Basic American Foods CEO and leadership

The core people (mid-level managers and below) at Basic are fantastic. The product is good quality and something to be appreciative of. Salaries and benefits are above average and very solid. Before 2020, it was a good place to work. Before 2016, it was an amazing place to work.

Several executive members are backstabbers and are completely out of touch with the people. They promote DEI, specifically women, over actual qualifications for professional work where qualifications and experience are critical. They have failed many times at their initiatives and fired good people because they micromanaged the experts into doing what they wanted, but would not let the experienced and qualified individuals actually do the work in the right way. They lost a very large percentage (near 1/3) of professional employees several years ago because of specific executive members but don't seem to recognize the cankerous infection they bring into the work environment.

Products at cost for employees.

The current CEO is actually a really good person who does care about the people and try to listen. There are a few others who are good too. However, there are some really disgusting and power-hungry people in the executive team who make decisions and micro-manage when they are not qualified to do so, or do it for their own gain (take credit for others work). If it were not for those individuals, I would go back to work for Basic tomorrow, but as long as they are there, I will never go back.

Remove some very specific executive team members. Improve the environment by holding people accountable to written standards and expectations rather than the current emotions of "leaders" within the company. This is a problem throughout the company. Another improvement opportunity is to eliminate (not just band-aid) issues within the manufacturing processes at the core (i.e., equipment, electrical, automation, etc.) rather than at the surface by trying to make people work harder or just fix small things rather than making actual changes to the equipment and systems that are causing the problems.

When I interviewed and hired on, it was entirely based upon your experience and qualifications, work history, and ability to communicate/ingratiate with others. I did not need to have a lot preparation, because I already knew the work and processes for which I was being interviewed. There was a presentation they requested later in a second interview, but it was also based upon knowledge I already possessed and I had developed my ability to be a good presenter/communicator. The interviewing method they use will require specific examples of the topics at hand, so it is good to be prepared with several different examples of previous work/activities performed previously.

Above average. They really are pretty good at the compensation part for where they are located.

Idaho is not a diverse demographic, so to hire someone based on race or gender, which is illegal, by the way, would leave you with no work force. However, for the regular jobs of mid-level managers and below, no one cares what race you are. If you have a good work history, or are talented and capable, you get hired. That's it. In the upper levels of management, qualified and capable people have been bypassed so that women could be hired and advanced, even though they had no qualifications for, or experience in, the jobs they were being promoted to do. One, in particular, caused a large turnover in every department she led on her way to becoming an executive. Corrosive and damaging, but she's still there for some reason and Basic lost a tremendous number of very capable and experienced people because of it.

Working with good people to make all of us better, as well as the processes and systems we use.