Pros

One of the best reasons to work for XO is the opportunity to sell quality products and services to customers. Their services are unmatched in the industry and the prices are fair. It is a great feeling to sell something that you stand behind. Most of the tenured sales people are top notch people, with years of service at XO (over 7 years for most). These people are to be respected, as they have really weathered the changes in the telecom industry since 1996.

Cons

I found that XO was not a place that fostered growth or treated all employees fairly. It could just have been in the region that I worked in, but when XO acquired another company, those new "XO" employees had the same quota as XO salespeople, but earned $15-25,000 less per year on their base salary. I felt that it was unfair that people doing the same job would have such a discrepancy in pay. Upper management did not feel that this was important and therefore, 90% of the tenured salespeople that came over ended up resigning.

They also had a tendency to rehire former employees that had previously been fired for poor performance. That is something that I do not understand. If someone was fired for poor performance, why would you think that the second time around they would be better?

I do not see XO as a place that fosters loyalty for employees, promotes growth for employees or has the ability to retain quality people. This could be just the region that I worked in or the industry in general.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat all salespeople fairly. Promote growth of your people.