Volt Information Reviews in Redmond, WA

Pros

I like working at Volt because:
-Good communication with management
-Supportive managers
-Knowledgeable resources and opportunity for training
-Nice teams, good people on staff

Cons

Things I dislike about working with Volt:
-Very strong focus on metrics that may be unattainable or outdated
-Apply the same standards/metrics to all teams

Advice to Senior Management

Please continue to support your teams and their opportunities for growth. Drive business goals while keeping in mind that your teams and team members want to be successful so setting attainable goals/metrics is important.

Pros

I worked for Volt for 3 contracts at Microsoft and they were relatively easy to deal with. Mostly they just send checks. I did appreciate the time they took for a small mini review as it provided information about job performance from the client and gave insight on how to improve. At least up until 2010 they offered matching 401k (not sure if that is still the case)

Cons

Their health insurance wasn't that great. They lost a lot of contracts between 2009-2010 and now seem to have a much smaller office. Recruiters don't work hard to place you in non-Microsoft positions during the mandatory 100 day contract break. Once you have contracted at Microsoft it seems like they want to keep you there. That seems to be how most agencies operate though.

Advice to Senior Management

Have recruiters work harder to place employees after contracts end.

Pros

The upper level testers and managers were very nice and understanding. It was a great work environment, and also had free soda.

Cons

The hours were not dependable, and there was no guarantee that you would work on any given day, due to the waiting list.

Advice to Senior Management

Ensure that people that are called in to work will be guaranteed employment for that day, so no one drives up only to be turned away.

Pros

Volt has many contract jobs available. The jobs aren't hard to get. The recruiters are motivated and get you working quickly. I applied online and had accepted an offer seven days later. For technical work, they have access to some pretty fun jobs. There were never any issues with payroll. Volt Technical Education was a really great benefit. Partial matching of 401k contributions was a nice touch. The benefit package was actually pretty good for temporary work.

Cons

Volt has no billing transparency. It's part of their business model. They negotiate two rates, one with the contractor and one with the employer. The wider the spread, the more money they make. Given this model, there is a huge disincentive at Volt to give a raise to a contractor because doing so cuts into their profits. Rate negotiations are similar in experience to buying a used car. If you enjoy playing with negotiation techniques such as deferring to a hirer power, the nibble, the flinch, delaying and stalling, and generally having career achievements marginalized, you're at the right company. The long duration non-compete agreement will prevent you from switching to another contract agency.

Advice to Senior Management

They have setup and run a pretty efficient system for generating revenue. Essentially, they expend a little effort to place employees and then they collect on the margin for the duration of the contract. It's not much of a contribution to the world, but it's a effective system for making money. So, since it's a for-profit fortune 500 company, I'd say keep up the good work senior management.

Pros

Job variety and responsibility levels are adequate and pay cycle is weekly; can usually work a flexible schedule; time off when necessary.

Cons

Non-competitive pay; poor benefits package unless you pay extra; no vacation accrual; no sick day accrual; no holiday pay unless you've worked a specific number of consecutive hours.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't treat the contract employees like cattle; make sure that questions are responded to in a timely manner; invest in self-improvement and advancement for contract employees.

Pros

Big network of Microsoft jobs

Cons

Lower pay than most other agencies.
Mediocre benefits.
After you work 1900 hours, you get a 'longevity bonus,' which is basically a week's pay. They don't actually tell you this, or tell you when you've reached 1900 hours. You just have to find out for yourself. And then when you try to request the paycheck, their payroll dept. takes forever to fulfill on it.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer better pay and better benefits.

Pros

The opportunity to do interesting work.

Cons

Poor treatment of employees who are not in sales.
dishonest management

Advice to Senior Management

Invest in your employees. Treat them with respect.

Pros

- Staffing firm has hundreds of jobs available for all ranges of experience. Great for entry level positions.
- Contractors get paid pretty well overall.

Cons

- Contract work is very unstable. Average contract length is about 7 months.
- Benefits can take up to two months to kick in (based on when you were hired).
- Hope you like unemployment insurance.

Advice to Senior Management

- Find work for employees after they leave their main assignments.

Pros

Volt will train inexperienced college grads and make them into recruiters. How good you want to be as a recruiter really depends on the office you are in and who trains you or how much you even care. Volt taught me a lot and gave me what I needed to continue my career elsewhere.

Cons

Unfortunately, they will train you into the mold that Volt wants, and then once you get better you'll realize how crappy they treat you. They industry pay is far below average and the percentage you get for each hire is extremely low. Most of the time you have no idea where the money goes.

Also, the management team thinks that micromanagement is the one and only way to do things. So expect that.

Advice to Senior Management

Let recruiters do their own thing, provide support when they need it. Please, for the love of God, stop breathing down everyone's neck.

Pros

I feel fortunate to have a job in this economy. I have the flexibility to work from home, but that's a functions of the particular group at Microsoft and has nothing to do with Volt.

Cons

Poor benefits. The health insurance options are so bad I just pay for my own Group Health policy. I have no interaction whatever with Volt except for filliing out my weekly time sheet.

Advice to Senior Management

If you want to earn some employee loyalty I suggest putting together a decent benefits package and checking in with us from time to time.