Advertising and consumer sentiment aside, we took a close look at how each company’s employees rate their leadership and the organization, and Verizon has a very slight edge over AT&T, although neither company can boast about high numbers of 5-star reviews. Despite outward appearances, based on anonymous reviews these communication giants are suffering from a lack of communication with their employees.

In comparing the CEOs, Verizon’s chief executive Ivan Seidenberg’s 41% approval rating and 26% disapproval rating gives him the advantage in this round. AT&T’s head Randall Stephenson’s approval rating is lower than his disapproval rating – 29% approval, 35% disapproval – which is never a good sign for those at the top. However, employees note that Stephenson does get credit for Apple’s exclusive deal to sell the iPhone, although his management since leaves something to be desired.

The company ratings are on par with each other – both receive a “neutral” rating – Verizon has a 2.9 and AT&T has a 2.7. What is especially telling is how similar employee reviews are regarding the positives and negatives working at each – including the great benefits but lack of communication or focus on employees themselves.

According to Verizon employees, the strategy and layoffs hamper day to day productivity, but the opportunities for training and additional education reflect positively on the company:

Account Manager, Atlanta, GA: “Too much focus on day to day results vs long term strategy and planning.”

Anonymous: “The health plan is great. The training opportunities are great. If you are a self-starter and competent, and meet your deadlines, you are not micro-managed.”

Marketing Manager, Irving, TC: “Hang on to your seat, because there will be a layoff every 6 months. The environment is becoming progressively more cut-throat and less collaborative.”

Systems Analyst & Programmer, Tampa, FL: “Good health package, annual performance based bonus, large and stable company that has its’ hands in everything, they have tuition assistance and also give you full access to a multitude of free elearning courses.”

AT&T employees are somewhat less satisfied with senior leadership, but most reviews note that benefits and advancement opportunities are a boon for the communications company:

Executive Director, Los Angeles,CA: “The people of AT&T are good, decent, hard working, dedicated people who deserve much better than what they’ve gotten. There is horrendous senior leadership at the top.”

Manager of Staff, Redmond, WA: “Upper management doesn’t seem to have a grasp of what is happening at customer level. Resources, promotions and decisions often based on manager to manager relationships and not on sound business reasoning.”

Retail Sales Consultant: “Pay is excellent, training is very helpful, Amazing benifits and compensation!!… They take care of their employees.”

Anonymous, Chicago, IL: “Job Stability, Lure of working with a Fortune 100 company. Good Leadership.”

IPTV Network Analyst, Irving, TX: “Professional advancement and training is top notch. Achievements are recognized, and innovation is encouraged.”

Neither company wins this battle, nor is there a clear front-runner in the ongoing wireless war. We’ll be keeping a close eye on employee sentiment as the lawsuit continues to grab headlines.

If you work inside either of these companies, let us know what you think.

AT&T’s “There’s a Map for That” Lawsuit Against Verizon is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Mobile Companies & CEOs: Are They All Talk?
2. Goldman Sachs: An Insider Perspective
3. Sprints Signs Deal with Ericsson: Sprint Employees to become Ericsson Employees

The Mobile World Congress kicked off Monday in Barcelona, bringing together nearly 50,000 attendees for the largest exhibition in the mobile industry. Not only is this a great opportunity for those in the mobile world to network, but it is also an opportunity to see some of the hottest trends in mobile communications. 

Despite the fact that some expect the global mobile market to shrink 9% in 2009, TechCrunch comments that 2009 is expected to be “the year many of the predictions made about the rise of mobile may start to come true. Startups in the space are poised to take advantage of affordable mobile Internet access and sophisticated handsets like the Apple iPhone.” 

While we anticipate more announcements and technology previews during the conference, we decided to go beyond the press releases and presentations to see what employees of leading mobile handset manufacturers and wireless carriers really think about their employer’s prospects.

Below is a snapshot of company and CEO ratings on Glassdoor.com for top mobile manufacturers and carriers. It seems employees of mobile manufacturers are generally more satisfied than employees of wireless carriers. On average, handset manufacturers receive a 3.4 company rating, whereas carriers receive an average 2.9 company rating.  The clear exception here is Motorola that has been referred to as a “dead company walking” with a 2.6 overall rating while CEO Greg Brown has one of the lowest approval ratings on Glassdoor at just 10% (his disapproval rating is 66%).  Although AT&T Mobility still has iPhone exclusivity, the company has the lowest rating (2.7) among its peer group and CEO Ralph de la Vega has one of the lowest approval ratings at 36%.

Sometimes we find it’s just best to let employees speak for themselves.  Below are a handful of reviews from employees at Apple, AT&T Mobility and Motorola. See what they have to say about their employers and the products or services: 

Apple                                                                                   

“Having the name on your resume is nice as most other employers will be impressed. The amazing Marketing machine that Apple is brings a lot of status wearing the badge. You can have pride in the products that Apple sells as they are truly the best products in its market.”

“As a company, Apple is probably one of the greatest places you will ever find to work. The environment is extremely casual and as a whole, morale is consistently high. There are very few jobs where you can literally wear whatever you want every day, and you will be hard pressed to find a more exciting place. The pay is great compared to similar jobs at other companies, and they are supposed to hire within the company first for promotions rather than hiring in outside work, so job security is relatively stable. The customers are enthusiastic and excited about the products, so if you share the passion, work is always very fun. Most days, your shift is over before you know it.”

AT&T Mobility

“Cingular Wireless was an exceptional place to work. It was a young, energetic and exciting place to work. Compensation, management/employee relations, everything was good….Once AT&T took over, the old school style of management kicked in. Many of the perks and benefits of working for Cingular are now gone under AT&T Mobility. Trying to manage a 21st century leading edge company with early 20th century management styles is a complete failure. AT&T corporate has used Cingular as its own personal corporate bailout. Cingular was cash rich, AT&T was needing a lifeline, and they are taking all that Cingular had/has.”

“A discouraging fact about telecom is that profit margins and cash flow are usually positive so spotting poor management and correcting for it to improve performance is not a high focal point as with other industries. ATT Mobility has just completed numerous merger activities in the last 3 years and has paid high attention to support of the customer and little to the employees who have sacrificed time, salary, and sanity to keep the lights on.”

Motorola

“There is potential for Motorola to rise from the ashes and make some compelling, attractive Android handsets so although things have been pretty bad, there’s a lot of room to grow. Only alternative for Motorola is to get better or cease to exist and so I think things will get better.”

“If you are lucky you can work on the latest and cutting edge technology else you will be doing mostly integration and patch work. If your product ships, it is very satisfying to read reviews about it and see it in the hands of people. Mot is quite an ethical company. They have mastered the art of layoffs do it in a very dignified way. Much better than a lot of other people I have heard. Some managers, like mine are real gems. True leaders and visionary. Unfortunately most are old farts who still think they make walki talkies and not cutting edge mobile phones.”

Any experiences of your own working with any mobile industry players? 

Stay tuned as we follow these companies throughout the Mobile World Congress and the year. The event wraps up on Thursday, February 19.

Mobile Company Employees Report What It’s Like on the Inside is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Mobile Companies & CEOs: Are They All Talk?
2. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
3. US Auto Manufacturer Company And CEO Report Card