To call the experience dreadful would be an understatement.
Pros
- good image based on marketing material they give away; - apparently employee-friendly policies (although I never witnessed them) - Joined to get experience in the sector
Cons
Pretty much everything but will structure more below: - People. I've had the worst experience of my life working for this company. I joined with the expectation of becoming a part of the Danone community that they so much advertise internally; in return I was treated like an outsider from the outset as the majority of people there had the same upbringing, values, culture, eating habits, discussion topics; I was the odd man out. It soon became clear to me I could not integrate in this company; - Management. Very bad and utterly destructive. In the department I worked, all communication was taken place on an horizontal dimension, basically all bosses would stick together for better and worse and turn against their own individual employees when required.Another point: work expertise; every so often, managers would have absolutely no clue of the work their subordinates were doing every day. In moments of crisis, they would be totally stuck and helpless and then would blame the subordinates for making a mistake and incurring costs on the company. If things went well, they would take the credit; if things went badly, they would be the first to explode and put all evil on the back of their subordinates. - Defficient communication - this company is the best example of how double-standards are best practised in a corporate environment. On the facade, Danone advocates open, honest communication;in reality, there was none of it in the department I was working. If for example, you did something wrong, nobody would come to tell you directly and help you improve; by contrast they would approach their own bosses, HR, or any other parties, apart from yourself. By the time you get to hear anything at all, everyone else knows very well what all is wrong with you. Dreadful approach. - Extremely hierarchical in reality - Danone promotes itself of a great company with a wide range of benefits where everyone gets on with everyone and everyone works together for the common good of the company. Sounds a bit socialist, doesnt it? Well, the reality is quite different. If you join new, bosses in the entire department will expect you to behave in a certain way just because they are sitting at the ruling desk (and yes, watch out, there is actually a management row of desks in this department where all bosses sit by themselves, far from their teams, I think this needs no further explanation)... And sadly, there is so much more, I could write a book about the emotional misery incurred on me by this company, but it's high time I moved on. If I were you, I would conduct the background check carefully before joining the Danone world. Good luck!