Electronic Data Systems – “EDS - a one great company on a significant decline due to management incompetence”

Pros

It is better than being unemployed.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, on the first day it was announced my group would be outsource to EDS, when a colleague called me and asked what EDS stands for. “What does EDS stand for,” I asked. “Every day sucks,” he replied.
EDS turned out to be one of the most deceptively managed companies I have ever worked for. They treat everyone like a number, and they measure that against the value of your job if outsourced to India.

While I heard over and over that consistent business processes were necessary to business growth within EDS, the MPhasis (India) subsidiary cherry-picked what business processes they would adhere to. Over and over, multiple standards like this were allowed by management.

Employees were measured by skill level and training. While MPhasis personnel were eager to fit into US projects, they were given waivers on whether they had a skill fit. Because the India resources were so cheap, and could be billed at the same rate as an American, it behove EDS management strategy to do whatever it could take to replace American jobs with jobs in India, even if the India resources were less qualified. No matter how well you are rated in the Performance Management process, your job is liable to be outsourced – i.e., being graded well in the Performance Management process is no guarantee of job security; in fact, EDS is known for “forced rankings” that virtually guarantee most personnel will not get a good rating.

At EDS, leadership was all about telling people they were lucky to keep their jobs, and screwing them if it was convenient.

EDS is full of employees who are bitter, resentful, or fearful. There is a widespread common understanding that EDS management has no interest in employee development and honest communications. Strategies change often, and if anyone dares to question them there are problems.

In one company-wide employee broadcast, with Ron Rittenmeyer, it was pointed out that EDS gets many contracts that end up being unprofitable, and this needed to stop. No one would dare to speak up and ask why less-skilled India resources, with no effective support or links to how things are done in the USA, could be a factor when placed into key positions in the project hierarchy.

At EDS, there is still a cow pasture, which is really a way to get a tax break by somehow claiming the HQ land has agricultural usage. Aside from these cows, management is the next “sacred cow,” and they do what they want, at the company’s expense. Hopefully when HP takes over they will purge EDS of these horrid narcissists.
It is amazing to state, however, that there are many good people at EDS, notwithstanding how they are treated. If you are desperate for a job, does it really matter how you are treated?

Cons

Management is totally incompetent and deceptive. Your job is always being sized up to see if it can be replaced by a less-competent hire in India. Also, if you are outsourced to EDS, please be aware of how job families and salary ranges worked. For me, I was mistakenly moved to a salary range that was not equivalent to my previous company's job. I was able to get this corrected because I had saved all my previous salary information. Not everyone does this -- EDS has no shame in making "mistakes" like this.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to employees for once, without threatening to replace their jobs with less-qualified India resources.