Pros
On average you will work 30% longer and 30% harder for 30% under the industry standard salary for your labor. If you take nothing else from this review remember that simple fact. It is the centerpiece of every internal gripe session within the Reynolds work environment. Now, there are quite a few superficial pros. Yet underneath their thin veneer are the harsh realities they attempt to obfuscate. The Dayton facilities are a gorgeous memorial to the old Reynolds before Brockman's policy of profiteering took over. These days the on-site gym, cafeteria, health clinic, and convenience center all feel like a vestigial remnant of better days long since past. Why you ask? Well, like most people I can bring my own lunch. So why not pay me more money to buy bread? I have a family physician. Why not provide real health benefits instead of the current legally mandated bear minimum "coverage" with every doctor out of network and only 6 sick days 4 of which require doctor's notes? And speaking of benefits shall we discuss the lackluster leave package and the much lauded 6% matching 401K? No vacation the first year and only 10 days for your first five years is a clear statement from leadership: you live to work. As for the matching 401K plan that kicks in after two years it behooves any thinking worker to consider the reality that should he/she take a new job making even 10% more he/she could effectively match their own 401K up to that level and still have some left over. Besides, most employers match up to 5% anyway, so why should I let fear of loss distract me from probable gain especially when that 10% figure usually ends up being much more (about 33% more in my case)? Lastly, the people are generally pleasant although quite subdued, seemingly servile even, and the fear of leadership is both real and excessive even for a Walmart of the white collar world corporation such as Reynolds and Reynolds.
Cons
Bob Brockman. Nobody wants to say it, at least not publicly, but it's true. Let's begin with a short history lesson. This company went from private to public and then back to private again in 2006. And so began what would one day be described by me as the Third Reych. Backed by New York bankers (Goldman Sachs/Vista Equity Partners) Brockman had executed a well publicized hostile takeover of Reynolds. He assumed an authoritarian role over the company and began firing people left and right, cutting salaries/benefits drastically, crafting convoluted customer contracts designed to discretely, but legally extract more money from them, and firing/suing anyone who stood in his way. It got so bad that in 2009 Glassdoor.com rated this company the third worst employer in the United States of America. Since then all of the ReyRey propagandists or "digital reputation management specialists" (decent writers, better softball players) are "encouraged," take that as you will, to write positive reviews on this site to ensure it never makes that list again. In this respect they have been moderately successful, but by most accounts things are worse than ever. Although his top cronies will forever swear allegiance you may be surprised to hear there are lowly laborers who remain loyal and loudly so. But, from what I see it is only because they remember the ODJFS bread lines back in 2008 and are grateful just not to be dead even if they aren't really living either. I suppose that is Brockman's wage philosophy: keep workers fed enough to not revolt (leave) and to work, but never so much that they sate their hunger pains and start doing some real thinking (why are my wages/benefits/work environment so lacking?). Enough history! Aren't I being unfair? After all, 2008 was bad for all of us including Brockman, right? Perhaps in the sense that I think it delayed the end game of his banker backed corporate raid of a once great company. I mean the guy cashed in on everything from employee pension funds to Reynold's reputation itself. His failed bid to sell the company back in 2012 only made things worse for employees and customers alike. Salaries and benefits continued to get cut, remain stagnant, all the while prices increased along with customer dissatisfaction and you better believe you will hear about it especially if you are in sales. The money siphoned off from employees/customers has been used to purchase high quality products from more creative companies we couldn't possibly build ourselves, such as Add on Auto and Docupad. All this time Brockman has been getting richer as we get poorer. After all, and this is important to understand, the money is there. Reynolds and Reynolds is an incredibly profitable company, just beautiful on paper, but very little of that money finds itself in employees accounts no matter how hard they work. They should put a big sign over the entrance "ARBEIT MACHT SIE GELD" (work makes you money). Most the sales people I knew worked at least 50 hours a week, usually more, and their stress/caffeine levels were in the stratosphere. Turnover was atrocious while many more ended up working themselves into physical/mental exhaustion only to end up being treated like Boxer from Animal Farm. Yet, few ever really seemed to make any money and most of us agreed we didn't want to think where we would be without our spouse's income especially if we had children. The proverbial army of recent graduates ReyRey hires don't care about the future, they are living college life 2.0 with three roommates, cheap food, and weekend parties so they don't care about a real living wage, heck, they may not even know the difference yet. And the ranks are always being refilled by young, unseasoned, and desperate individuals. Indeed, your experience with the hiring process will end up being a perfect microcosm for your entire Reynold's career. And speaking of tedious, invasive, and unrewarding procedures... How about day to day life in the Reych? Oppressive micromanagement at the expense of your pocketbook, productivity, and sanity. Everything is tracked, everything is watched, everything is catalogued, everything is scrutinized. Like any authoritarian personality Brockman trusts no one, so surveillance is a constant companion. The sheer amount of records, reports, and paperwork you must generate to satisfy his insecure need to watch and control everything is staggering. Management is his inept, impotent mouthpiece. Morale is in the toilet. Nobody feels secure. Everybody talks about escape. Some said the front was nearing us but I wasn't going to wait around for the buyout liberation. I followed orders, clicked my heels, outwardly celebrated the Brockman cult of personality, showed up to Pitstop propaganda rallies, saluted/clapped, participated in the 2 minute hates against ADP/CDK, earned a promotion, and used it to get heck out.