Lenovo Reviews in Raleigh-Durham, NC Area

Pros

Competitive Salary & benefits
Co-workers are great to work with (we can all relate to each others gripes)
Close to shopping areas
Close to RTP (can do interviews without too much trouble)
They finally stopped playing musical chairs with the territories and reps are finally getting ingrained in their territories so that they actually grow

Cons

First I agree with about 99.9% of the cons of every other current & past employee.

When I first started at Lenovo I truly loved my job and looked forward to a long career here. The sales team (at least the area that I was in), was respected and treated like we mattered.

About 1-2 years after I started working there, there were some major changes to the organizational structure and two of the sales divisions were blended and that's when it all went downhill. In my 3.5 years at Lenovo I have literally had about 7 different managers and I have covered about 4-5 different territories. During this time I was "lucky" if I made my number. How could I actually work to make my number when I wasn't even in a territory long enough to remember the names of my account book's CIO's? (Luckily SOMEONE realized this was why reps were not making their number). We are treated as if we are completely dispensable and we are now being replaced by contractors who are underpaid and do not get anywhere near what a regular rep gets in commission. This I'm sure has a positive effect on the bottom line but a very negative effect on the workers. Not only the contractors who are not being treated fairly (and were lied to about the potential of their positions before being hired) but also the regulars who are becoming more of a financial liability instead of an asset.

Managers are hired based on who they have grown close to or what they could be holding over Lenovo's head (ie, possible HR issues). They preach about how they want to write big checks and reward overachievers, but when you overachieve they start raising your quota so that you don't achieve more than they want to pay you for and then if they allow you to "blow it out", they'll cap you in the end. Then the next qtr they double your quota so that you don't blow it out again or better yet not make your number at all so that they will reap the benefits of your revenue without having to pay you a dime for it. Either way Lenovo is going to try to get their money back. And then they wonder why reps sandbag...we have to be just as underhanded as management just to get a paycheck!

Due to layoffs we have lost all of our resources and EVERYTHING lands on our laps and the inside team barely has a chance to prospect. We have ridiculous metrics, where we not only get to be so overworked that the majority of us are working at night and on the weekends but we also have to put in writing what we are doing. So we get to do and journal our work day. We are micromanaged and treated like little children who need to be kept on a short leash.

Most of the managers' main focus is "make me look good in front of my boss" instead of "let me help you look good in front of my boss". Some of the team managers were horrible floor reps that either barely made their number and/or was on plan (about to be "reassigned" for poor performance) the qtr before they were promoted. How can I respect a manager that can't even manage their own territory?? What can they offer me that they couldn't even offer themselves? Lenovo has become a complete joke to work for and NO ONE is happy with the exception of a few of the lazy managers and execs who are reaping the benefits of the sales reps daily stresses without lifting a finger to assist. Everyone is just waiting for the economy to fully recover so that we can all hightail it out of there.

Oh and can we please get rid of the IBM Legacy processes??? It's 2010 for Pete's sake!!

Advice to Senior Management

Someone on the executive team needs to familiarized themselves with Kano's satisfaction theory and then hold a manager/exec meeting to teach the others how to retain happy employees. We are not happy and you don't even seem to care. Yes, the majority of us are making our number for the most part, but that's because the musical chairs game ended. That does not mean that things are getting better and therefore we must be delighted. We are MISERABLE! If is wasn't for the state of the economy you would have lost more than half of your sales force already...and I think you know it.

Managers need to be hired/promoted based on ability to lead and grow a team AND be a team player and not just concerned with themselves.

Respect your team and realize that just because your wallet is looking mighty fat does not mean that your team is mentally ok. There are dozens of us that take meds each day just to cope with the stress.
If you truly want me to "overachieve" then let me and stop taking money out of my pocket for doing my job well.

Pros

Leading Technology Companie, exciting products and best in its class.

Cons

Inside Sales Representatives work consist of pure account management but treated as if CSR /Call Center rep. No clear career paths established. Inexperienced management that promotes friends. Clear lack of diversity in sales organization and executive management.

Advice to Senior Management

Teach managers how to recognize talent and promote fairly. Pay people enough money to take care of their basic needs without sales depending on commissions to live.

Pros

Atmosphere is loose...jeans, flexible work from home
Exposure to multicultural teams
Start-up feel...developing systems, processes, etc

Cons

Start-up Feel...lol. Disconnected systems, consistent changes
WW teams often call for 7am calls with a 10pm call that same day (US)
If you aren't old IBM or new Dell recruit...often not listened to
Me to attitude...baseline is whatever Dell and HP do

Advice to Senior Management

While we are focusing on global markets and emerging, some heavy exposure in the US ripples around the world (i.e. - CES)
A lot of changes in 09/10...mature to emerging, to consumer, to this and that. Pick your identity and go with it.
Customer shop new product every 3-4 years, services are the bear claws that keep you in
Go get someone who helped EDS and Perot grow...forget Dell and HP execs

Pros

Mid-size global company with great products.

Cons

Too much off shoring of jobs. Inexperienced people being placed into management with no management training program (at the time).

Advice to Senior Management

When promoting from within, be sure to look at all areas of competency - people, process, program, business management skills.

Pros

Lenovo is an innovative company, which uses the talents of a global workforce to create fantastic projects used on every continent. They are fantastic about allowing individuals to work from home, and their salary and benefits are comparable with competing local companies.

Cons

There is a definite focus outside of the US, so we often feel as if we "play second fiddle" to China. Additionally, Lenovo can be a very political company as ideas from China often clash with rigid thinking from former IBM mentality.

Additionally, as a global company, there is an expectation of availability for late night conference calls with counterparts overseas.

Advice to Senior Management

Employees in the US location would feel much better about the company if more effort was made to brand our products domestically.

Pros

Good compensation compared to other local companies, great benefits, nice (relatively) new office buildings.

Cons

Navigating Lenovo is next to impossible because of the constant restructuring and layoffs. They offer no job security and do not value their employees, but still expect them to be available 24x7. Forget about work/life balance. If you work in a U.S. office, expect to be on conference calls at all kinds of strange hours -- the U.S. employees are the ones who have to cater to the schedules of the other worldwide offices. The company is also very unfriendly, unless you manage to work yourself into one of the cliques (it helps if you like to booze it up at the bar everyone likes to go to on Thursday nights; if you don't party, you're SOL). Management is piss poor and very uncommunicative.

Advice to Senior Management

Care about your employees. Institute a 360 degree review process to get rid of poor managers.

Pros

High achievers are rewarded. Those who work hard are quickly identified and those who do not are just as quickly shown the door.

Cons

Your life outside work will be gone while you work here. The company takes over all hours and there are no boundaries...morning, afternoon, night you will be working and reachable (or else).

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your employees as people not machines. Many expectations are clearly unreasonable and management does not desire employees to have a life.

Pros

Global company, opportunities to experience things from a worldwide perspective; excellent products for the most part

Cons

Tough industry, so-so financial performance, and uncertainty of future (just as in so many other places)

Advice to Senior Management

Stay focused on being a global winner, not a small time niche player.

Pros

Good people, middle management cares about the overall well being of its employees

Cons

Zero alignment throughout the organization
No cohesive strategic direction
Very arrogant when it comes to meeting customer needs

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on being a niche, high margin PC maker and not volume

Pros

Great place to start career, interview was relaxed and allowed for free flow of discussion. It was great to have an opportunity as a young professional trying to get into an organization during this economic period.

Cons

None noticed so far, since just starting. It was hard to get into the organization once I first graduated, but waiting a few months gave me the experience necessary to get my foot in the door.

Advice to Senior Management

Stick with your long term plans and continue to make headway into the small enterprise division. Now that the company has gotten settled, you are an example of multi-national excellence. Continue to push forward the "New" Legend systems and the legacy of IBM's computer division.