PayPal Reviews

Pros

Pro's - there's a ton of work needed to be done, so never gets boring due to having nothing to do.

Cons

Too many to describe. They don't cultivate leaders there at all or hire anyone with good leadership skills Instead they look for someone who is a 'perfect fit' from a resume perspective, then simply hope that they actually know how to do things and know how to manage and develop their people.

Advice to Senior Management

Start over....and don't be so political when you do

Pros

Benefits hard to beat
Competitive salary
Diversity
Flexible Scheduling
Community Involvement
Pleasant campus
Brand recognition - mention you work at PayPal and everyone knows who they are

Cons

Performance review process should be illegal. Regardless of time spent setting and reviewing goals, in the end you are negotiated, or "calibrated", to fit the bell curve regardless of your performance resulting in inequity, demotivation and a what is the point in trying to excel attitude when you are going to be placed where the % rating needs to be filled. Employees are well aware of this practice and the common joke at review time is to just wear a big "M" monogram on your shirt for "Meets" because that is what will be given no matter how much you excel beyond so that the Exceeds can be distributed to fit the politics and favoritism.

Too many outside top heavy management brought in and inside talent is not recognized or utilized. An employee could change their resume to replace PayPal with FDR or FNB and apply for a position externally and be brought in at an inflated salary instead of being promoted.

Nobody is captain of the ship. There are so many product teams, project managers, process managers and overlapping roles between locations that don't communicate causing redundancy in efforts that go nowhere and enhancements or fixes that take 2 years to get implemented, only to cause more issues because there are also 30 QA teams that don't communicate. Many senior level leadership positions that make promises and commitments without accountability.

Advice to Senior Management

If there is a goal setting and review process, it needs to be equitable and truly based on the performance and contribution of the individual and not how much is budgeted to be dispersed in a bell curve format.

Employees get shuffled around like herded sheep from dept to dept with every monthly reorg that results in an external person being hired in a mgmt position - use the internal talent that has dedicated 5-10 yrs to the company and invest in their contribution.

Pulse surveys and upward feedback are "taken seriously" every year but little follow-up and action to fix the concerns are actually taken or addressed. It should be a wake up call that for the first time in my 5 yrs employment PayPal did not make the Omaha Top Companies to Work For list. Executive leadership needs to be downsized, infrastructure problems addressed, accountabilities put in place at the top, and all the pats on the backs replaced with ownership and honesty of where real change needs to happen to keep ahead of competition, retain employees, and regain its once coveted position as a leader in the industry.

Pros

growing company with products and services that consumers and merchants value

Cons

we work hard....sometimes work / life balance is a challenge

Advice to Senior Management

focus on hiring the best people....people that are leaders and developers of other people....this is key to the growth we anticipate

Pros

PayPal is a growing company, good work-life balance, friendly culture, positive colleagues. competitive salary and benefits. Nice amenities: attractive campus, gym, car wash, oil change, dry cleaning, good food in cafes. Increasing efforts for retention and promoting from within.

Cons

I like it here very much, but the employee review process doesn't seem fair. Good people sometimes have to be rated lower to fit on a bell curve. It's a very artificial way to evaluate performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Rethink the evaluation system. If good performers are arbitrarily downgraded, that affects morale and gives an inaccurate picture of abilities.

Pros

Great benefits and compensation packages

Cons

Impossible stats to keep
No discretion in how we handle accounts and phone calls
They made the stat structure almost impossible to meet just so they don't have to give out as many bonuses.
PayPal was in the Top 10 best places to work in Omaha for a few years in a row. In 2011 they we not on the list.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop hiring the consultant companies and use a little compassion and common sense when implementing new procedures and tools. Get all areas of the company to work better together to make sure a new product or procedure is relevant, understood and working 100% in all areas of the company. And I cannot stress this enough LISTEN to your employees. Not just to the one's that like to kiss up, but to the one's that have been here for awhile and know what we are doing.
I have been here 5 years and honestly I would take $2.00 pay-cut or more in a heartbeat just to get away from this company. And I am not the only employee that thinks this way.

Pros

Great employees and colleagues, Company's growth, Benefits, Stability, Global Visibility

Cons

Senior Management lack focus, Resources spread too thin, No single Product Management head/team resulting redundant product effort, Bad manager (hey, i was unlucky)

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on few areas at a time and be the number 1 at it., Reduce number of Scott's direct reports - This leads to every VP requesting funding for his area and hence the resources are spread too thin
Focus on one big effort every year - Not 10 (exaggeration)

Pros

Good online payment business. Company is stable and profitable.
Has compatible salary and benefits package.
Great facility and working environment.
Free drinks.

Cons

Heavy political play. Too many unworthy people got promoted, and not recognizing the actual hard workers.
Tight and not flexible release schedule and not focusing on the product quality.
Lack of professional skills training.

Advice to Senior Management

recognizing the actual hard workers and don't just promote the people with your own race.
adapt quickly to the latest mobile technology trend.

Pros

-Benefits/ Pay are competitive
-Individual contributors are top notch
-Facilities are great

Cons

-Little investment in training employees
-Big company executives being brought in that do not understand Silicon Valley Start-Up mentality/ Innovation / Technology-- more focus of being 'cheerleaders' than true leaders
-Too many priorities; poor communication; lack of funding to truly be successful in any one area
-Lack of clear strategy-- no one really follows it; nor are investments tied or measured to them

Advice to Senior Management

-Look at what Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin are doing if you are serious about innovation-- there is no need for Big Company executives-- you have the talent internally
-Listen to middle-management employees
-Focus on 3-5 priorities per year tops (that doesn't mean each of the 3-5 has 60+ projects tied to it)

Pros

Diverse environment and great, smart people to work with. Opportunities to switch between departments. Bagels, serial, and fruits as food benefits.

Cons

Quite a few changes in leadership rather frequently. Few folks advance quickly at the company, for other it takes time.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue advancing PayPal as a technology company full of innovation and leadership. Provide leadership opportunities to hard-working employees. Dedicate people fully to project, instead of having them to work on multiple issues at the same time.

Pros

Excellent growth and development opportunities, management set realistic expectations of requirements to be successful. Fun and friendly opinion sharing environment, able to learn from colleagues, even those not in my department share their tips!!

Brilliant benefits package, nice working environment, lovely canteen (with good food) free tea and coffee!!!!

Cons

Young management team. Not a lot of extra cirricular activities and I think this is something that an events team could do.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep Smiling :) have taster days so we can try other departments, and keep recruiting from within because it is working, and I am meeting all of my targets so I can develop.