Old company with complex legacy systems - Business Analyst JCPenney Employee Review

3.0
24 May 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Building is nice and is being updated. Good benefits. Lots of amenities on site (gym, clinic, Walgreens, cafeteria, market shop, etc.) High quality staff depending on what department or group you are in. Very diverse culture. CEO is doing good work to reduce debt and keep the company moving forward.

Cons

You experience at JCP will be directly related to which group you work in. The .com team is virtually a separate entity and does what they want in the development cycle. Working with them is very difficult if you are not a part of their team. All most internal systems are integrated with .com, so the projects are very cumbersome to work through and complete. The review process is designed to assure most people are not rated high enough to get a raise. The focus during reviews is to focus on even the slightest perceived mistake to rate you lower than expected. Once that info is added, it is virtually impossible to get it changed, even with employee input. Directors and upper management is so busy that they have no direct view into what the line level employees are actually doing. Legacy IT systems are so customized that it almost impossible to update or replace them. The staff that supported these systems is gone, so there are no domain experts to assist. Because of the large debt burden on the company ($4b+), there have been ongoing layoffs. Every few weeks for the last year, we heard of people being laid off in various departments. 6000 people left in early retirement so that is more knowledge walking out. There is no on-boarding once you make it to your group. You are expected to be an SME in systems you have never had exposure to, with no training, or even a basic overview.

Explore other reviews about JCPenney

5.0
5 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great place to work super chill and easy

Cons

No cons prefect for college and high school students

5.0
4 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you like working early morning hours and getting off early in the afternoon (which I do) this is a great part-time job. I was a college student when I worked here so it worked perfectly with my schedule. The pay is pretty decent and the people you work with are friendly.

Cons

Only real downside is that it's retail. You're going to run into some rude customers from time to time. There's always work to do and not enough time given to do it sometimes. But as long as you work hard and managers see that you're trying your best there isn't too much pressure put on you.

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