Stepping stone - Analyst Mansfield Energy Employee Review

I mentioned that it's a great place to get started in oil and gas, mainly because most companies won't hire you without experience. However, it won't take long to realize what a mess it truly is. The turnover rate is astronomical. I trained a new employe after having only worked there for four months. The training is a joke by the way...no set program, no plan, you basically just sit with someone for a few days until they throw you into the fire. It's an open floor plan so it's easy to turn to someone to ask for help, which you will do many times. Mansfield is essentially a fuel broker, so their customers pay to have them buy fuel and find a carrier to deliver it. For that reason, the people you are communicating with outside the company are generally industry veterans who need precise information to do the job you're asking them to do. That's tough when you don't know the lingo or measurements or anything about fuel in general. It takes a good six months to get comfortable communicating with people efficiently. There is little opportunity for advancement. They will tell you that you can move up and earn a bigger salary, but that's only true to an extent. They hire from outside the company for all the good jobs rather than promoting from within like they should. I proved my worth and worked very hard to get the raise I got which was 10% (the most they will EVER do regardless of your promotion). That's not terrible, but after you become knowledgable and build relationships and become proficient, you will realize that just about every other oil and gas company would pay you significantly more money to do the same job. Not only that, but people I talked to at other companies were amazed at the amount of different hats I had to wear. I had so much responsibility for my salary. I had to hold hands and pick up the slack for people in the other offices who were lazy (because the people in the corporate office in Georgia are grossly underpaid...so they do the bare minimum). So I ended up working 55+ hours per week with no incentive, no carrot in front of me in the form of a potential move that would be worth it, nothing over 10%. And once you get a 10% raise, that's pretty much the extent of your promotions because you won't get another one outside of the 2.5% "cost of living" increases each year. This is why the turnover is so high. You're treated as if you are replaceable. I've seen so many outstanding employees in critical roles who were poached by a better company, and Mansfield NEVER matched the salary to retain them. They'll just hire a new person who knows absolutely nothing to do the job instead. Then they actually lose money in lost productivity and missed opportunities (some of these roles involved purchasing fuel, which requires relationships to get the best deals). The money they lose probably outweighs the money they save by not retaining that valuable employee. The company is so top heavy it's ridiculous. The execs make exorbitant amounts of money, while the workers who make the company run are paid below average for the industry. It's amazing to me how they nickel and dime valuable employees' salaries, meanwhile the execs are earning at the very top of the spectrum for the industry. When I found out the salaries of certain managers even, I was flabbergasted. Some of these managers spent lots of time doing personal things instead of working. There are also some managers who just like to have meetings all day. Meetings upon meetings, not really accomplishing anything and wasting valuable time. I was lucky to work under two people who were amazing, which is why I stayed there as long as I did. Not surprisingly, both of those people left the company. Sales people are king, and they are paid as such. I found out that a new sales guy started at 40% more than I was making, base, not including his commission, and I had been there for years doing a much more critical job. This person had no experience in oil and gas, and limited sales experience of any kind, yet this guy's salary said that he was much more valuable than me. I'd say 40% more valuable... Each sales person also expects you to put their customers first...when all of them expect that though, it's hard to keep people happy. The problem is, the new people are terrible because they have no idea what they're selling. It just adds to the overall dysfunction. So if sales is your thing, get a job here! The people at the top also have no idea what actually goes on. All they hear is what the underlings tell them, and those people are not going to speak up. This is a poorly run company, no other way to put it. I will say though, I respect Mr. Mansfield. He's a super nice guy and seems to care and want to fix things, he just unfortunately doesn't get the real scoop. The systems are terrible. There are so many different things that cause the company to lose money every day, I watched it happen all the time. When I told the IT group, they would just tell me that the new system they were working on would solve the problem. This new system was being designed internally, rather than purchasing a professional system that is proven to work and tailoring it to fit. For the last year I was there, they were making life miserable for certain people by having them test it, and to my knowledge there were lots of problems. Stick to what you know, you're an oil and gas company, not tech company. The existing system was terrible, so for the sake of my fiends who still work there, I hope the new one works. That's about all I have. Most of the people who work there are miserable and looking for a new job. It'll never be a good place to work until they change the culture and pay to retain good employees. As it stands, it's just a stepping stone. I don't regret my time there because I gained valuable experience, but I'm glad I left. They're too cheap for an oil and gas company, and they'll never compete until they change that.