assembler

maintenance technician

shift leader

operator

warehouse associate

Polaris Industries

A typical day starts out with a chat in and a rundown of what is needed for the shift in the weld department. Some times management and leads were vague about the expectations for the night. We usually would not be updated about whether we would have overtime for that night until 30 minutes before our shift would be scheduled to leave. If you worked on the frame lines or on parts that went straight to the frame lines, you had a better idea of how the night was going to go unless there were unexpected oppositions. 

There were some days working in the weld shop that were very intense and required 10 to 12 hour nights but the 12 hour nights were few. There were also times when we would work over 7 days a week. This was typical during the summer when production would rev up. With the production of utility vehicles at the Huntsville location, it was easy to have a lot of production to produce each day we came in.

Management and leads were pretty good about making sure everyone got their breaks but we were required to be extremely timely about coming back to the production floor on time and being ready to work again. There were also days when assembly or paint was shut down due to malfunctions or because of running out of other parts for the vehicles so production in the weld department would either be slowed down or would come to a halt for the night. This too was not very often.

I learned a lot about myself and my capacity to endure for the benefit of those around me as well as what it means to lend help to those around you to help ease the load for others on a hard night. I also learned how to manage time better and be more organized. In weld production, it is critical to know how to produce quality in a timely fashion while maintaining a safe environment for yourself and your team.

Many of the leads, management, and team members I worked with were pretty light-hearted and easy-going. There were many times when we would get new people and the atmosphere would change depending on the personalities of those coming in. Overall people tend to be laid back there. Tempers can and do flair up at times especially when it gets hot in the weld shop during the summer and everyone is working long hours so be prepared and keep a level head.

Also, be prepared to be off of work for about 3 weeks to a month from December into January. For Thanksgiving, you could be off for an entire week. It all just depends on the production requirements. This is not something that was disclosed to newcomers until right around the shutdown. I don't think this is very fair to workers to wait to tell employees about the possibility of shutdowns during the slower winter season. Save up your money for the winter season so you have some cushion and plan ahead to have something lined up for a seasonal job in case the shut down is more than a week or two.

If I were really into welding and production I would do it all over again, especially since I have grown so much personally from working in such high demand and fast-paced situations from day to day. This is not a position for people who are looking to just get by with producing low-quality work or those who just want to leisurely work at their own pace.

It pays pretty well coming in. The downside is that Polaris says there is a lot of upward mobility but if you don't have a diploma that is extremely difficult. There is room to move around in the department but if you are not deliberate about what you are wanting and willing to show yourself approved to management, it is very easy to get stuck. And some times it is just the 'luck' of the draw what they have you doing when you get in the weld shop. So be prepared for anything. Be flexible. Be willing to work and meet demands. Come in with a good attitude and you'll do just fine.

● Job security and advancement
I made comments about wanting to advance and was given positive things in return but never much action.

● Overall
I applied and was hired through the temp agency right at the beginning of the peak of the coronavirus in March. It took a few weeks to get on and get started but that was alright.

Day 1 of orientation I felt like I had hit the jackpot getting a job at this company. Benefits are decent and there’s a lot to look forward to in terms of working for the company itself after the 90 day probationary period. They told us after the 90 days we would be rolled over, give or take a couple weeks maybe of timing of classes was off. They told us we would be working Monday - Friday and some Saturdays and Sundays were always voluntary. The attendance policy for temps is very strict compared to the loose attendance policy for permenant employees. You get 3 points as a temp and 16 as a perm—(8 tardys and 8 absences). That wasn’t an issue for me because I rarely miss work. 
Day 2 we observed people in the factory working on the line and did some real hands on things to learn what we would be doing. I was hired on as a night shift employee but they had our orientation during the morning 6:45 - 3:30 pm

My first day I was kind of thrown to the wolves, put on a station and shown how to do my job and luckily I’m not a person who needs very much instruction to do my job effectively and completely, a few others suffered in this aspect though. 

The first month and a half was decent. We worked most Saturdays and a few Sundays, which I was alright with because you get time and a half any given Saturday you work and double time on Sundays. I had to change from second to first shift which they were accommodating to and I was grateful. Shortly after moving to days (7:00am - 3:30pm) we had a schedule change due to being behind schedule and we were working until 4:30 pm, not a big deal. 

As the coronavirus started to hit the plant kind of hard, and people were getting sick.. they were missing work. Polaris employees were given Covid-19 pay and Doherty temps were not. So if you needed to be tested you were on the losing end on being paid unless you did test positive and were eligible for unemployment. 
The shortage of workers ended up in shorter days and us being sent home early because of not having enough people to run the line. This was nothing too surprising because it had happened a couple times in the past months due to part shortages. 
The plant came up with a way to “deal” with the absenteeism and that was us working 7 days a week for 10.5 hours a day instead of just 9.5 hours... they even combined day and night shift for a while to help with the fact so many people were out... this has been going on for almost 2 months now and maybe the end is in sight sometime in September... 

Me and a large group of people are also waiting to be rolled over, pushing 4 1/2 and for some 5 months. Meanwhile they are hiring 100s of people directly into the company while those of us who working diligently for them for months are made to wait. They tell us they are behind but before our rollovers were due there was two “classes”. It’s all very backwards. 

The work-life balance is not good. And working until 5:30 most don’t get home until 6:00-7:00 o clock and you feel like you’re back in bed almost immediately. You cannot get anything done working 10.5 hours a day and not having any days off is outrageously tough on the body and temperatures inside the plant are very high! Almost 93-95 degrees some days and getting hotter which is unbearable since we must wear masks due to covid-19 

Proceed with caution if you’re thinking about working here.

Oh man. No idea where to even begin with this company. It’s a good place to work if you need the money and don’t mind working your life away. If you appreciate some sort of work life balance stay away. This company runs out of parts so much and instead of sending people home or giving them weekends off in order for the parts to catch up and arrive they will make you work your a** off and come in and stand around or you’ll be utilized in other departments even though you’ve been working your a** off for days without a break. 

Also, can we talk about the highschool-ish attendance policy and how the reward people for not missing any days? This place is toxic AF with its “culture”. You only get 8 “unexcused” absences and 7 tardies before they fire your a** and I’m not even sure if they accept doctors notes. Also, the amount at which you accrue vacation is laughable. You have to work for 13 weeks straight before you even have enough to go on a weeks vacation. One cool thing though is that you can work a half day on Friday and use 3 hours of your vacation and get the whole weekend off so that’s nice. You’ll never have weekends off naturally though so if you need a weekend off you’re gonna blow through your vacation before you can even get to a weeks accrual. And the sick pay: You only get 16 hours (or a pro rated amount if you start at a weird month in the year). How does this company even remotely think that 16 hours is enough personal or sick time? Also, you can’t use vacation to make up for days you’ve called out. Their policies are ridiculously toxic. 

Overall, this place will teach you pretty much anything if you’re willing to learn because they’re so desperate for workers. And my supervisors have been very nice and have helped me get ahead. I don’t worry about job security here except for when I’m sick and have to call out. The new HR lady apparently fired over 100+ people for having too many point accruals so that’s always a worry in my mind. But, if you come in and do your job and are helpful you’ll do fine here. 



I worked at Polaris Huntsville for over 7 years. All pride in the job stopped after year 3. To see the way management at this plant treats people it was hard to be a part of the organization. The HR department would constant lie to you about just about everything. If it wasn't for the fact I worked my way up into the engineering department that is the only decent department to work for in my opinion I never would have made it as long as I did. Honestly though it never mattered how hard we worked to get caught up to build orders but as soon as we got caught up we'd have another parts shortage and be back to square one. This caused us to work constant overtime to not even make 100% shippable units. The production supervisors were encouraged by the production managers to yell and scream at employees to get their jobs done but half the time they would even know the reasons they were behind they'd just start yelling mindlessly. The heat in the summertime is crazy there is always 2 or 3 fights every year because the heat on top of a high stress work environment is a recipe for disaster. After year five I had to start going to therapy and get on antidepressants. Honestly leaving and then looking into some different manufacturers in the area helped me see more than anything how bad it was there. Leaving has been one of the best decisions of my life for my personal health and I would never in my life recommend anyone work here or buy the product. With such high turn over rates they always had very unexperienced and unskilled workers building the products and the amount of mistakes you'd find on a single vehicle when you'd really look over it makes me fear for all the units with problems we didn't catch.

Granted Polaris is a "start up" company but it is absolutely ridiculous that the mangers, supervisors, and HR are so caught up in sticking up for each other than for the actual employees that bust their cans 10 to 12 hours a day. You never know what time you will be getting off work from day to day because no matter how hard you work, you are ALWAYS behind schedule. They do NOT care about the employees what so ever. HR is the biggest issue with the plant. They have NO idea what to do or how to help with any problem. If you are not in the so called click out there you might as well not even be there. They let bad parts go out... Problems that are easily fixable are not because that may stop production for 5 minutes. You get two 12 minute breaks and one 30 minute lunch no matter how many hours are forced upon you that day. The vacation you work to build up is almost never granted because production is so far behind that one person cannot use their own vacation.... Most of the employees are straight out of high school without families. The members with families you might as well guarantee you will not be seeing them but on Sundays. It's a horrible and I mean horrible place to work period!!!! I have worked there from the day it opened until now and nothing has changed. Lies, lies, and more lies is all  it is. They pay stinks, the benefits are pathetic, and the abuse and conduct out there is beyond ridiculous but if anything is said...you get punished for it for being the victim. I would rather flip burgers they to work for that miserable place. And every employee you talk to would 100 percent agree with every statement made!!!

Used to work at Polaris in Spirit Lake, Iowa. Overall the facility was nice and up to date. But, if you work on the wrong line it could be rough. Arrogant and cocky supervisors and production managers. Line Engineers who feel like they own you and place all blame on you if issues arise. Get whipped for hours in 2 months. Then everything goes stale rest of year for hours and fighting unemployment office just to get enough money for food and gas to survive. A true paycheck to paycheck job.

Health insurance is sky high. $1200.00 deductable per year for a single person with a 49.00 bi weekly premium and have to pay full out of pocket to go to doctor all year. 

Raise issues to management and they will scoff at you and push it aside. Engineers will tell you to "figure it out yourself" reguarding safety concerns on vehicles. And they wonder why everything is catching on fire now.

Only good thing is the profit sharing and nice breakrooms with catered food. Other than that nothing else. Hard to advance up the ladder unless your a woman who sleeps with the leads or flirts with them. Or your buddies with management. 

Line techs can be real jerks and will write you up any chance they get. They will sneak up on you at times even. If you miss one checkback. They will take a picture and make you sign a paper. Some operators down the line will sabotage you and wipe your checkback off with towels to get you in trouble.

Too many layoffs such as this current 2 month layoff over the holidays no less. 

Most co-workers here are hardcore biker type and rude. 

All management cares about is their stock prices and bottom line.

If you enjoy being over worked, under paid, and under appreciated then this is the place for you. If you like to play politics, brown nose, and constantly worry about being let go then you should apply to Polaris. If you believe in the rider culture and you consider yourself a true blood Polaris fan and customer do not apply. You will be disappointed in what you find. They offer employee incentives such as a year end bonus and a free Polaris vehicle depending on your employee status. They do their best to keep your bonus low and your vehicle from being approved for you. Each Minnesota office is different. The Plymouth office is for techies with a mix of blue collars and suits. The Medina office is pure corporate and everyone has their nose in the air. Wyoming is the most rider culture office in the network and a hub for the research and development programs. Roseau employees are a different breed. They were born and raised to make Polaris profit and anything else isn't acceptable. They too are constantly stabbing each other in the back. At Polaris there are opportunities to grow but you better make sure that you're best buddies with someone above you or else your number won't be getting called up. Also, the benefits are average.

Pay at Polaris isn’t as good as other companies in the area unless you really take advantage of the various discounts and other benefits offered (DLE and product discounts). I was a rider before Polaris so to me, this saved me a lot of money. 

Culture in Engineering: There are a lot of great people at this company but over the last few years (2020 and on) a lot of new people were hired who clearly don’t care about what Polaris makes. These people are difficult to work with sometimes. Certain engineering groups are worse with that. 
On a positive note: Polaris people are very philanthropic. Lots of opportunities to volunteer, start your own events and to donate through Polaris gives. The week of profit sharing is so unique and can be very fun but I usually feel that I’m too buried in work to participate much. Because people did not feel comfortable taking vacation, Polaris now requires more time to be used before lost. 
Similarly, work load at Polaris is out of wack for most people at first level management and below. The engineering specialist (system engineers) and project engineers do way more than they should. This is a risky set up, feels like hazing at times. 
Maternity leave is greatly behind the twin cities area. 
Team rides and other team bonding events are the best part-if you are lucky enough to be on a team that does this. 

Polaris initially started as the premiere plant to work at in HSV.  This was lost due to site leadership and corporate leadership losing touch with realty during the pandemic.  Basically, everyone in manufacturing worked 24/7, while other corporate locations got to work from home, and sit back and criticize those that were busting their butts!!  It has become more of a chaotic, dis functional industrial labor plant.  There isn’t any strategy on supply chain, manufacturing, or retaining of caliber team members.  The ones that do want to invest in the company are worked till their life is drained out of them.  For the sake of saving the daily quotas, plant managers will easily sacrifice the employees and their only semblance of some diabolical scheme of a work/life balance. 
Pay is decent
PTO is good if you are allowed to use it.
Don’t use FMLA or STD or you WILL be put on the axe list when you return.  They frown on those that need to or have to use this.
Management hasn’t a clue on how to control the plant, and since they don’t want to hurt feelings, they do not enforce policy for safety, workplace violence, ethics or code of conduct.  Needless to say they love to talk about it.  They will sweep a lot of things under the rug if you are in good with Hr or the director, but if you aren’t, you will be exiled!!

The Huntsville Manufacturing Facility was relatively new when I started working for them. As it was a new facility there was lack of communication between all of the different teams involved in the manufacturing process that sometimes made it hard for the production teams to communicate what they needed from the materials operators. Sometimes this caused lines to be down for several hours at a time. Depending on how long the line would be shut down. They would either send you home or to a new area to learn or send your whole line home. Training was difficult but manageable. Might be more efficient to have an employee led training program before new hires are brought to the production lines to work full-time. Be prepared to work more than 40 hours a week some weeks due to mandatory overtime which you can be penalized for opting out of. Moderately fair pay with room for quarterly raises and performance evaluation raises based on how you are doing at your job and your determination level to learn more. Most of the management teams are very knowledgeable and friendly.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assembler 53 salaries reported	$20.83 per hour
Maintenance technician 1 salary reported	$25.50 per hour
Shift leader 4 salaries reported	$89,500 per year
Operator 1 salary reported	$21.22 per hour
Warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$17.95 per hour

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