Microsoft Reviews in Raleigh-Durham, NC Area

Pros

The benefits are very good

Cons

Too many people work there.

Advice to Senior Management

When they acquire companies they should use those employees for their expertise. Too often Microsoft seems to acquire companies but does a bad job of not letting those people bring their knowledge into the company and use it to their advantage.

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

Benefits are great! (100% paid, no payroll deduction or co-pays)
Stock awards are nice
Room for growth

Cons

Lack of communication from upper management
No backbone inside the company (hire ups don't stand up for things they know is a bad decision)

Advice to Senior Management

during the "mid-year" review period, allow your employees to rate their upper management

Pros

Great people to work with--the office had a chemistry that made you want to come in and be a team. Never had an experience like it in 15+ years of working corporately.
All the Starbucks coffee you could drink.
Cadillac health care plan.
Pay at the top of the scale, opportunity for 10% bonus to salary every year.

Cons

All future job opportunities were in Redmond.
Our remote office was shortlived...not bitter, just disappointed.
Hard to find other MS teams willing to share knowledge and resources. Remote offices were on an island.
Upper mgmt would rather care about rhythm of the business than tell remote office that they will soon be closed. Preached transparency until it was time to get real.
Too many managers gum up the works on proper business strategy.

Advice to Senior Management

You're going to have to change your mgmt model to truly compete with smaller, more agile companies.

Pros

Microsoft is a huge company with strong benefits and, in theory, involved in every area of the software market. The company still has very competitive pay and reasonable job security, even considering the layoffs. It has endless resources for growth (see cons), including a big library, conferences, training etc. The company can really invest in you and you can see the dividends of this investment in your work.

Cons

One has to be aware that most Microsoft benefits related to professional growth will apply mostly to its HQ in Redmond, WA. In Washington State, the opportunities at the company are endless. Elsewhere, it can vary from dismal to maybe mediocre. Senior Management is clueless and the stock price proves it. Most Microsoft innovations are incremental and the company missed endless opportunities to revolutionize areas of our industry.

Advice to Senior Management

The CEO should just retire. The rest of senior management should strive for a flatter organization with less layers and red tape. We need less middle managers and more people doing actual work.

Pros

You have many options for your career, and you can switch back and forth as your interests change.

Cons

Microsoft has the same old vision of the software business (one that just maintains previous decisions) and refuses to truly innovate.

Advice to Senior Management

Reinvent yourself

Pros

The people you get to work with make it one of the best companies in the world

Cons

Large companies can be challenging or even frustrating places at times. It takes a while to get the ship to change course and this requires patience on the part of employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Know your customer. There has been a lot of criticism in the past of MSFT missing it when it comes to delivering products that people really want. The uptake of Vista is one example among many.