manufacturing team leader

manufacturing specialist

maintenance technician

financial analyst

analytics and insight manager

Wrigley

Company has gone through a major culture shift over the last few years, and is no longer the great place it used to be.  New leadership at the top rotates continually, and priorities are changing every week.  We spent 5 years climbing to the top of the industry to be #1, and within 3 months of breaking that ceiling we shifted gears to drive profit (which makes perfect sense) but then demanded sales continue to grow.

Mars Wrigley is the embodiment of "do more with less" attitudes.  Every year we're tasked with growing x% and every year leadership does something to hinder that growth.  Because of this, bonuses are rarely paid out (bonus is based on total company success, rather personal achievement).  In all likelihood, you'll be getting 25% or less of your bonus every year.  The full bonus percentage is also the lowest in the industry that I'm aware of.  Counterparts at other companies routinely make 2x our bonus.  

Internally, career advancement is 100% about who you know or who you suck up to.  They also preach the mentality that in order to climb higher you need to make lateral moves.  This means that you'll need to take 2-4 transfers to lateral positions, for the same money, before you're even allowed to think about going up a rung.  With the strict "time in role" requirements that equates to anywhere from 5+ years (likely 8+) before youre even considered for a promotion.  And again, thats dependent on who you've been sucking up to.  

There are lots of good managers/directors/leaders, but there are TONS of horrible ones.  50% of the leaders in MW have no clue what it means to be a leader, let alone competently manage a team and develop people/customers/skills/etc.  They're simply there for the paycheck.  The ironic thing is, internally everyone knows these people are horrible, and do nothing but chase good talent out of the company, but nothing is ever done (because they suck up to those above them etc).  Leaders have ZERO accountability for anything.  Middle management here has to be the best job ever, because they dont do a ton, and if something bad happens, they just shove the blame down to their staff, and get off scott free.  

The work life balance is pretty decent though.  You can absolutely turn your computer off at 5:30 and focus on your personal life.  Decent benefits, but they're starting to reduce those as we're continually squeezing for profit.  



You go to countless development workshops where they talk about development planning, and careeer paths, and the 5P’s. It’s all bulkshit unless you are someone’s favorite. They don’t let you stay where you are if you are happy. If you are in a role more than 3 years it is frowned upon and seen like you can’t get s new role rather than you don’t want one. Then you apply for the role you actually want and are qualified for and they say you need to go work in other roles to get different skills and work on your problem areas. 

I was given a promotion for a job I got zero training in, the transition was here figure it out, and when I asked for help I got none. The way I did my job wasn’t good enough because it wasn’t the way my line manager wanted. Then to top it off I started having to have meetings with my senior manager and suddenly my key job description became prepping for the monthly meeting  with this FLT manager. This FLT member was never happy, always critical of not just me but everyone. During a meeting once he stopped a presentation to criticize the way the person gathered their data because he would do it differently. Anyway my meetings were supposed to be about x and they became xyz, and it was never good enough. Despite having glowing reviews from Vice Presidents regarding the meetings I was having with them concerning their finances, I was given poor performance reviews because of my meetings with this one FLT manager who is just impossible to please. 

If they let me stay where I was happy none of this would have happened. Don’t work here unless you want to just be a people pleaser and not get to have a mind of your own. The behavior of this member is in defiance of their mutuality principle and he is a poor leader and example. 

Oh and they put on paper for your salary your full salary with your bonus and include that in your salary. Except haha you don’t get the bonus. Funny ha ha not

Separately, Mars Chocolate and Wrigley were great organizations. Once they integrated, things have been going downhill. Huge shakeup at the Senior Leadership level left us without a clear strategy and direction. Constant reorgs (reinventions) to "reduce overhead costs." Company just dramatically raised prices due to inflationary pressures, but won't help out associates with anything more than a ~2% merit increase as employees are "expected to internalize their own costs." That doesn't follow the mutuality principle. Turnover is at record levels mainly due to compensation, but the company would rather let people go and rehire new people from the outside at 30% more rather than give employees a boost. They refuse to address the question despite it being asked in multiple company town halls. Tons of "not my job" and middle management empire building. I'm serious considering giving up my pension to go somewhere else.

Mars is all about the company they couldent careless about their lower tier team members. The preach associate development and all these values but the only ones they enforce are the ones that benefit the company. If you ever end up in a bad situation nobody will help you clear your name even if its not your fault you will be left to defend yourself alone. They can and will change your schedule to suit there needs without any thought or care toward your family life or time off from work. You work a rotating schedule while management works m-f 8 hour days u work 12's rotating from day to night shift. No real advancement opportunities if you dont hold a degree they value and even then if you dont kiss up to the right person you still dont get promoted. There was a time this company truly was top 100 but now its just another horrible production factory!

At Mars they thrive on making sure everyone has the opportunity for advancement within their roles. everyone is respected in the way they should be. However, the tasks of our support team is very demanding and I feel like they could offer that level of workers an advance in their salary.  The company offers very good wages for senior level staffing but none of this is possible without the administrative support teams. this is actually the case at majority of corporations in the country.  This needs to be reviewed and discussed worldwide. Most of us could not do our jobs without the support or coordinator admin staff that we all have to run our day and keep things in form and in line of details.

I drove 4-10 hours and worked 6-8 hours at a store in one of five states resetting and retagging front-end candy and sometimes aisle candy and selling shippers. in 2010 and 2011 I worked two jobs.

My current manager is a wet behind the ears kid who possesses little to no respect or curtsy. His relational and communication skills are lacking and he doesn't know what "going to bat for" a highly respected field worker means. Need I say more.

 I am a self-motivated employee who worked alone.

The hardest part of the job was staying awake driving during an 18 hour day and after three to four days like that it was really difficult.

I enjoyed the store managers beaming expression of satisfied gratitude after I reconstructed his demolished front-end and aisle candy.

Wrigley's is a very desired company in my area to be employed at to be able to build/maintain a safe/quality mentality. The culture there is very engaging with their associates. The opportunities for sustainability/advancement are constant within the facility
 .My role there as a wrapper operator consisted of wrapping product to quality standards, production requirements & communicating areas of improvement to leadership.The mental intensity of this position is very in depth with the training/safety aspects of the role.
 Leadership is always helpful in any concerns that arise within the facility. If these or any other concerns that can be shared with the associates will be in our " engagement meetings".

I worked at this place for two years. In the beginning it seemed ok, but that quickly changed. Our department had zero support from upper management when issues arose. Pay for our position was significantly lower than the rest of Chicago given the scope or work. Because of this, the company(site) had an issue attracting real talent. They thought it would be a good idea to bring back old employees, however this was a huge mistake. These people were problematic employees in the past and they brought them back simply because they needed warm bodies. It's a good thing the Chicago site is closing. You can tell that there were several things neglected or patched for decades. Also I didn't receive an exit interview. The only decent thing was the amount of time I had off. 

I verify my line is set up properly. I make sure all settings are accurate. I make sure my line is staffed by the temp service. I operate the machine at the fastest speed possible without comprimising the quality. I have learned how to make adjustments on my machine that have allowed me to set production records. The management team fosters teamwork and accountability. I have a good rapport with my co-workers. I treat them all with respect and in turn, they all work hard on my line to help me reach my production goals. The hardest part of my job is the frustration of my production being dependent on the quality of the candy produced by other people. Production is slow when the quality of the candy doesn't meet standards. The most enjoyable part of the job is your production accomplishments at the end of the day.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The associates aka employees. That is about it.  A lot of the good things about Mars are obliterated by the not good things. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Rotating shifts. Lack of actual training. Expected to self-train. Being on a team that is biased.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment is loud in most places in the plant. There are issues at this facility with vulgar language and what most people would consider harassment. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clock in at the appropriate time, chang into uniform. Check for your assigned work area. Go to pre-shift meeting. Go to assigned asset. Run the machine, repair the machine, repeat until end of shift.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Manufacturing team leader 1 salary reported	$19.82 per hour
Manufacturing specialist 1 salary reported	$19.82 per hour
Maintenance technician 1 salary reported	$23.32 per hour
Financial analyst 1 salary reported	$40.00 per hour
Analytics and insight manager 1 salary reported	$111,785 per year

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