Real Reviews

Pros

Free soda, Great location, wonderful coworkers below the management level.

Cons

There is a pervading air of mediocrity here that no one seems to be able to change. Half the people here are incredibly intelligent and very competent at what they do. Unfortunately for them, they have to carry the other half of the employees on their shoulders.

Communistic view of incentives that makes most people here work just hard enough not to get fired, which is almost impossible.

Deluded management doesn't realize that the brand name "Real" is widely regarded in the same company as "Gator" and "How do I uninstall this RealPlayer crap?"

Horrible software reputation outside the company.

Compensation might have been competitive back when Taft was president.

Although there are no pointy haired bosses here, there is what can only be called an abusive level of micromanagement.

At least 60% of employees constantly seem unhappy, and yet totally unwilling or unable to leave.

HR is impossible to get a hold of. They seem to be around between the hours of 1:30-2:15pm on wed. only. The turnover in HR seems to occur so frequently that whenever you need something, the person you previously talked to is no longer an employee.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to dodge a wrench. If you can dodge a wrench, then you can dodge the shoe Rob Glaser will eventually throw at you.

Pros

Good location, ability to take on work and responsibility, options for learning, in many ways you get out of it what you put into it, name recognition allows for springboard to better jobs

Cons

Merit based incentives only at senior management level, personnel management is the exception to the rule, communist compensation practices reward dead weight and penalize top performers, work not evenly distributed

Advice to Senior Management

Stop managing the company like a family. Reward talented employees at all levels. Stock grants are basically meaningless at this point.

Pros

Some good people with real skills. Great Halloween party. A bowling alley in the basement.

Cons

Real seems to chase competitors & buy competition instead of coming up with new solutions that build on existing systems.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the people who work for you. You hired them because they have knowledge.

Pros

Halloween party, free Rhapsody account, casual environment, large enough to meet new people but not too large, ability to gain exposure to working in a global company.

Cons

Rob's opinion is the only opinion that matters, praise is given very sparingly, lack of opportunties for development unless you are higher up. Overall, the most dysfunctional company I've ever worked for. They tend to quickly patch problems rather than fix them. People of all levels tend to shoot first and ask questions later.

Advice to Senior Management

Take the time to work through issues rather than sweep them under the rug. Work on improving the culture of finger pointing.

Pros

While I worked at Real Networks, I felt they had a firm direction or strategy for the music department. There was a "get the next killer app" directive vs. building on what was there. I had a lot of great co-workers but we could not overcome some fundamental executive level decisions.

Cons

lack of strong corporate strategy ; micro-management from the executives ; secret projects which draw resources from other work or projects

Advice to Senior Management

Trust and allow employees to do the jobs they were hired to do. Being the best in a vertical is NOT a strategy, it is a goal.

Pros

I'd say they offer good compensation and the location can not be beat. I also hear that other groups are more supportive of advancement.

Cons

not enough support from superiors, constant internal strategic changes, no clear guidance on what to do or how to get promoted

Advice to Senior Management

I would suggest that they support and stand up for the people that work for them and encourage their advancement rather than holding it back.

Pros

1. If you're really into music and you just want a way to fund your addiction to the band scene. A lot of the employees there are left-brain creative people who have their real passion in their off-work activities: jazz bands, snowboarding, whatever.

2. If you like working in downtown Seattle and want to avoid driving to the Eastside.

Cons

1. Management lurches from project to project without any real game plan;

2. Extremely weak earnings for a software company - dilutes the value of stock options;

3. Mediocre product mix that has never sold well in the market;

4. Unproven business model - music as a monthly service is still not making money - and if the day comes that it ever does start to make money, then Apple will unveil a new service model tied in to iTunes and RealNetworks will be squashed;

5. Extremely high turnover - a substantial number of people don't stay past the 1 year mark because the environment is so chaotic.

Advice to Senior Management

Brush up your resumes.

Pros

Nice location on the Seattle waterfront, across the street from a park. Very nice during the Summers.

Generally nice and well intentioned employees.

Company is stable and solvent. Job security is relatively good, considering the current economy.

Cons

Almost feudal management, divisions sometimes seem adversarial. Frequently ideas are axed due to political concerns. Basically, we'd have to work with another division and management is unsure if they'll be dependable. So many opportunities are loss to the lack of cooperation between groups.

Development style is very cautious and slow. Management makes noise about more agile development processes but are pushing it with more required processes and documents. Employees do not have enough authority to really own their work. It's all about the process and making documents to cover your ass.

Advice to Senior Management

Relax a bit and have some faith in your team.

Pros

GameHouse division rocks! Real pretty much lets it run independently, which keeps it going.

Cons

Company seems to lurch from failed initiative to failed initiative. We never seem to get good press.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop trying to complete directly with MSFT and AAPL

Pros

Relaxed work atmosphere. Flexible hours. Good people to work with. Great lunchroom with good selection and prices. Easy to go and talk with people in other departments. Perks sometimes include renting a movie theater and watching a newly released movie. Fantastic family Halloween party. My boss would often have lunch with the people under him. What I needed to do was made clear and I usually was given enough time to complete my project.

Cons

Company going too many directions, needs guidance. Overall it feels like the company is coasting, not going anywhere. I could not even tell you the main product focus of the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Show some of the inovation I saw in the 1990's or the company will continue to shrink. Do a better job of retaining your talent.