Level 3 Communications Reviews

Pros

Great fiber footprint, strong product offering. Improved customer support from back office.

Cons

Being very conservative has allowed our competitors to speed past us. Level 3 & Legasy Broadwing Mgmt placed on top had no idea how to sell local services which hampened sales.

Advice to Senior Management

They've made a smart move by allowing greater decision making by local mgmt.

Pros

Great people at Level 3. Despite the challenges with structure, direction, and a complete lack of senior leadership, I met many amazing folks.

Cons

Change for change's sake, inability to stick with a single course of action through completion, extremely high turnover at senior levels, "fire drill" and "diving catch mentality - behavior is rewarded.

Advice to Senior Management

Level 3 needs to place some high quality, committed, senior leaders in Executive management. There is a painful lack of true leadership capability in this organization.

Pros

Smart people, good benifits, competitive salary, tend to promote from within, good market opportunity, interesting and relative product offering, never dull

Cons

Ineffective leadership, lack of vision and execution, constantly changing strategy, inconsistent product portfolio, ineffective marketing, too many firedrill/check the box exercises vs root cause fixes, In other words, too many bandaids in place to move forward.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop putting band aids in place and fix the core issues. Listen to the people that actually do the work.

Pros

The environment is generally comfortable.
The company is always trying new approaches to management and it progress.

Cons

Change for the sake of "change". It would be nice to give a new approach enough time to succeed or fail. But, sometimes we change directions just so that someone somewhere just under management or in lower management can say that they contributed. With a somewhat large professional employee base, this is frustrating as it leads to employees that feel overlooked and even taken for granted. True we can all be fired at any time, but the company seems to pride itself in its knowledge base. Getting ride of the talent would create a catch-22 which can be (and usually is) accumulative.

Advice to Senior Management

Give new processes more opportunity to be successful. Change for the sake of doing so often results in chaos, or at least reduced successes, and reluctant employees.

Pros

Flexibility is key for most employees who have family obligations and level 3 understands that need.

Cons

Location is not easy to get too for most commuters of the company but the campus is beautiful and interior offices are private.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the growth phase and keep innovating the way business is done. Nothing is more exciting that a company that is a leader in it's market.

Pros

A few very smart and talented people that do have some business ethics.
Nice campus.
Covered parking.

Cons

Some of the worst workplace politics I have ever experienced. If you're not in the "happy hour in-crowd," you will be ostracized. Workplace mobbing is unbelievable and a game to some of the egocentric, power hungry despots there. If you don't play the game, you're done. Management is always chasing the next shiny object regardless of sucessfully completing the last one. Mayhem!

Advice to Senior Management

Quit the happy hour shenanigans and let people come to work to do their jobs instead of winning a popularity or drinking contest. If you don't schmooze, you lose.

Pros

Good people, nice campus, everyone gets an office.

Cons

Org changes every 4 weeks, an organization that operates like chickens with their heads cut off. There is no follow through on any project.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop firing your best people!

Pros

I'm fairly well paid for what I do. There are few clock watchers here. I have a child with a disability, so need and get hours flexibility.

Cons

Employment here is day to day. Job security is perhaps as low as it can get.

Advice to Senior Management

Get cash flow positive. Now. Really.

Pros

The people I work with
The work I do
The knowledge I gain

Cons

Commute distance
Work load and deadlines

Advice to Senior Management

Get down in the trenches and talked with the people below manager level to see how they feel. Don't do it via surveys but one on one with your people.

Pros

For the most part, people are down to Earth there
Decent Benefits
Holidays and Vacation time are nice, plus extra half days

Cons

everyone complains, but does nothing about it
Nobody takes responsibility, they are always trying to kick the issues to other groups

Advice to Senior Management

Listen a little more to your employees. You seem to do whatever you want with out seeing how it affects the little guys (I.E. technicians, field and remote)