Spirent Communications Reviews

Pros

The work life balance at Spirent is excellent.
The teams are very good - there was very limited politicking and backstabbing.

Cons

The company has been struggling for a while (as of 2011), so pay tends to be under-competitive, and promotions are hard to get.
It is a standard mid-size unexciting Silicon Valley company - very "Office Space" like. There's no excitement of the sort you get from being in a sexy new startup or in developing something that's going to change the world. It's pretty much do your work and go home, which is great if you want to focus on other things besides just work though.

Pros

Good company to work for if your going to retire soon

Cons

support management has no clue sometimes

Pros

Newest technologies are coming up every day in my job at Spirent. I have a lot of freedom in my current role, in how to approach this and how to develop the strategy for it. Compensation for the job is satifiying.

Cons

Spirent upper management should listen more carefully to the market. Continuous cost saving isnot a long term strategy.

Advice to Senior Management

I would recommend the upper management to come down from their iron tower and put their feed in the mud visiting customers all over the world to understand what is happening.

Pros

Product is good, new technology
Timly response to customer
Senior managers are good

Cons

Project plan always change
No good process and quality control
Executive team spend too much time to control cost in engineering team
Compensation is not competitive to the market

Advice to Senior Management

Executive team should not do micro management to the middle management.
And it is necessary to keep balance in the team growth in both china and US.
There is no bonus motivation to the engineering team, that is not good to retain talent people.

Pros

Good health insurance, Good work environment, Competitive benefits package. Smart engineers.

Cons

Employees overworked and stressed. Salary raises moderate. Middle management seems to be helpless in retaining performing employees. Most of the local managers have little or no experience outside of Spirent and thus are trained to think just Spirent way.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't be scared of planning for the growth over 3-5 years instead of the next quarter.

Pros

- Engineering has an extremely talented pool of people
- Friendly, casual atmosphere.

Cons

- Career growth in North America is nearly impossible given the way the leadership wants to spend money the past few years.

Advice to Senior Management

- Profit margins and finances are a definitely big deal ... no arguments there ... Though the really good companies out there steer the ship delicately, balancing out justifiable amounts of ambition and growth with keeping their talented people happy. Figure out what they are doing and learn from them ...

Pros

I love the place, friendly people, since a smaller company in terms of size.

Cons

I have no comments here, as i have had no bad experiences yet.

Advice to Senior Management

Nothing

Pros

1. If you want to work in eatontown, NJ. Then this is a place you can do just that.
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Cons

1) They hire people across the country, relocate them, and fire them 3 months later. Watch out.
2) Very political
3) Fear driven, many employees are worried about themselves, not getting fired and getting a promotion. Not a team atmosphere. Not everyone is like that but definitely some.
4) Company retirement match is vested over 4 years, was not told that.
5) Raises low, COLA levels, unless you get a promotion.

Advice to Senior Management

They don't really care what you have to say. Their concern is cutting cost when it should be maximizing profit. Big difference. They make cost cuts that come back to haunt them and wind up costing them more in the long run.

Very political. Everyone is worried about #1. I would trust management as far as you can throw your house.

Overall they are underhanded. They say one thing but actions prove otherwise.

Very lucky that they have a few smart people left.

Pros

Challenging jobs. Flexible time. Close to home. Reasonable benefit. Reasonable salary. Competent coworkers. Reasonable amenities. Cost conscious. Competent managers. Friendly environment.

Cons

From the business point of view, it is necessary to outsource jobs. But from the employees' point of view, it hurts to see jobs lost.

Advice to Senior Management

Try hiring competent employees, whether they are engineers, managers, or administrators. Try retaining jobs in the US. Try to be reasonable in pushing product delivery.

Pros

Great talent
Lots to learn

Cons

Very rude management
Bad environment
Too much pressure
No work-life balance
No respect for employees
Very bad pay
Very low promotion prospects
No bonus
Minimal benefits
Company getting beaten up by competition
401K vesting period is 4 years
No relation between performance and promotion
Multiple standards for employees
I can spend the whole day but still will not complete this list

Advice to Senior Management

Please respect the employees and make it a good place to work else you will not attract talent