Pros
Quick background: Legrand North America (LNA) is a unique corporate environment. As a group comprised entirely of previously acquired companies with some dating back over 100 years, LNA has traditionally had a very decentralized management model with many small to medium sized offices around the country. In recent years, some management and operations have been folded into larger structures while other groups remain mostly autonomous. Due to such, there are many variables about the company that are difficult to generalize. So, for pros: - The people are pleasant and welcoming. Dress code is business casual but many folks dress more casually - Business objectives, financial performance and other KPIs are very transparent - There is a well established employee development program - The General Managers are accessible at the business units - There is an invigorating challenge to build the Legrand brand - LNA is financially stable and growing rapidly through medium sized acquisitions - Investment in industrial design and ethnography is very progressive for the industry.
Cons
The company is very finance driven, with the key drawbacks being: - Frugality on IT has allowed ancient software systems to remain in place. On-boarding can be especially painful. - The amount of data required on both a regular and urgent basis is overwhelming. The old and inefficient IT services magnify that frustration. - The need to deliver quarterly results can distract focus from the long term vision Other cons: - It is difficult to develop within a single business unit due to their limited sizes. Those willing to relocate have many more development opportunities. - Besides the local GMs, the executive team appears to be losing touch with ground level employees. Had there been an ear to the ground on certain issues, good employees would still be with the company. HR seems to be spread thin. - The mature business units are slow moving and put up the most resistance to change.