Milliken & Co. Employee Reviews for Process Improvement Engineer

"Unless you are going for an internship, be careful with this company."

What do you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Independent consultants in LOP training were almost as good as college professors. Benefits are good, particularly retirement and severance. The student programs were good and pay quite well."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"If you are a student interviewing for an internship, be prepared to talk about work experience and classes. For a full-time position interview, inquire about new hire turnover (or employee retention) at Millken, compared to other companies. Another question would be how the average number of hours in a work week at Milliken compares to the national average (from OECD 2004) of 37 hours per week. Ask about any current freezes in salary increases.These questions may make the interviewer squirm, but keep in mind an interview is business. You need to know what you are getting into when agreeing to a job. (Of course if you are a student without the experience to bring real value to the company you do not want to make the interviewer squirm.) Be warned... I was downsized in my first year at Milliken and was told I lacked management talent. While I did make mistakes, I actually believed I had no management talent until I got a better job with more responsibility, more money, better benefits, and fewer hours elsewhere. When I was downsized, I had to deal with the first inclination of potential employers, which is to not take the risk and hire a downsized employee. My decision to work with Milliken and subsequent downsizing cost me around 200K in lost income and retraining. I normally don't leave comments such as this on the internet because any hint of negativity is generally considered bad business, but as a human being, I hope no one else has to go through what I went through."

What don't you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"There is no job security at this company. The new manager will have to look out for big egos, petty power games, overly excessive hours and will have to be prepared to either sink or swim."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"Two suggestions: 1) Dump MPS (Milliken Performance System) -- well, maybe not completely -- It gives superiors a reason to get mad at subordinates and management a reason to get mad at each other. The madness builds and creates an environment which is madness to work in. Companies with top management that genuinely listens, communicates, and is concerned about employees can trounce any competitor relying on management system such as MPS. 2) Retain People with the Fortitude to Question Decisions - I heard it mentioned that there is difficultly finding people to fill top positions. A key trait of being in a top position is the ability to make good decisions. Good decisions are easier to make with someone there to question a bad one. Many bad decisions are left in place because people with the fortitude and aptitude to understand and question bad decisions either leave or are dropped, as evidenced by the number of CEOs who started out working for Milliken."

"Good job, challenging work schedule."

"Difficult to rate any company after seeing results during the recent recession."

What do you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Further education through Milliken University."

"Great company but looking to be closer to family in VA."

What do you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Balance of work and play. All senior management was approachable and led by example."

What don't you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Location and market stability."

What do you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"The challenges and always thinking on my feet."

What don't you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Upper management decisions."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"Don't make short term decisions based on the current conditions."

"Good place to start your career."

What do you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Good start right out of college."

What don't you like about working at Milliken & Co.?

"Very conservative environment with a lot of internal politics at the plant I was located at."