I've been here for five years. I've tried and I can't even remember if there was a time when working here was good enough for me to be happy instead of miserable when I have to go in to work. Does anybody who's been here longer remember a time like that? Or has Follett always been the hellhole it is now?
10 replies (most recent on top)
Left Follett a decade ago. No regrets.
I have been happy at work ever since I left Follett!
There are companies that appreciate hard working employees.
Reality check- I had been at follett since 1999. By the time 2005 hit, it was clear the course materials and text business had passed follett by. While the management group was nicer to employees and you could believe they cared about employees, the lack of imagination in the face of disruptive technology (online shopping and price comparing) was stunning.
What ensued due to the lack insight was brutal, culminating in 2013 when management turned on employees and openly abused them until they quit. In Nov 2013 they simply fired 10% of the staff. They've been in full on panic mode ever since. They cited the need to be more accommodating to customers as the reason they fired 10% of the workforce. Imagine!
So, blame MLS all you want. She was awful. She either directed or allowed to happen a brutal attack on career employees. However, the preceding generation of leadership failed to navigate the changing online environment.
Bottom line is follett is awful. It has been for a long time.
Last time I enjoyed my job would have been 1998, if I was still at follett. I enjoy nearly everyday since I left.
Worked for Follett for a year and a half as a text manager III, and that's all she wrote. At a store level, I had never experienced such a toxic environment. When you have to show up to work 15 minutes early just to sit in your car and pump yourself up, tell yourself to just keep to yourself, get to lunch break and the rest of the day will fly by and whatever you do avoid the SM (the primary source of toxicity), it's a bad deal. The company I previously worked for had an opening that allowed me to come back. Took a $25k paycut to go back, and yeah I'm struggling, but I'm soooooooooo much happier. The only thing that s—s was prior to leaving to come over to Follett I was 1 month away from 13 years with the previous company; I'd be approaching 18 years had I never left. MASSIVE regret.
Bloody Mary.....
Follett was a great company before she came along. It felt like family.
2005 thru 2010. I was a good place back then.
Prior to MLS becoming CEO in late 2012 and entry of Sears and Kmart executives, Follett was a competitive, rewarding, and enjoyable place to work.
If Follett had done nothing in 2013 - 2014 they would have been much better off today.
I suspect the family greed drove the changes, accusing the family members running the company of not doing enough to keep the dividends high.
This is why most family owned American companies don't last past 5 generations. GREED. How many family members were getting cash dividends to support themselves? How long did they think this would last?
Oh snap, you'll have to go out and get a job!!!!
I enjoyed my job, the staff I worked with, the students, the challenges, the successes I had. It is very sad to see the company change so negatively. It’s struggling with very poor leadership. They don’t know which way to go, however getting rid of staff at store level will not solve the problem.
Over a decade and I can't remember. I suppose it's my fault for not moving on though, or at least that's what I'm likely to be told and that's fine.