Pros
Michael's customers are some of the most creative people on the planet. It is always a pleasure to interact with them and hear about their projects and ideas. I am often inspired by their creativity. As a corporation, Michael's has some really great incentives and policies like: 1. a commitment that 80 percent of its placements will come from internal applicants 2. even part-time employees are eligible for retirement plans in which Michael's matches each dollar 50% 3. lots of growth with future plans to eventually go world wide 4. they pay relatively well for entry level managers (department managers who are keyholders) and up Their new commitments to the customer are long overdue but very welcome to customers and associates alike.
Cons
For a company that does so many things right, it is frustrating and demotivating to struggle in a system that has poor communication and which places more importance on a pen being in the correctly labled slot than communicating and ensuring that staff have the proper tools to learn how to do their jobs. Michael's has spent millions of dollars on its programs and procedures which on the surface seem to work but often really don't because once a program is rolled out...no negative feedback is encouraged or investigated. Rather than wanting to find problems in order to ensure the best system possible, Michael's tends to shrug shoulders and say oh well we know it works because "that guy" who thought up the program TOLD US IT DOES! Communication between corporate groups down to store level is often off the cuff and routinely reversed...usually AFTER we have switched gears in midstream to follow a last minute, get it done imperative. It is not only frustrating but so wasteful of precious payroll dollars to do and redo things. Having worked at store level for several years now, it is frustrating that there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between what corporate THINKS is going on at store level and what truly is. Part of the reason for this is that: 1. no one wants to hear why something did not work out...it can't be the program or procedure because we KNOW that works! 2. the attitude is: If you "get it" you will get it done, if you don't get it done, then you obviously don't "get it" 3. managers in fear of their jobs, or failing an audit, or having a bad walk often report successes that are not real or take extraordinary measures working 12 or 14 hour days and on their days off to make something broken work.