Perot Systems Reviews in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Area

Pros

You get exposure to hourly billing, working with Indian counterparts and the whole outsourcing gig. You also get to listen to endless platitudes of how great Perot is.

Cons

I was a permanent employee on their health care account in Plano Texas. I was expected to bill at least 50 hours a week. Didn't matter what -- as long as I could justify it to the client. Boss was a complete jerk. When I quit, two others on our eight person team -- quit also in the same week. There was so much turnover, Perot Systems actually had the nerve to create an "Alumni" website, asking all the ex-employees to keep in touch. They are trying to compete with the other consulting companies. They have 15,000 employees in India and growing. If you want to shorten your life-span, work for Perot Systems. For an IT company, the level of technical skill was hit or miss. In my former team, I was considered "senior". I took a "junior" position with a different company so I could leave. I'm currently a "senior" again at my new job. Oh...if you want to know what Perot Systems is really like...PS is trying to compete with HP/EDS and IBM. But the CEO is the lawyer who helped found the company. What does this tell you? For Perot's clients, PS will crack the whip to perform manual tedious work. PS really doesn't know anything about software development. Seriously, a smart high school kid is on the same level as most Perot developers. PS got their ISO9001 certification. Whoop-de-doo. For me, it basically meant a two hour mandatory web-meeting. The content of the web-meeting was... if the ISO auditor ask you a question..point him to the internal PS website extolling how great PS is. PS also places a lot of emphasis on project mgmt. Don't believe it. Estimates, milestones, and requirements are pulled out of thin air. Yes, Perot Systems is that bad.

Advice to Senior Management

Get a clue.

Pros

Perot systems is a well organized and well managed company. It has good processes in place for both internal and external needs. The people are knowledgeable, nice, professional, and hard working. The projects are diverse and challenging. Recognition is shown when projects are completed..

Cons

Lower than industry average salaries. Takes time or a missing spot to get promoted.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue grooming and mentoring your employees so that they will stay with the company and keep growing as leaders and mentors as well. Provide proper raises and promotions every couple of years as the situation permits. Do not let your best talent leave without doing everything possible to make them happy.

Pros

Generally easy going, understanding management that really tries to open and approachable.

Cons

If you're assigned on a money losing, behind schedule project, you will not be happy with the results.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop shipping jobs to India. They develop very poor quality software. Our customers tend not to be satisfied.

Pros

The best reason would be the other associates but many of the best have already left or are discussing leaving. The company should be positioned to take advantage of future opportunities.

Cons

Not the company or spirt of the past. It was popular to talk about needing to have three legs to balance the stool, investors, clients and associates. The associate leg of stool is broken and not getting any better. No one should be able to argue these three parties are essential but in this industry without motivated, innovative and fairly treated associates, the clients will decrease and the investors will become unhappy.

Advice to Senior Management

Values and Principles is just a card to carry around if the organization as a whole does not actually practice the words.

Pros

to get some experience and then move on.

Cons

Career mobility is next to non-existant. Unless you know someone or are in tight with a manager career mobility is a joke.
Salary was at the low end of the scale even though I received good/great reviews. Bonuses and raises were non-existant.

Advice to Senior Management

Wake up! You're letting some great talent slip away.

Pros

Nice people and the hours are not killer.

Cons

In my five plus years at Perot I can sum up how I (and most internal people I know) view Perot in one word, average. It’s not a great place to work and it’s not a bad place to work. It’s an average place to work.

I come from an IT consulting background and thought Perot would be in that same vein. I was wrong. That spirit of excellence and doing whatever it takes to get the job done is trumpeted in emails but is not in place now and there is no clear vision on how to get us there in the future. If you are a ‘go-getter’ and were trained to your core in ‘excellence for the customer’ you may find Perot draining and frustrating. I have accepted this since I’m getting close to retirement, but still find it annoying.

I think we do an average-to-good job overall but an excellent job is out of our reach for the time being. Being in the ‘low cost outsourcing provider competition’ does not inherently lend itself to excellence. The phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ has merit.

Technically I think we’re pretty strong but in other areas (especially matrixed ones) there are issues standing in the way of us moving towards excellence. The main reason for this (that I can see) is that each functional area (Tech, QA, Mgmt, BA etc...) is like its own little union. Negative feedback on the quality of work of one of their members is viewed almost as an attack. And even if you give honest feedback there is no guarantee that it will do any good because the functional lead is not required to use it in their resource’s review. Actually if they don’t ask for it you can not give it. And where they is no accountability, there is no excellence.

Anyways, if you want a decent place to work then Perot might be for you. The people are nice and the hours are not killer. But if you have engrained in you that ‘excellence in all you do’ spirit then I would advise caution.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't just talk about excellence, get it done.

Pros

A place that when you do well with the responsibilty you have been given, you are given greater opportunity. Career growth seems limitless. Moving to a strong, global delivery model over the past 5 years has positioned us well. Keeping on the edge of providing innovative solutions will provide the help many need to succeed going forward.

Cons

We are conservative in our approach when compared to our competitors. Over the past 10 years, this has been challenging as some have seemed to 'get to the goal quicker', yet in the global circumstances we are in today, we are probably the best positioned. Thanks to Mr. Perot and his founding guidance.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep us moving forward! Keep us fiscally sound and associate strong. This is the key.

Pros

Although it is a big company they do try to communicate as much as possible although not always successful but at least attempted.

Most of who I work with are interested in doing what is best for the client and work hard to make it happen.

Perot has a personality like no other and appreciate his hard work and compassion for his employees. I hope Jr. will follow in his foot steps as well as the CEO, Peter.

Open door policy is great - it is sometimes communicated amongst their largest competitors (used to be an employ of a competitor) but not always practiced - here at Perot - it is.

I do believe the benefits package as a whole is competitive within the market place.

I believe Perot is stable and smart with their money - I do believe they try to operate within reality and hence the reason why when most companies are not paying bonuses in 2009, we are. They do try their best to be fair to their associates and to the company as a whole.

I believe they have 'played it smart' in the industries today - especially government and healthcare, they will experience growth in both of these areas.

Cons

Hiring managers do not always hold true to ensuring everyone has a fair shot at internal opportunities - some still operate by moving folks they know vs. folks they have not even taking the time to look at it, into a new role.

Communication is a challenge specifically for client site associates - they do not have the opportunity to feel the culture of Perot Plano campus

There are some higher ups who carry seriously bad attitudes and it is swept under the rug because of their senority and feel like it would not be well tolerated if at a lower level. However, the company is concentrating more on this area.

Onboarding is lacking a solid process

Training needs more direction and more $$$ although they have created some alternative ways to train, they do help some

Advice to Senior Management

Take a hard look at those with a bad attitude and get rid of them - bottom lines are important but so are people - keep this mentality as most try to do but not all! Its must for success in todays market and in todays leadership!

Pros

It still embodies some of Ross Perot's personality and beliefs.

Cons

It is starting to be run as any typical large company by the lawyers and accountants, without regard for the employees.

Advice to Senior Management

To go back to managing the company as would Ross Perot. Employees want to work for a company that treats them as a person, not as a resource.

Pros

Perot Systems is well known, has a good reputation.

Cons

Leadership inconsistant with promotions. Poor raises and very poor bonuses to reward hard work and or promotions.

Advice to Senior Management

Promote more from within the company, you have the brightest and best to choose from.