Verisign Reviews in Mountain View, CA

Pros

Compensation is excellent at VeriSign and career advancement/promotions are acheivable. There have been some great employees over the years but unfortunately most are gone. I also liked that I was always busy and challenged there.

Cons

Compensation goes only so far. The workload is overwhelming, management does not support employees, the CEO and CFO are both "acting", and no clear vision is there for the employees to work towards. The politics here are too much and they get in the way of real innovation and culture. Not to mention the inappropriate relationships that I have witnessed over the years that were clearly supported or ignored by Sr. Management. (Some of this has actually been rectified). There is zero management training and mentoring. Never really know what our goal was as a company-communication was either too complicated on this or completely non-existant.

 Finally, too many VP's....this title means nothing apparently at this company because people who are just politically connected or threaten to leave get this title more than those who truly work for it, earn it, and are QUALIFIED for it.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to the culture and vision of this company before all of the good people leave to find jobs some place else. Stop throwing money at people to keep them and provide an environment where your employees actually want to be a part of the the company success alongside management and peers.

Pros

Interesting technology. Security software is hot. Free pastries and fruit, and there is usually good training available. People are usually great because they screen applicants carefully before hiring them.

Cons

Having trouble deciding on what products to develop. RSA has pulled ahead. Layoffs were never announced to the press.

Advice to Senior Management

Need more focus and to decide if they are still looking for a CEO to replace Jim Bidzos, who is an interim CEO.

Pros

Probably that there are some talented people at VeriSign and that the pay is competitive with the marketplace.

Cons

The company while I worked there was more of a rollup of various smaller companies. These groups all referred to themselves by their previous pre-purchase name. VeriSign had a hard time integrating the companies and developing a strategy for the combining all these units together. Then they decided to divest the companies purchased and that created almost two entirely separate units in the company, those being divested and those not.

Advice to Senior Management

Good luck. I think the company should be sold to a larger security company.

Pros

They are a leader in online security so brand recognition is there.

Cons

As a consultant, you are treated poorly overall and talked down to. There are alot of inept managers who are only concerned with themselves and how good they look to upper management. They don't have any training on how to be a good manager. New ideas are dismissed and there is too much favoritism being played out. There are very limited career opportunities available and no help in getting an advice.

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid the inept managers and cancerous employees who are killing moral for the overall team. Get clear on which direction the company needs to go next.

Pros

THe pay is excellent and benefits other than that I don't see it as a place that supports employee growth and development

Cons

Lack of vision and leadership in certain depts. Amateur style of management. No support of growth. Poor communication flow of ideas and information across a small company. People hide information. Like is their own company:) Some managers are dead weights - no vision - and they make things more complex sometimes than they are.. Don't join this company!

Advice to Senior Management

Take a look at personal relationships and how each dept. individually is meeting its goals..

Pros

There is a work/life balance. I never feel pressured to work long hours. It's a great place to work if you want a balance between work and life outside of work. You can do your job, then go home. Managers understand we have lives outside of work.

Cons

It's not a very exciting place to work. It feels like just a job sometimes, especially when there's very little local, let alone global team-building efforts relative to my previous employers. It feels like we're on our own islands. Not much visibility into what's happening in the other departments and country offices. Groups don't socialize across departments.

Advice to Senior Management

Do more to build a VeriSign employee community. Have company-wide activities where employees can meet and interact more often.

Pros

paycheck, 401(k), compensation benefits, etc.

Cons

Non-responsive and clueless management, excessive visa abuse, limited career opportunities, disrespectful communication amongst and between co-workers and management, depressing employee morale, inadequate recognition for jobs well done - unless you are a member of a power clique. In summary, a totally dismal place to work.

Advice to Senior Management

Live up to the expectations laid out in the RAPID values statement issued to all employees and posted throughout the workplace. If you are going to talk the talk then actually follow through with it. Anything else is a mockery and an insult. Many co-workers with extensive industry experience feel this is the worst place they have ever worked.

Pros

gOOD PEOPLE. Cool potential for future growth. There is the possibility for really great future growth and a strong leadership position in emerging categories

Cons

Unclear future. too much change. In the last year every single person in my reporting chain has changed.

Advice to Senior Management

Find a course... chart it. Like just about everybody, we are assuming that the company is currently being prepped for sale (two weeks ago i would have said for sale to SAIC). This perception may change under Jim, but only time will tell. Perception is hard to change.

Pros

Work load is very manageable. If you are competent you can definitely cruise by, which is also a drawback if you are looking for challenges. The work environment is decent and benefits should be at least comparable to average companies.

Cons

The overall culture for engineering excellence is not great. The organization structure is too segregated and rigid to bring about fundamental changes. Most people are only worried about taking care of what's inside their box to get by.

Advice to Senior Management

The direction back toward a technology-rooted company is great. Reversing the internal culture won't be easy but steps are definitely taken towards it. Keep up the execution.

Pros

Great people and products. Getting back to the core values.

Cons

Not the easiest company to do business with. Need to streamline many processes.

Advice to Senior Management

As you divest the non-core businesses, we should amend our processes so that we are easier to do business with.