SS&C Reviews

Pros

This is a software company that has a private equity and hedge fund administration services group.

The company is a good place for students right out of college that want to get some background/experiance in private equity or hedge funds before heading to a Fund. The environment is pretty laid back, you can wear jeans if you want. The environment is an open space which makes communication pretty easy but no privacy. There are a handful of people at the supervisor/management level that have been in the department for awhile which is good for the group but not really good for someone at a staff level looking to advance quickly.

Certain Managers/Supervisors are great in teaching the staff and really make an effort in there development.

It is client service but work hours (depending on the client you are on) are not to bad.

Cons

I think I have seen more cons here than pros.

As I mentioned before there are a handful of people at the supervisor/management level that have been in the department for awhile which is good for the group but not really good for someone at a staff level looking to advance quickly. I really don't feel that there is much growth here, the department seems to be growing at a snail pace but it could be due to the economy. The company does not seem to really promote from within but maybe b/c there is high turnover.

There is no formal review process which is not a big deal as you can personally meet with your manager/supervisor/director. However, there is no upward feedback so if you have an issue with someone you can speak to a Manager and/or Director but the issue never really gets addressed.

I think the biggest problem is the Director, the group can definetly be run better. I think upper management needs to provide an anonymous upward feedback policy so that they see how unhappy the employees are with the Director of the group and certain Supervisors/Managers. If Management does not open their eyes there will continue to be high turnovers.

Certain staff dont really seem motivated with their job or with where their career is headed, it seems more like a work, work, work, mundane, mundane environment. Certain clients want a very quick turnaround at any cost. Seems like we are just puppets and the Director of the group is more concerned with the bottom line then with employee satisfaction.

Company is kind of cheap, every group has seperate charge code and the Directors of the group are then motivated to keep the bottom line as high as possible, at the cost of the employees.

There is no training program for the software that is used, which is ridiculous for a software company that promotes a program to client but does not provide training to their own employees!!

NO visability, you will never meet the CEO or CFO or any person of great authority in this group.

Advice to Senior Management

To the Director of the groups, perhaps you should change your way of thinking and really put forth an effort in making a difference in the group. Be an authority figure not a best friend, employees dont really seem to look up to you and they dont seem to respect you. I am not sure if it is too late since this has been the case for some time now.

To SS&C upper management you really need to implement an upper feedback policy if not how can you make changes if your employees dont feel that they have a voice or you dont listen to what they have to say. You will be surprised buy what your employees have to say about certain departments and individuals.

Pros

The flexibility you are given at work

Cons

Everyone is unhappy at work

Pros

You can wear pretty much what ever you want as long as business casual.
Most people are professional and hard working

Cons

CEO just cares about himself and awards big executives.
Lucky to get a raise even off of stellar years
Very stressful job for amount that you are paid
This company under staffs thus doesn't reward employees for hardwork
Moral is terrible. 9 out of 10 people hate their job and the other 1 is lying.
No structure.

Advice to Senior Management

Raises and bonuses should be performance based. When company has a great year, reward your employees. Pats on the back only go so far.

Pros

Not on unemploment or welfare.

Cons

No performance reviews, No salary adjustments. No clear job definitions, No comunications from upper management. No ability to contribute to company direction.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop trating the employees as if it was a uinion shop.Start doing annual performance reviews. Salary adjustments and bonuses based on individual cintributions.

Pros

There aren't too man good reasons to work for this company. Most of the people are down to earth and the environment is laid back

Cons

Do you want to work for a company that doesn't compensate their employees?
Do you want to work for a company who's CEO doesn't give raises but buys himself a golf course?
Do you want to work for a company that doesn't offer training to its employees?
Do you want to work for a company that will make you sacrifice your family for a measly paycheck?
Do you want to work at a company where work never leaves you?
Do you want to work for a company that will drain the life out of you then step on you when they are done?
If you would like to work for a company with all the above mentioned perks than SS&C is your company. If not then run for your life.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your employees like people not machines.
Share the wealth for there is no company without employees
Lead with your actions not words

Pros

Was never bored seeing that I worked seventy hours a week including weekends.
Could dress casually on a regular basis.
People were friendly for the most part

Cons

Hard to believe this company is a software company. The number of issues with internal systems is hard to fathom.
CEO doesn't compensate the people that actually make him money. Bonus are small and raises are worse. By far the cheapest company I was ever with.
Lot of promises but no results.
98% of the employees are unhappy which makes for a pleasant environment.
This company doesn't even have reviews. I remember I got the same bonus if you want to call it that as my fellow employee. He was a slacker and I worked my tail off. Make sense right. I learned my lesson and left.
People sacrifice their families for an ungrateful CEO that could care less about them.
Never the same people. High turnover. When day your neighbor is there and the next day he isn't. Can't Imagine why
No growth. Promotions when given are for the most part rare and compensation is minimal.
CEO states that employees are well compensated. Yes if you average in their salaries with your eight digit one.
Hard to believe this company went public twice. I guess anything is possible in this world.

Advice to Senior Management

How about compensating your employees based on performance. Imagine that.
Look at the turnover ratio. Is there a reason for such a high number? Look at my above statements and make changes.
Reward those that actually do the work not just the higher up or family members

Pros

The employees are easy going and for the most part pleasant to be around. Seeing that you are always so busy time goes by fast

Cons

Bonuses stink
Raises are minimal if nonexistent even after great years
Upper management preaches employees are first when actually they are last
Never been to a place where people are so unhappy
Work load is excessive and no reward for taking on more
No room for growth

Advice to Senior Management

Make Bonuses and raises based on performance
Follow through with promises don't just preach
Show encouragement to employees when things are done well

Pros

Difficult to list pros since this is terrible place to work. If I need to say something then you get free parking and experience for another company.

Cons

Many managers are new in management and don't know how to manage. They need to be trained and need to know how to work with others and not run departments by fear and intimidation. They hold grudges and have their few favorites. If you're not a favorite, there's no opportunity.
Pay raises are horrible. So the company could look good for Wall Street, they didn't pay anyone for years. Bill Stone likes to brag about his golf course and that he created new millionaires going public. Those new millionaires are people at his level - nothing trickles down to anyone else.
People are not told how good they're doing, they're only criticized and told the mandatory work week is 60 hours.
Reviews are non existent, you're seated and told what you get for a raise (if there's one) and that's it. - no discussion unless you ask how you're doing. Never positive feedback, only criticism. People have gone to lunch and not come back because it's a terrible place to work - it's a revolving door. The company runs on lack of communication, lack of opportunities, lack of training.
New hires and opportunity tend to be for friends and family of upper management. Nepotism is rampant at the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Train managers how to manage. Realize you have humans working for you. Communicate! We're not asking to be your best buddy - acknowledge we exist. Read these comments and act appropriately. Don't punish people just because you can - it won't help your ratings.

Pros

opportunity to try and learn new things as well as best customers. Very hard working peers. Excellent blend of industry knowledge with technology on a practical basis. I find that people will back you up and help if you disclose your issues and attempts to solve a problem.

Cons

Very rough at times and no one stops to think, work, work, work !!

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you are doing--thank you for creating opportunities.

Pros

The office atmosphere is generally laid back and employees can wear jeans most days. The office itself is in an easy to reach location with plenty of parking. SS&C can give some basic experience to a college kid who plans to only stay a year or two.

Cons

Beware of SS&C if you have good working standards and care about the job you do. Unless you’re well-liked by your managers, you will get nowhere.

I feel like I am punished because I can do my job. I am told that I am one of few people who performs as well as I do, and because of that, I am given extra work above and beyond my peers. Since I have more work than my peers and my work is of a more difficult level, I constantly feel stressed to get things done in an allotted time. Some of the work I do is at more of a managerial level but I am not compensated any more for it. Meanwhile, I see my coworkers and managers surfing the 'net and they are able to take regular lunches while I am basically forced to stay at my desk for my lunch. If I choose to take a normal lunch like my coworkers, I will fall behind in my work and miss deadlines. Even though I have so much work, sometimes my managers try to give me even more to do and I have to refuse it. This makes me look bad because I had to say "no", but only to protect myself from being overloaded to the point that I start making big mistakes because I don't have enough time to complete what I already have to do. If my managers did their jobs, they would realize the predicament I am in and be proactive by correcting the issues.

Senior management operates in panic mode and only when it's too late. Instead of being proactive by doing the things that normal companies do, such as: hiring the right people, providing adequate training and tools, and interacting with employees, I hardly ever see senior management acting in accordance with what one would consider appropriate. In fact, I hardly ever see senior management at all and this is sad considering we don't have a huge office.

Raises and bonuses are mediocre and haven't been given regularly the past couple of years. Although the economy is not so good, the company has been doing fairly well. There isn't much of a reason to dangle these mediocre raises and bonuses out there because when we receive them, it is like a slap in the face. We only receive correspondence from the CEO when he has something to complain about. It seems rare that we hear anything that is congratulatory. Some people deserve praise at times and they don't deserve to receive rants that threaten us about losing raises and bonuses for the performance failures of a select few.

If you are some college kid and/or are just looking to get some experience for a couple of years, give it a try. But to do anything meaningful career-wise, you should not plan to stay with SS&C for very long.

Advice to Senior Management

Why not try managing? Too many things seem to operate on auto pilot. Eventually, even things running on auto pilot need to be monitored and maintained. This leads me back to that bullet point from before - "PROATIVE". By doing things the way they are currently, it is impossible to be as successful as you expect. People in that office don't want to stay because things are worsening. But in the general SS&C style, I am sure no one is listening or cares as long as the work gets done.