Pros
Decent array of benefits but too expensive! Clinic with nurse and doctor on site (San Dimas). Cafeteria on site (San Dimas). Competitive salary. Possibility of working from home (at least sometimes).
Cons
I felt the real need to provide an accurate review and account of my personal experience as an ADP associate (employee). This is attempt to provide a clear image for all prospective applicants of what work life in ADP (or at least in one of their satellite offices) is like. I was brought on as a Content Manager for the Knowledge Management team within the AVS division of ADP in San Dimas, CA. First of all, I have to say that their methods of creating job descriptions for advertising open positions are incredibly deceiving and vague. Their interview process is incredibly slow, in my case consisting of a whopping 5 interviews total; 2 over the phone, and three in-person (one being a panel interview). For being an organization in the private sector, I consider this incredibly bureaucratic! The entire process from the time I applied to my actual first day on the job took nearly 3 months. Yes, you read correctly, 3 MONTHS!! Ridiculous. Even worse, in all 5 interviews everyone I spoke with described the position as a very technical position promising high levels of exposure to technology and information/records management related tasks. Not so… Once I actually started on the job, I quickly realized that the tasks I was doing actually had nothing to do with the marketed job. I spoke to my supervisor about it and all he had to say was that he had spoken with his higher ups and that they did not want to change the description. In other words, he passed on the blame to others instead of taking responsibility. In addition, almost 90% of my time was spent in meetings. Even for the simplest of reasons, people would always prefer to have a meeting instead of something quicker such as email or a quick phone call. In short, what was meant to be a content management position turned out to be a people management position (or should I just call it babysitting?). Perhaps “Project Manager” would have been a better title for it? Not only were the job duties out of sync with the marketed, but the entire time I was an associate everyone would give so much praise to the President of AVS that it felt I was involved in a cult instead of a professional organization. So much but kissing from management down to the lower level associates. It just didn’t feel normal. It was so odd, it made me sick! I came to the conclusion that either most associates feared the loss of their jobs or were constantly reminded that questioning leadership was not tolerated within the organization. And nothing with an even slight sense of criticism or critique could be said about the leader. I had several talks with my supervisor, the manager of AVS Knowledge Management, and he and other KM teammates continuously professed that one of the main goals was the improvement in AVS’s transparency. Meanwhile, there were various instances, either through posts in ADP’s internal social network site, or through internal "jam sessions" where some associates proposed debating the efficacy of certain initiatives rolled out by the AVS president only to be immediately shut down by the KM leadership, stating that it was bad policy for associates to question upper management, especially the president of AVS. Therefore, how can an organization have transparency and be so adamant in enforcing censorship? Things just didn’t add up. Meanwhile, I continuously came across people that were constantly complaining about their jobs, about their supervisors, about the constant meetings, and about how their benefits had greatly been eroded over the years. I was told every so often, there is a reorganization and that in several cases, associates are “asked” to re-apply for their positions. I heard horror stories of past associates having lost their jobs simply because management found another applicant that better aligned with the position, or that suddenly the position was eliminated. People with mortgages, with families suddenly loosing their livelihood all in the name of “reorganization” but it should simply be called what it is, utter disregard of others and corporate greed. Going back to my experience, the manager of KM and other KM associates would constantly joke around and gossip about/at the expense of other associates simply because according to KM’s eyes, other associates had no clue what they were doing. This infuriated me. I am of the strong belief that if you have something to say about someone, whether good or bad, say it to them. In a constructive and progressive way that can help people grow professionally. There is no need for bickering or backstabbing! Within a short time of working there, I realized that this was a toxic environment with toxic people in charge of making decisions. I wanted nothing more to do with that environment and those people, as such I submitted my letter of resignation. After I left, I learned that my now ex supervisor would constantly have snarky comments to say about me and would even roll his eyes at every mention of me. What whiny man-child this person turned out to be; but I wasn’t surprised at all. I had such high hopes for this organization but I was greatly mistaken. Now, I can’t attest to all of ADP being like this, but at the very least it is something that plagues the AVS division. If you can avoid it, take my experience as an example and avoid ADP, their AVS division offices in San Dimas in particular. You will find much more satisfaction, purpose, meaning in your work, and respect almost anywhere else.
