stratification in a company to offer opportunities for advancement. The key is to have balance and not overdo it. Management at American Crafts makes up about 10% of the company, which is considered reasonable in most industries. 2. Over-worked employees. I have access to the overtime reports for my department of more than 90 employees. It shows that AT MOST about 4 people a week log overtime. When they do it's typically less than 3 hours of overtime. This has proven consistent across all of 2017. I can't speak for other departments, but the data available to me show that about half the company consistently works a very reasonable 40 hours a week. That's not to say that the reviewer doesn't have a situation outside of this data set. 3. Confusing structure. In the design department we are organized in a rather straightforward matter. There's an executive position, a senior creative director, creative directors, art directors, senior designers, designers and production assistants. Each position reports in teams of 2-5 people organized by either brand or clients. Maybe it's more confusing in other departments? 4. Not family friendly. I personally have found American Crafts to be a very family friendly place to work. Again, that's not to say that the reviewer hasn't had a different experience or has an unspoken expectation that equals "family friendly" to him or her. Most of the managers and owners are parents of small to teenage children and are very understanding of and place a high importance on family. Some examples of what makes American Crafts family friendly in my view : we offer flexible start hours so parents who want to arrive later in the morning have time to drop off kids, etc. We offer family health and dental plans. Managers are lenient in terms of schedule so people can live their lives - make appointments, attend children's performances and sporting events, etc. Employees are encouraged to take the PTO they earn and spend time with family. We invite children to come trick or treating in the office at Halloween time. Although legally bound to do so, AC happily accommodates nursing mothers and time taken to have a child. I've personally seen the owners and other managers reach out to employees who have experienced extreme family tragedies with support in the form of meals and time off with pay in addition to moral support. When my daughter was run over by a car, for example, I felt nothing but support from the organization. 5. Awful communication. It would be helpful to have more detail from the reviewer to understand what is frustrating regarding communication. Communication is never perfect in any organization. And there's no question AC can improve its communication efforts. But there are ongoing efforts to communicate what's happening at the company, the CEO's vision, goals and objectives, successes and failures. We instituted a company project/task management system two years ago to improve communication and better keep people in the loop. While not perfect, it has definitely helped. We will continue to try to improve in this area because of its importance.