Electronic Data Systems Reviews in Australia

Pros

Access to a lot of information for project management.
Opportunity to progress if you fit in.
Discount stock purchases were available.

Cons

Lacked quality senior managers.
Lack of staffing for project teams always an issue.
Internal processes for financial approvals delayed projects.
Pay is always an issue.
HP acquisition expected to make matters worse.

Advice to Senior Management

The acquisition by HP can make matters worse or a lot better. Find the talented experienced outsource managers and work with them to make the outsourced business services a place people want to work. If you introduce the HP way it wont work.

Pros

Commited to training and upskilling employees.
Opportunity for advancement if you know where to look.
Looks good on a resume.
Great colleagues.

Cons

Low pay relative to comparable positions in other companies. Pay increases designed to keep employees, not reward performance. The way to get reasonable salaries at EDS is to leave and return after 6 months to the same or better job at the current market rate. It's well known on the inside that EDS should be your first and third job... don't wait it out for the salary you deserve.

Advice to Senior Management

Fix the low morale

Pros

People within the workplace, good working environment, professional and laid back atmosphere.
Opportunities for professional growth, job variation within team.
Training and certification are part of day to day growth.
Flexibility of working hours and leave time.
Team very supportive of new employees, mentoring helps with career development.
Compensation for any shiftwork or oncall is appropriate.

Cons

No pathways for employees to gain salary review.
No communication from senior management regarding company wide issues and changes.
Enterprise Bargaining Agreement does not allow communication between staff of salary and renumeration packages.
No communication of what pay scale is applicable to your job code.
No real reward for overtime (extra pay, flexi time etc)

Advice to Senior Management

More communcation regarding company changes
More staff team building exercises (such as dinners, BBQs etc)
The knowledge of your own pay scale applicable to relevant job codes.

Pros

Large client engagements and complex projects.

Cons

Poor business model, poor client service, lack of values, bad managers promoted, excessive bureaucracy and defensiveness. This was a company that obsessed over a $400 air ticket but wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on a project that was supposed to deliver "synergies". Unsurprisingly there were no such synergies, the project was a complete failure and no-one was held accountable. I also found that there was a total disconnect between the sales function (remunerated purely on the basis of sales dollars) and the project delivery teams (who then had to try to make the project profitable when the price had been chiselled down to meet the client's lowball expectation).

Advice to Senior Management

Figure out what business you're in and then re-tool the company to serve only the profitable segments

Pros

Good opportunities to learn best practice in technology through challenging engagements. I joined in the 1990's which was a boom time to be in IT and very rewarding through remuneration, bonuses were aplenty.

Cons

An egocentric CEO who chased bonuses at the expense of long term profitable business combined with the the tech wreck hit of the early 21st century led to a company with no money and a serious morale problem. Present day EDS has not recovered and has a culture that does not walk the talk when dealing with staff. Middle Management try hard to engage staff but the rhetoric from on high doesn't cut it

Advice to Senior Management

Get engaged with the staff

Pros

Depending on where you sit, you could have great people care managers who are understanding and make great difference to your work life. Generally competent people at the execution level. Some top notch visionaries. Wealth of information.

Cons

Not good at sharing information. Struggling with a general consultative approach, both internally and externally. Seems lost in trying to figure out how to stay competitive in the near future. HP deal causing confusion amongst staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Managers should try to understand their people by at least spending some time with them. People are not numbers.

Pros

It's marginally better than being unemployed.

Cons

The constant fear of having your job sent off to India is a destabalising and debilitating influence that destroys productivity and staff morale.
There will always be a reason to not give you a pay rise. Be prepared to lose purchasing power each year as your salary stagnates.
The tools and processes you are expected to use daily cause mind numbing frustration and loss of productivity.
You must be a "yes man" to get ahead.
Constant cost cutting eg freeze on purchasing stationery.
Bullying by management.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to be true leaders, by investing in your staff which will fix the company long term.
Stop concentrating on your own remuneration packages and realise the company is dieing.

Pros

EDS are flexible with their employees and allow a good level of self management.

Cons

Changing things is akin to trying to turn the Titanic round in a swimming pool. Not exactly keeping up with the local market place pay rates. Lacks innovation.

Advice to Senior Management

Give more freedom to innovate, relax the controlling grip and get to understand the grass roots issues of working at EDS and trying to get things done easily. Look at the wasted money through the red tape and ridiculous processes

Pros

Challenging work
Exceptionally talented people
Fast paced
High pressured
Pertinent experience

Cons

Lack of creativity
Financial statement managers
Continual change often returning to what didn't work
No long term planning
Mercenary and poor people leadership
Limited opportunity unless you are part of the old boys network

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on your people. They're mostly exceptional. Give them the opportunity to succeed and trust them. The wealth of talent in the company is mostly disenfranchised by the lack of care and lack of knowledge their leaders exhibit about them as individuals.
Clear out your middle management layers as the don't allow information and ideas to pass either up or down.
Use the good processes more and as a guide rather than a paint by numbers methodology. Currently they're being used as an excuse rather than an enabler.
Focus on