inside sales manager

technical analyst

maintenance technician

controls engineer

electrician

Domtar

I worked here for over 20 years.  The managers are incompetent.  They knew less about papermaking than I did.  Micromanagement was rampant.  Managers made sure they knew EXACTLY what time you came in and what time you left.  I was forced to work many weekends, even when I was not "on call" to provide data to accounting.  As the "single person", I was almost always forced to work Christmas or Thanksgiving.  Don't plan on seeing your family if they live out of town.

Work expectations were unreasonable.  I was forced to do not only my job, but cost accounting, engineering, and some production work.  Lots of long, hot, sweaty summer days with no air conditioning on a cement floor.  If the paper machine was not running well, you would be forced to work 12 hour days, 7 days a week until the paper machine started to run better.  I once worked 21 days straight, all of them 12 hour days.

The current production supervisor is a feminist who actively promotes only females into positions of power.  The previous production supervisor was a sadist who enjoyed punishing those below him when things weren't running well.  He used to say, "Don't confuse efforts with results!"

As has already been mentioned by others, FAVORITISM  was commonplace.  Less experienced, less knowledgeable, but well liked employees were ALWAYS promoted over senior, hard working, but less liked employees.  Managers were constantly bad mouthing employees publicly which was unprofessional.  "Random" drug testing was used as a way to punish employees and keep them from complaining too much.  If you did complain, you would be called out with insubordination.

Frequent calls late at night for scheduling.  Pages in the middle of the night for production problems.  Management NEVER used the words, "thank you".

I worked 12 hour rotating shifts, one week days and then one week nights plus any overtime that was required to fill. My typical day or night started at 6:00am or 6:00pm. The first thing I did was make relief, communicating any safety issues, quality issues, maintenance issues,grade changes, personnel issues, machine reliability, or anything that you feel is important for your relief to know no matter how simple it maybe. I was multi-skilled, I could work anywhere in my department and be proficient on the task at hand. I have learned so many valuable lessons that I value and even use them in my home life. I learned to never take safety for granite and even though I am at home I still wear proper safety equipment. Another value lesson I learned is not to be judgmental, you never know what your co-worker is going through. I learned that knowing how to do a job right the first time is a necessity in production work. I can not say enough good things about our managers we had at the mill. Our managers conducted the business side of our department. They had complete confidence in our abilities to make decisions and get the finished product out to perfection to meet ship dates. My co-workers were some of the greatest people I have known in my life. I am a people person so it wasn't hard for me to try to get along and respect my co-workers. The hardest part of the job was getting behind from unexpected grade changes and trying to get caught up before shift change. The most enjoyable part of the job is knowing you gave 110%, machine is caught up, and your co-worker walks in with a big smile knowing you have started their 12 shift on a good note.

Busy,hot,daily safety meetings within teams.Weekly safety meetings with management and available team members.Filling out pre task forms,quality catch forms,hazard analysis forms and multipe,seemingly repetitive,forms.Cleaning and keeping work area safe.Assisting operator and other team members requiring help.
 
I've learned the use of tools I have never used,good troubleshooting methods,better safety methods through Safe Start program.

Good management open to any suggestions and willing to compramise in "gray areas".

As in all working situations we  have differrent personalities and work ethics.We have good,adequate and bad attitudes at Domtar as well as I have seen with any company I have worked for.I choose to make my own opinion about co-workers rather than take the opinions of others about employees they may or may not like.

Rotating shifts and changing schedules are the most difficult part of the job.The heat and humidity are also unbearable at times,even in the winter.Occasionally we have mandatory weekend work which can dissrupt any plans you have made prior to your short notice.

Annual parties (on site),personal recognition for performance above and beyond,occasional lunches and informational meetings and training are second to none that I have ever experienced.The culture Domtar is trying to create is beginning to take shape in my opinion.Moral is not always great but,we do not all have the same attitudes,opinions and work ethics.

You could be this company's dream employee and never miss a day of work, receive superior ratings on all your reviews, be a positive and likeable team-player, catch mistakes that could cost millions, etc., and you will still be passed up for promotions. Many excellent employees remain where they are for two likely reasons. First, incompetent employees are automatically given promotions to different departments (i.e. the job the good employee is applying for), because their current boss wants to get rid of the poor performers. Second, your manager doesn't want to lose you. Upper management and HR are either completely oblivious to these issues, or simply turn a blind eye. I personally feel it's the latter. Good companies want to keep their talent. I will never understand why this company wants to fail. As the economy and job availability continue to improve, they should anticipate losing many outstanding employees, due to these unfair practices. If an excellent employee is applying for a new job(s) within the company, then they don't want to remain in the same position and will leave, no matter how dedicated you believe they are.

If you want to work for a company that values your input and hard work this is the wrong place. The overall culture of management is one driven by rumor and political profiling. It's a good old boy system. I’ve witnessed senior management cast disparaging remarks about peoples’ religious affiliations and political alignments. One of many reasons why I left. If you’re not part of their “team” you have no hope of moving forward and chances are they’ll work to get rid of you. This is the reputation that they have created for themselves within the company. They view all who are not in the upper levels of the company as second-class citizens and treat people accordingly.  People are leaving at an alarming rate and the overall moral is very low. These observations are only the tip of the iceberg. Management needs to realize that those who leave are talking, and it does not shed a good light on them or the company. Senior management is not trusted.

I was lucky enough to work with some fantastic people during my short stay at the company, and it’s really a shame to hear how things are falling apart. The behavior of senior management is not necessary and intolerable.

A typical day at work was challenging and fun at the same time.  It could start by having coffee and talking to people on the floor and checking to see how things ran throughout the night.  The people at the mill were great and when you walked in a new challenge would arise and would change what you had set to do for the day.  Some days there was a sense of importance, but most of the days you felt like a piece of gum that keeps getting stepped on over and over.  The hardest part of the day job was the uncertainty of having a job or not.  Some people would put you on the spot and it made you feel like no matter what you did, it wasn't good enough.  Some people get all the breaks and others, just keep getting thrown to the curb.  Working at the mill taught me how to work with people and equipment and how to balance time from one project to the other.  The production people make it a fun place to work, the ones calling the shots make it very difficult to enjoy work.  It turns out you are just a number and not a human being.

If you like the warehouse/factory setting, this job is for you. One of the nicest factories I have worked at. First, the shift was started off with a safety meeting, and we would go over numbers from the previous shift. We go out to our spots at one of the diaper lines and relieve the shift before us. My position was assistant operator A. Which was second in responsibilities right below the Team Leader. The job requirements were to be able to stand on your feet for hours, observation skills; looking for quality defects/ making adjustments. Working with tools; replace machine parts if damaged, or during changeovers. Management was constantly finding ways to strive. In productivity and safety. The coworkers were like a family, they all knew who I was and I had a good relationship with everyone of them. The hardest part of the job was standing on your feet for 12 hours. And the most enjoyable part of the job was the people I worked with.

If you literally have no family or don’t want to be at home by all means go to work there but if you do have family or especially if your a single parent they will mandatory you 6-7 days a week overtime, you have no say so in the matter, if your a good worker management or trainers pick you apart, the ones who have been there walk around with their nose stuck up in the air instead of trying to help you understand how to do your job. I would very strongly recommend making this place a last resort option for employment. In 2 weeks time I had 229hrs above 80 of those hours were not any I asked for it was forced and when I had personal family matters that they were already aware of before and couldn’t come in on a day that was not my scheduled day they called me to terminate my job. Little did they know had I not had to deal with my son who almost lost his life I was turning in a two week notice two days prior to this phone call because of the lack of consideration for people and the fact that they want you to basically live there.

Overall a great company. Probably the best I ever worked for. However management never had time to deal with issues which ultimately led me to leave. Expect to work 80 to 90+ hours during shutdowns but was flexible during normal operations. Site management was a challenge. The official plant manager was young and very green at everything. The Paper Machine manager thought he was a God when he really was just a butt-hole. My direct supervisor never had any time for discussion of anything; whether personal or professional. I was heavily relied on to fix everything and have the Maintenance Manager get all the credit. On average,  was called in on 3rd twice per week  because Maintenance Manager could not be reached via landline, 2 cell phones,  and a pager. The old buddy system definitely existed so if you are an outsider coming in, don't expect any positive reinforcement or promotions. 

Good Afternoon, 
When I started at Domtar Paper Company, I went through a brief training program.  Unfortunately, the training coordinator had outdated information.  After 1 day of training, I started answering the phone, and starting processing orders, with little to no training. 
I was really on my own to process the workload in my region.  I had limited guidance.  I handled the largest account in the US.  It was a challenging position.  
Unfortunately, the Team Leaders did not support the CSR's. The CSR's who wanted to move to another area, but the Team Leads did not promote the CSR's, which was disappointing. 
I had a scheduled performance evaluation with my Team Lead, who sat and wrote checks for 45 minutes.  There was no discussion of advancing to another department. That's when I knew it was time to move on...
At Domtar, it's the good, the bad and the ugly. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Inside sales manager 7 salaries reported	$63,214 per year
Technical analyst 1 salary reported	$111,254 per year
Maintenance technician 2 salaries reported	$30.65 per hour
Controls engineer 1 salary reported	$88,000 per year
Electrician 2 salaries reported	$37.04 per hour

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