* Career pathing is virtually nonexistent outside a few favored functions; promotions are opaque and often go to recent external hires (many from Procter and Gamble).
* Annual “merit” raise is effectively capped at ~3 % and eligibility hinges on completing 12 self-logged “journal” entries—a process that feels like box-checking rather than performance-based.
* Base salaries are middling for the market and, without meaningful bonuses, total compensation lags peers.
* Only a small fraction of roles qualify for the Sazerac Compensation Plan bonus—most employees receive no merit based variable pay beyond the 3% yearly bump.
* PTO starts at 3 weeks (vacation + sick combined)—already low for seasoned hires—and accrues slowly, while 60+ hour weeks are common, fueling burnout.
* Turnover is chronically high; teams are constantly back-filling, so institutional knowledge disappears and workloads spike for those who stay.
