AT&T Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

Not a bad place to be an employee. I am content with my current position within the company and will plan to stay for a while.

Cons

It can be demanding at times, and you have to be willing to put in the effort to get a job done.

Advice to Senior Management

Giving the employees a hands on approach is a good way to motivate them to feel they are a part of the process.

Pros

AT&T is constantly implementing cutting edge technology. They are an international company which affords employees many opportunities to career advancement.

Cons

Large bureaucracy which makes it difficult to implement change. There are alot of silo's with all organizations having very narrow functionality. There are way too many hand offs to get things done.

Advice to Senior Management

Remove the road blocks and combine groups to allow them to expand their funcitonality to resolve problems. There are way to many silo's.

Pros

Its AT&T a company with a brand everyone knows

Cons

If you come in a sales person don't expect to go anywere but sales. Promotions are based on who's a## you kiss. You could be an under performing sales person and still make it for a long time.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to the skill employees have. Identify employees skill sets and allow them to be in positions that will benifit from these skills

Pros

Its next to impossible to be fired. Allows some work/life freedom at the management level. Does have decent vacation allowances

Cons

Limited advancement. Promotions and raises based more on time in a position and your political accumen rather then talent. Company exceptional slow and resistant to change. It also has little to no relevant communication from executives to lower level management and technicians.

Advice to Senior Management

Promote from within based on talent. For the LDP program work on retaining top performers who know the job not just ones who make good contacts.

Pros

Job Stability, Lure of working with a Fortune 100 company. Good Leadership, Competitive compensation. Good Peer groups. Learning Opportunity.

Cons

Bureaucracy, It is not easy to advance your career, Lots of processes which hinders your freedom and make work tougher .

Advice to Senior Management

Do something for the bureaucracy or it may fall flat at your face, May be it is working because other competitors are also facing the same issues.

Pros

Great benefits You get health, 401(k) cell phone, internet, tv, home phone, and blackberry. All are free or greatly discounted.

Cons

When they give your a salary offer it will be based on 40 hours. But understand that upper managment will require you to schedule your self no less then 48 hours. You wll also be on call 24 hours a day and will have to be on confrence calls regardless if its your day off. My day started at 7:30am with reading my emails on my blackberry and ended after 10pm sending store numbers via text. After 10 years of service I got 5 weeks of vacation I was able to use 3 of those weeks. Most months are blacked out and you have to schedule around everyone else taking vacation. They have no respect for your personal life. 2 days after my wife gave brith despite having 5 weeks of vacation and the family medical leave act, I was being asked if I would be back at the end of the week. Once I received a call on a sunday while at the zoo with my family.My boss wanted me to do an excel spread sheet on my blackberry. When I complained about this I was labled "not a team player" You will have to be good at corporate politics and I was if you are then you will move up in the company, I did. Sales managers who cut cornerns and where able to stay undrer the discount radar (meaning you discount phones and other products to increase sales dispite that being against the rules.) moved up too. Upper managment was a joke I was visited twice in a year by my boss and then she gave me a year end review. Lucky it was good Not sure how she even new. In fact I had nothing but good reviews. If you have no life outside of work and are don't mind crazy hours you will like this job. at leaset you'll feel needed. If your looking for a career look else where. If you want your spouse to divorce you then this is a good job. I missed the first year of my daughters life and will never get it back!!!

Advice to Senior Management

You sent us to a sales training for 7 habits one of the habits is work life balance. Reread the book and implement it.

Pros

Great Medical package, Perscription package, Dental Package, Co-workers are very helpful, I&R technicians are very helpful, Tech support is 70% helpful.

Cons

Low wages, Forced overtime, Improper Managing, Odd schedualing, Improper dispatching, Very High and misleading expections. VDSL communications is a very sensitive product. Numorus situations can go wrong, in any event we the technician gets a poor evaluation if the customer has any complication with the product. even if it don't pretain to the install.

Advice to Senior Management

A happy employee is a productive employee. allow a better schedualing prosidure, a rotating schedual can be impemented to allow a couple of techs to enjoy a week end.

Pros

Good company.Good collegues.Good overtime hours
Good benefits.
No discrimination

Cons

Very busy and management sucks not all of them but speical those coming from mobility.
Bas wages.

Advice to Senior Management

Why you follow management by book and nobody can make new proposal to make work for uverse tech more reliable and more smooth

Pros

AT&T is a leading telecom company in wireless and has great offerings in IP TV and Phone.

Cons

Typical downsizing gigantic company story - same amount of work with fewer people. Company is figuring out how to respond to disruptive technologies in wireless (I think they've got it) and IP TV/Phone (U-Verse is awesome).

Advice to Senior Management

I am sure I could not add anything more than what they already know.

Pros

Challenging work environment, stable business model

Cons

Increased responsibilities with nationwide responsibilities, long hours.

Advice to Senior Management

Encourage new product development, focus on new technologies