Bell Aliant Reviews

Pros

A constantly changing environment that is driven by technology makes it a great place to work for those that thrive being in the forefront of technology.

Cons

The tenured employees make change management initiatives very difficult. Need newer faces in management and the front lines.

Pros

Pay was above average, but is slowly starting to sink especially as profit-sharing programs appear to be paying nil and no raises to speak of for several years. When you calculate the amount of work you do each work for the amount pay, the average pay per hour has been reduced each year I have worked here.

Cons

What was once good work for a good company is now work that you stick with until you find something better or until you get hit with more news of downsizing. The latest round (in Q4 2010) was announced two days before the 100 people to be affected were informed. The rest of us simply awaiting the news meantime, not knowing if we were going, the person next to us, or even or whole functional group.

Advice to Senior Management

Being transparent to employees does not mean being brutally frank to the point of causing emotional distress for several days. If you have to continue downsizing the company, do it and get it over with. The slow bleed is painful. Senior managers had better carefully consider their own bonuses if employees' profit sharing investments are not paid. Despite what HR tells us, the profit sharing bonuses were once part of our salaries that were slowly removed to become tied to the profitability and other objectives established by the company. Obviously, as the company continues to shrink and sell profitable parts of the business to BCE, the profit sharing will disappear and meantime as much as 25% of our salaries will go unpaid. You have taken over our lives and psyche -- why not take 1/4 of our salary too? What's next? Our firstborn children?

Pros

Great Pay
Full Benefits
Casual
Carreer opportunities
Friendly atmosphere

Cons

Lack of stability due to changes in the market

Advice to Senior Management

Retain experienced employees and improve morale on frontlines.

Pros

Good co-workers, still some shreds of respect remaining within the community for the company, but it is fading exponentially

Cons

It's a bit like bait and switch. They pay lip service to work-life balance but when you have made your decision and taken the hook, you find the definition of work-life balance is work yourself as hard as you can and try to do the jobs of the three people that just got downsized and you might stay on...for a while. Nothing is certain and you are reminded of that in direct and insidious ways on a nearly daily basis.

Advice to Senior Management

Be prepared to sow what you reap. Engender fear and you will end up with a bunch of spineless cowards. Continue to demand every bit of spirit and time that one has available and you will end up with mindless automons. Treat people like cattle and mere numbers and you will have people that come in to get a pay cheque with no sense of loyalty to the company or their customers.

Above all, don't act surprised when the inevitable happens and staff becomes disengaged and alienated. Try to avoid the temptation to heap blame on employees for the low morale and extreme levels of absenteeism. What else would you expect?

Pros

good work life balance options depending on what group you are in
good salary and benefits

Cons

some inconsistencies between groups on policies

Advice to Senior Management

focus and prioritize

Pros

Large company that offers a decent salary in comparison to many other companies in the area. There are a lot of good people working there and you can gain a lot of knowledge as a result. Some ability to advance which is good.

Cons

Cost cutting and takeover by Bell unfortunately turned Aliant into a less than desirable place to work. Job cuts over the past 5 years have increased profit but reduced worker confidence and overall employee ratings. Many layoffs and early retirements with no succession planning mean a lot of the knowledge is walking out the door and in many cases, going to the competition.

Advice to Senior Management

Think about the future of the company and retain more employees maintaining a balance between profitability and knowledge level of employees.

Pros

fun place to work, and the people are nice

Cons

poor communications internally so staff are not always aware what is going on

Advice to Senior Management

better training for front line technical support staff

Pros

Opportunities to learn on the job
Access to technology on the job
Access to mentors -- but you have to find them yourself
Located in Atlantic Canada
Good community involvement
Ability to wet your feet and learn lean six sigma, balanced scorecard, regulatory environment, etc.

Cons

Managers have little security in positions, with ongoing downsizing
Leadership really driven by Bell/BCE
Unionized employees enjoy more benefits than managers
Management pay frozen
Compensation comparables against "contact center" companies, not communications companies
Opportunity for advancement has been reduced
Centralization of jobs continues to occur, displacing workers or forcing departures

Advice to Senior Management

Review the effectiveness of all groups, particularly marketing. Get the low achieving groups out and find someone to do the job well. Response to competitors is lethargic and governed by Bell Canada. As you are not serving same market, let loose and make decisions that make sense to your own customers and employees.

Pros

Offers work from home opportunities.

Cons

Lack of work life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

Better work life balance.

Pros

The flexibility of the company allows you to work from home on a regular basis. There is flexible hours options as well.

Cons

There are no consistent processes in place. Management comes across as uncaring or unfeeling. Major resistance to change. General morale is poor.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more consistent in the way you treat employees.