Allen Systems Reviews

Pros

At ASG, you can move to another location easily.

Working an insane number of hours is seen as a reason to be proud; devising a solution to save an insane number of hours of work is not valued.

ASG prides itself on being fair and equitable with mixed results. Unfortunately, this leads to the lowest common denominator effect: cheap office supplies, no coffee, no kleenex, underpowered equipment, little flexibility, no extracurricular events, no doughnuts, no hand soap! At least it is distributed fairly.

You can usually do whatever you like as long as your manager is in another office. This causes problems for those with ethics or who are watched like a hawk.

Cons

ASG has lost 25% of its employees (most RIF'ed) since 2009. Most of the rest are working 4 days per week because ASG cannot afford to pay them for 5. But, the owner is out trying to borrow more money to buy more companies and decimate their staff (in most cases, decimate at ASG means 50-60% of the staff are let go). If ASG buys a substantial company (and enough people at the acquired company are RIF'ed), the existing employees are supposed to go back to full pay. However, it has been 2 and a half years at reduced salary. It doesn't look like there is an end in sight.

ASG was supposed to go back to full salaries on September 1. With less than two weeks notice they informed us that it wouldn't be happening without giving any explanation or apology or a new date.

The companies thirst for credit is almost like a person borrowing money to get out of personal debt (where he/she ends up with more debt in the end and cannot ever get caught up).

Mr. Allen's trick is to buy a company and pay back the loan with the maintenance income. The problem is that maintenance drops by 50% or more after just a few years, so the loans need to be larger and larger to pay the existing debts, because the maintenance income diminishes so quickly.

There are definitely different classes of employees depending on your department.

You have to scan in and out with a badge, not for security, but to make sure you are at the office at least 9 hours a day (including an unpaid, required one hour lunch). If you leave early or come in late, you must send an e-mail of explanation to the higher ups. So much for being a salaried employee!

Advice to Senior Management

You are killing the company with the 20% salary cut. Why would customers do business with ASG, when they can't afford to pay their staff? Get back to full pay...whatever it takes...even if you have to poney up the money yourself (Mr. Allen).

Pros

the co-workers are intelligent and very helpful

Cons

4 day work week
no employer match on 401k
20% pay cut
no chance of returning to a full weeks work

Advice to Senior Management

sell some of Arts play toys like the airplane or yacht or new mansion and pay your employees

Pros

I have no issues with my co-workers/manager/location. Yes, it's good to have a job when there are others who don't.

Cons

20% pay cut, which is what the "4-day work week" is in reality, is heading toward 3 years. HR/Senior Management refuse to communicate effectively with employees. Art's setup with the market e-mails, just like with the general 4-day work week e-mails, were the real indicator that the return to full pay was not going to happen.

Advice to Senior Management

Quit lying to employees!!!! Art, have some consideration for your employees while adding to your collection via acquisitions. What about giving up something yourself to help out your employees. Nevermind....you don't care about your employees, do you? Oh, and quit referring to the PAY CUT as a 4-day work week - please!

Pros

The company has nice offices and good organised training. You get an impression that you are taken good care of. You get your contract sorted rather quickly and things looks ok.

Cons

Company didn't promised what is said it would do. There was said that there would be room for personal development and career but that is only on paper. Only AA decides who to hire and when. Only him decide who to promote or not.

Advice to Senior Management

Do not think that your employees are stupid. Respect people and inform them, no use them. Most of the knowledge is in peoples head. Utilise that!

Pros

ummmm.....still thinking years later
if you can meet metrics, you'll be in the clear
just went back to 5day work week (permanent???)
mileage reimbusement

Cons

minimal recognition of efforts or merit increases
in sales, top performers wont even come close to min OTE with bigger players
strategic direction (your guess is as good as any)

Advice to Senior Management

PAY YOUR PEOPLE!!! give incentives to stay on board. pay increases would be nice.

Pros

Low cost provider of mainframe products, large (but not growing) customer base, some interesting technology, beautiful head office in naples, fl

Cons

Forced time off, brain drain, no ability to work from home, IT support staff measured on number of tickets closed instead of performance, what employees are left are overworked and underpaid

Advice to Senior Management

Stop chasing analyst reviews and actually focus on making the products better instead of just offering incremental upgrades to trigger maintenance payments

Pros

If you are in sales and you have existing relationships in the territory that can buy from you within six months of starting at ASG then you will make it at least for your first year. Some people in sales do make money, a relatively small few, but they are there. ASG holds its sales people in little regard and has no loyalty towards it employees AT ALL so it is not a place recommended for the long term. ASG can still be a port in a storm while looking for your next job.

Cons

Expect to be micro managed.

Expect to spend at least 3 days a week on data entry and busy work to meet your metrics.

Expect your quotas and metrics to be ridiculous, to always change, and more often than not reflect the needs of other departments at ASG and not of sales.

Expect layoffs at ASG every six months or so.

Expect random territory and customer assignment changes.

Expect that nearly a third of the company to be employed by the "sales prevention" department. If they fail and a deal does close, they then put their efforts towards "commission prevention" .

Expect that sales management has little to no decision making power.

Advice to Senior Management

There is no point in offering advice. ASG is what it is. The yes men are there to stay because thats the way Artl Allen likes it. End of story. Hopefully these reviews will give you enough information to decide how you can make your time at ASG work to your advantage.

Pros

a paycheck every 2 weeks

Cons

VERY poor business decisions - NO respect for employees - 4 day/wk pay for over 2 years. Spreadsheet exercises to lay off good people - crazy.

Advice to Senior Management

Sell the company and there may be hope

Pros

Naples facilities are nice.
Most of your immediate peers are professional and have a strong work ethic.
Literally, that's all I can think of without getting sarcastic.

Cons

Lower-than-average pay.
A four-day-work-week that won't die.
Poor upper management (no respect, no communication, and no interest in dialog)
Uneven treatment of departments.
Read the rest of the comments and postings that DIDN'T come from ASG HR...most of them are pretty accurate.

Advice to Senior Management

Retire. Please.

Pros

Great, hard working people at all levels
Good compensation if you fight for it
Decent benefits
Some good products, but not well positioned

Cons

autocratic regime
4 day work week
Everyone has to look out for themselves so there is little comraderie, or teamwork
Understaffed as a result of lay offs, lengthy delays for technical support in crucial areas

Advice to Senior Management

Sell the company to someone who knows how to treat their employees and enjoy those golden years, on the tennis court.