Pros
Front-line Team – at PSA my Team of hardworking and dedicated front-line and mid-management professionals were the real MVP’s. As a PSA employee you constantly “do more with less” and these individuals were heart and soul committed to the betterment of an organization when most have no clue how dark it really is. PSA employees work harder and longer hours than anyone I know, do it for far less pay, and very little positive rewards or appreciation. My advice to these individuals is to take a step back and assess your value to any organization based on your experience and skill level. Then look at the current economic climate in the job market – current wages, benefits, cultures, level of support, and work/life balance initiatives that are rapidly becoming the industry standard; and ask yourself if PSA truly values you for your commitment and dedication or just the results you return. You’re supposed to work to live, not live to work. Take care of yourselves, your families, and your health.
Cons
Lack of Accountability – nowhere at PSA is accountability a priority or even a word in leadership’s vocabulary. No one is held accountable, not even Senior Management. If the President loses faith in you, duties are reassigned and projects are reworked and assigned to other high-performing leaders. This culture resonates throughout the organization and leaves a key group of leaders and their teams making all decisions at all hours of the day. It is nearly impossible to get fired from PSA at any level in the organization (this might be a “Pro” for some) and it is nearly impossible as a leader to discharge under/non-performing employees which infect the culture and bring everyone down. This is further augmented by a massive “do nothing” HR department lead by incompetent leaders with no experience and virtually no risk-tolerance in decision making. Decisions, even simple policy/procedural decisions take months to formulate and roll out. No strategy around these items at all. Unfair Treatment of Employees – There is widespread mistreatment of employees, lack of policy gives no guidance to Managers and this leads to the appearance of favoritism. Big things like working remotely and commuting to work are undefined and applied on a “case-by-case” basis. HR leadership (for the most part) does not even reside in Dayton. The lack of morality and ethics exhibited with unchecked power by HR is appalling. This is demonstrated by a significant lack of training of leadership. Leadership Training at PSA is laughable, facilitated by individuals with no real leadership experience, zero industry experience, and completely irrelevant content. When they weren’t constantly interrupted by the operation, sessions were typically turned into group therapy complaint sessions. Zero Ingenuity or Innovation – PSA lacks anything close to being an industry leader in anything. PSA is the industry follower. If you are meeting with top management be very prepared to answer the question, “well, what does XYZ competitor do?” They will not take risks or challenge the status quo. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines, PSA is simply a cost center, your job is to move airplanes no matter the cost. Forget working easier, strategic planning, or solving tomorrow’s problems; PSA is virtually consumed with the here-and-now and yesterday with no focus on the future. PSA will spend hours and hours looking at and structuring employee compensation/labor agreements to ensure not a dime is over-paid, but leave millions on the table with unrefined purchasing/contracting and reliability policies. This is evident by their industry trailing operational performance. Everything at PSA is a fire, constantly, even at 0600 on Saturday morning. If you are a forward-thinker or strategic mind, PSA is not the place for you. Solutions are not implemented until complete catastrophes occur, and even then they are done so cheaply and haphazardly they can take years to implement. Facilities & Location –It is incredibly hard to recruit good talent in Dayton, OH and this leads to more incompetence or unfairness in working arrangements and certain exceptions are made for certain people. PSA receives significant grants from the City of Dayton to retain its headquarters in the form of almost free rent on its aging facilities. Since nothing in life is free, their rent is actually subsidized through the taxes each Dayton OH based PSA employee pays. The Dayton campus is spread out among four buildings that you have to drive your personal vehicle to. The OCC employees literally have to go outside to a trailer to use the bathroom because space is so cramped. Everything at PSA is a band-aid and there is no long-term strategic plan. As a reality check for any current employees or respective candidates, look at the facility/campus that American Airlines recently built in DFW and how much was invested there, then ask yourself if American or your leadership really care about you in Dayton OH.
