Yahoo’s New CEO Get Tips from Past and Future Employees

The saying ‘where there is smoke there is fire’ came true today after continuous gossip over who the next CEO of Yahoo would be. Earlier today, it was officially announced that Yahoo has hired former Autodesk CEO Carol Bartz, who left the post in 2006. A couple months ago when it was announced that Jerry Yang would be stepping down, we offered up some tips from Yahoo employees about what it may take to improve the company.  Below, we’ve added some recent insights from Yahoo employees about things that still need fixing that should be of interest to Carol.  In addition, we’ve included additional insights for Carol from the employees of Autodesk about the things that work well that she can hopefully take with her into her new seat.

As you’ll see below from the snapshot of company and CEO approval ratings, both companies receive a satisfied company rating in terms of job satisfaction, but where we see the greatest difference is with CEO ratings…hopefully Yahoo!’s new CEO will garner the respect of the company’s employees and in turn receive a higher CEO approval rating.

And here are more current insights from Yahoo employees compiled since Yang’s imminent departure was announced two months ago:

“Use the most valuable resource Yahoo has that no other Internet giants have – audience and behavioral data – and apply a rational, data-based business model to figure out the company’s strategic directions. Don’t rely on gut-feel or what seems to sexy.”

“Please decide what YAHOO really is !!! is it a media company or search company?”

“The troops are sick of consultants, getting fit, and waiting for a direction. We need a technologist in charge who will present a clear vision for the future of Yahoo!”

And, based on the feedback from Autodesk employees that we combed through, here are some insights from employees about what worked at Autodesk and perhaps will benefit Yahoo too:

“The flexible work environment, work-life balance (although this aspect has been fading in recent years), and support for family time are really great. Employee training and focus on developing skills is also a great reason to work at Autodesk.”

“Autodesk is a great place to work simply because of the people. Folks here are very passionate about their job and it shows in meetings and discussions throughout the day. There’s also been a lot of improvement over the past couple years with regards to insight into things that are occurring at the senior management level. This help a lot with eliminating many of the rumors we’d otherwise have and definitely gives us (individual employees) a feeling that our voices are heard and we are indeed part of this organization.”

“Great company to work for. Large, great pay. You can find plenty of opportunity in this company. You will be able to work with your work schedule. If you need to work form home or move, there may be a time when you need to request more flexibility to accommodate life changing events that you are going through. They may be able to work with you on this.”

Good luck Carol as you take over the reigns. We look forward to seeing how things at Yahoo may change…