Microsoft Reviews

Pros

Microsoft is on the cutting edge of technology, they build amazing software. It is very competitive as many other companies you either do it or you die trying.

Cons

Because of the hardcore culture of the team sometimes really good talent gets lost. It is very hard to move up the chains as the review process keep the targets moving year by year.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep it simple and take care of your people. Cutting benefits is not the right way to keep great talent in your payrol.
It does help make the numbers as opex goes down but the overall profitability of the company will come down when you can't cost cut your way out.

Pros

Gain experience, especially at lower levels.

Cons

Promotions can be difficult, you need to move up or move out.

Pros

Great benefits, challenging work, and smart people. Tremendous number of products providing diversification of financial risk. Great portfolio of products

Cons

Little accountability, too many "owners", lack of team work, continuous re-orgs, too many unnecessary meetings. Back stabbing at the senior level (GM and above).

Advice to Senior Management

Coordinate strategies across divisions! There is no excuse for a lack of three screen strategy given asset mix of company. Way too many people.

Pros

Formerly had the best medical. Excellent benefits for military and families. Work with some of the smartest people in the world.

Cons

Review system manages to alienate everyone. Pay does not keep up with market. Easier to advance at a smaller company.

Advice to Senior Management

Need management changes at the executive level.

Pros

Great benefits, the benefits alone will keep a person there. Flexible work environment
Salaries were higher than other companies in industry. If person is based in Seattle decent company to work for, overpaid, low expectations on productivity and incredible beneifts.

Cons

Lack of strategy in the digital landscape. internal competition within accounts. Lack of guidance on importance of clients. Constant backstabbing by internal groups championing their own work over interests of company.

Advice to Senior Management

Reduce the number of products and projects that aren't core to the business and it's main lines. Stop following other companies in hopes of buying your way into second place.

Pros

1. Great place to learn software development
 2. Choice to work on a variety of technologies and products
 3. Really great benefits.

Cons

A lack of collaborative environment, while team work is given lip service the focus is on individual performance and results. A lack of vision on the part of senior leadership.

Advice to Senior Management

Seriously consider working at Microsoft if you are graduating from college or early in your career. There is a lot to learn and expertise to gain.

Pros

dynamic, progresive, provide collboration within colleuges and groups

Cons

inward focus on its own company direction, and does not yield career for "industry focus" candidate.

Pros

work, life balance is great.
Benefits are very competitive
People are all smart
Location is great near great places to live.
Commute they provide transportation ot work

Cons

Ability to get thing done slow moving

Pros

Large company with lots of opportunities to work in different areas. People tend to move around the company quite frequently. Total compensation package is one of the tops in the tech industry.

Cons

Highly political environment. It used to be acceptable to challenge management, that is rarely the case any more. The company has gone from a culture where employees striven to do what was best for the company to a culture now that focuses on self-entitlement. We BillG's departure, the company lost its visionary - this is one of the biggest gaps now.

Advice to Senior Management

Understand that talent is an asset, not a commodity. The tech industry is rebounding quickly and the company is poised to lose a lot of key talent if things don't change.

Pros

An international thinking company with lots of opportunity. Pay is OK and benefits are great. Company tries harder than most to treat staff well.

Cons

Review process is competitive with your peers. This means they gain if you lose and leads to "invisible" back stabbing and lack of collaboration. Staff is group ranked by a commitee of their managers peers. Most of them are not involved in the same business and don't know the people. Good ranking comes from either:
1) "Visibility" - which means that lots of internal (possibly non-productive) activities like joining social events and schmoozing with your bosses peers.
or
2) "Political games" - where an experienced senior manager makes side deals with some of his peers to mutually support each other favorites for good ranking.

Advice to Senior Management

The current numerically structured review process was likely created because the managers couldn't be trusted to know how to review their people. An obvious outcome when technical prowess lead to leadership roles. It's time to make sure that leadership at all levels is good at people management and responsible for the people under them. Having a high performance team get exactly the same number of 'Winners and Losers' as an under-performing poorly led team is not a solution to ensuring the poor teams don't rank themselves highly.

The company is good at talking about collaboration but the policies make this into a farce. I left because of the review process and seeing great people suffer while the best internal schmoozers did little for products or customers but got highly rewarded.

I like Ballmer's energy and spirit but he needs to fix this or have someone else do it.