Q&A With Craft Brew Alliance Employees

Good, caring people.

Good people. Lots of fun, hard working

Very good people.

slightly above average for Portland

Above average for Portland. CBA puts a roughly 10-15% premium on IT roles

CBA pays a premium for IT talent, with a focus on A players with relevant experience.

Strong team mentality - all for one; usually 45 hours per week, with fluctuations during times of need (upwards of 60 at times)

Getting better with new leadership. Most everyone works 40-50 hrs/week

Going through a period of (positive) change. People are happy and there's now direction. Hours can fluctuate depending on projects, but typically we all work between 40 and 50 hrs

Better now. Recent change in leadership in 2017 has led to improved morale and outlook.

New leadership brought in this year. Major improvement in style and overall team morale

There has been a recent shift in leadership. Ineffective CIO was let go and new leader brought in. Team is now energized and moving forward.

Fun, energetic. Rebuilding after a positive change in leadership.

Small, strong/talented team. Focus on project management and critical business systems. Most other functions outsourced to partners.

International/export business seems to be growing. Core brands Widmer Brothers and Redhook continue to drag down the rest of the company. Discontent with Marketing

International is growing, but sales overall - in the entire beer category - is struggling

Any of the following would be good Offer retention bonuses to staff. Let us know if we'll be kept on after AB buys us. Stock grants or options - or at least employee purchase plan (those keeping the lights on deserve a cut of the ELTs golden parachutes)

Listen to employees; be honest about CBA's future

Positive. Good feedback was provided immediately after

Be sincere, show why you want to work for CBA. What traits do you bring that can help a mid-sized company that's rapidly changing?

Depends on role. Usually 1-2 hours, but could be half-day if it's a highly visible, senior role

It's a mystery. Appearance of cronyism

3 weeks PTO

As part of annual review. Corporate mandated, typically 2-4%. Negotiate best salary you can get upfront

About as secure as one can feel at a publicly traded company with its largest shareholder actively interested in acquiring

Ensure you have manufacturing experience - preferably in food and beverage. If not, bring great outside experience and a hunger to learn

Type A personality. Problem solvers

Hit or miss. Typical annual review process

Not difficult at all. Great work-life balance.

Frequent, small group gatherings for happy hour in our pub. Annual company "fun day" and holiday party

Very challenging environment. Working to creatively solve business problems within tight budget constraints. The people here are fantastic, and have a can-do, team-first attitude.

Varies by department. IT is in much better place than past several years.

Not much. Mostly white males, though IT is about 40% female

Small pods of cubicles in various rooms/offices

Free beer! Seriously. Generous discount at our pubs.

Phone screen, video interview, face-to-face interview. Can take weeks between each step.