Pros

- Can grow your career in many different directions, lots of options around.
- Work alongside some of the world's leading vendors in the technology front-line.
- Lots of resources.

Cons

- Bureaucratic system which is highly politicised..
- Slow processes, slow paced company.
- Not modern working environment (change under way).

Advice to Senior Management

None.

Pros

There are great opportunities for career development. You'll have access to lots of special staff offers, such as the quite generous mobile and BigPond plans. (They're still making a profit out of you though, don't worry about that!) You get to be part of something big and publicly recognised - once you work for Telstra, you'll be amazed how often things you're working on turn up in the media. Because it's a big organisation, you can feel confident that you'll generally see pretty professional treatment on matters of pay, leave, etc. (Obviously when you're a contractor this doesn't really apply.) There's also a real sense of comaraderie between the people from different business units.

Cons

Job security is a bit poor for such a big organisation. Equipment is a old and dilapidated. HR can be a bunch of tricky bastards. Pay can sometimes lag industry rates.

Advice to Senior Management

Concentrate on getting on with the job rather than fighting with everyone! Fix the mess with the billing system and concentrate on better staff development - why not use restructures as an opportunity to give people new skills rather than just sacking them at high cost?

Pros

The opportunity to engage with so many fascinating people and potential products, the apparent lack of restriction on where you can find yourself if you engage with the right people. The opportunities with so many third party partners who are clamouring to work with us. The Business Insights you learn from working in such a focused organisation with the potential to have world leading program management. The clever technology which is available to use to facilitate meetings across multiple locations.

Cons

The Slowness of the processes. The absolute failure of the whole legal and regulatory system due to the constant sniping with the ACCC. The way good, committed people never feel like they are getting the rewards they are due. The one-eyed view toward new technology if it affects revenues in the old technology which has no long term future. Did I say the legal and regulatory processes? The constant changes in the BU's which means no-one knows who is who from one month to the next. The overarching ownership some long termers have within the organisation which can often prevent you GETTING THINGS DONE

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on your Customers and frontline staff, give them a reason to enjoy being Telstra Proud. Stop the doublespeak around the finances - you aren't talking to analysts, we know we are doing reasonably well despite the climate. Reduce the levels in the structure and instead build small teams across multiple BU's focused on getting projects to market faster

Pros

Great opportunities internally. Some divisions are working on truly groundbreaking and interesting projects. Leader in the market.

Cons

Too many staff chained to the golden handcuffs - Telstra pays much higher than industry average, causing many inept staff to stick around much longer than they really should.

Cost cutting has been done to death - prepare to work with the absolute bare minimum.

Shareholders are put in front of customers. The business often relies on taking advantage of customers who really don't know any better.

Although many products are technically superior to competitors, all competitors market their products much better.

Advice to Senior Management

Be much more open with the future direction of the company.

Pros

Salary is much higher than a similar government job. As with any employer if you are working for friendly and professional people the work can be much more enjoyable. Feedback for work well done seems to be more prevalent than in the past. Working in a technology company means you get information on all the latest gadgets and devices.

Cons

Prevalence towards employing staff as "labour hire" or outside contractors does not do much for company loyalty or for personal stability. As in any large company there is a multiple tier of management and bureaucracy and a readiness to contract out work, which hampers the individual to make choices for themselves and leaves it up to the bottom dollar approach which may be more expensive in the long term.

Advice to Senior Management

As stated before giving individual workers the ability to make choices on financial decisions within the company would give back a lot of power that seems to be left in the hand of outside contractors which can cause frustration and angst when employees are backed into a situation where they have no other choice but to follow seemingly wrong ways of following process.

Ideals of equal opportunity are contrasted with the reality of working with a vast majority of male managers, there are very few females in senior positions with which to aspire to or receive mentoring from.

Pros

Lots of very experienced, well intentioned, professional people who are generally pretty nice. Pays well, good working hours (9 - 5.30). Good seperation of work and home life, well defined technology delivery processes, big projects with large budgets and high profiles, people are impressed you work there.

Cons

Sol and his amigo's seem primarily motivated by their massive bonuses. A lot of senior managers are focused on managing perceptions upwards and don’t do anything to resolve serious issues in their departments that make it difficult for their staff to achieve their objectives. There is a blame culture which encourages a lot of bureaucratic processes, procedures and people that make it very hard to get things done and make everything take three times as long and cost three times as much as it should. Senior management are in denial about the fact that they are a techology based organisation. Senior management dont allow any competition for primary vendors and as a result they get away with doing a very mediocre job at a high price. Accenture are busily raping and pillaging the place and the acting CIO Tom Lamming has a massive conflict of interest as an Accenture Partner. Fortunately you get used to the bureaucracy after a while and develop a talent for getting things done through networks and escalation.

Advice to Senior Management

Telstra is a techology driven organisation. Accept it and build up your core competencies in technology delivery instead of constantly trying to outsource it. Ask your staff what issues they are having that are stopping them from achieving their work objectives and then resolve them. Open up your major vendors to competition.

Pros

Great people I work with, exciting products

Cons

Process driven, too many approvals, layers, decision makers

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on the customer is great but give your team the right tools and resources to deliver the best customer experience

Pros

Telstra is a leader in it's marketplace and provides good opportunities in a large organisation. It provides a fair and comfortable environment to work. The company is well on the transformation journey from government owned to profitable shareholder enterprise. This is starting to provide a challenging and changing workplace, depending on the type of work you are in.

Cons

Typical large company pitfalls. Middle to lower level management may be restricted in receiving incentive payments as part of their offer.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep going!

Pros

opportunity to work on funded, cutting edge projects

Cons

politics, politics, politics.... monolithic giant

Advice to Senior Management

focus on adding real value

Pros

Being part of an amazing cultural and operational change, challenge and innovation. The business is being re-built from the bottom-up, there is an amazing volume of work, energy and excitement across every part of the business.

Cons

Long hours and little time to celebrate success

Advice to Senior Management

Keep going, we are with you, this is a great place to work.