AT&T Wireless – “THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY.”

Pros

Job security. Cell phones and service providers of mobility will continue to be a growth sector ensuring jobs to those that are willing to stick with it. (THE GOOD)

An extensive employee base provides excellent oppurtunities to move job functions within the company so you do not have to leave to get a new career path. Good benefits and stability once an employee gets into the management levels. Ralph De La Vega is actually quite visionary and exceptionally detailed which should spell success for ATT investors if long term stability is addressed with both management and front line resources.

Cons

Lower than management level employment is not suggested at this time. Limited upward mobility and discouraging salary increases promote the high attrition rates that have degraded internal stability. (THE BAD)
A discouraging fact about telecom is that profit margins and cash flow are usually positive so spotting poor management and correcting for it to improve performance is not a high focal point as with other industries.
ATT Mobility has just completed numerous merger activities in the last 3 years and has paid high attention to support of the customer and little to the employees who have sacrificed time, salary, and sanity to keep the lights on.

Advice to Senior Management

ATT Mobility needs to end a downward spiral of hiring and maintaining low cost resources to service its increasingly complex products. This is bad for the company and bad for the customer. (THE UGLY)

Give service or customer facing related resources an increase in base salary to keep them here now. Halt or slow attrition. Establish hiring criteria going forward that mandates an accreditted degree to apply. Most of telecom used to demand a degree to be hired and when we stopped this practice to accomodate growth we suffered extensively in service and management departments. Begin sowing the seeds necessary for productive growth during the next 10yrs.
ps. Quit announcing company profits and achievments to staff as motivational. (a few exceptions sure). This is good for investors, but discouraging for the workforce in its current state.

To all ATT Mobility resources on the front line and in the management boiler rooms:
Keep your head up.
Do not sit quietly on the sidelines.
If you can make a difference make sure you do.