Avaya Employee Reviews about "upper management"

Pros

There can be alot of flexibility depending on your manager; have worked with some very knowledgable co-workers and have gained valuable insight from each of them

Cons

Upper management seems to have unrealistic expectations plus too much change in the ranks to keep focused on long term improvements

Pros

Getting to continue to work with same wonderful employees even after Avaya bought PEC/Nortel Government Solutions.

Cons

I don't like it when many reviews made here are by HRs or upper management. To me working for Avaya feels like working for Griswold's boss in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie, without the happy ending. Ever since Avaya bought us, they have been nickle and diming us. First they reduced our vacations, reduced 401k matching from 6 to 1.5% and then graciously raised it to 2.5 (now that's a miracle here). Flexible hours? Good luck. Want to take vacation, better plan it months in advance, you don't want to upset your managers because they have to project their revenues. They reduced or eliminated bonuses. And for those os us who are still eligible, they came up with cruel strategies so we will not be able to get anywhere close to what we used to get, and the strategy gets worse each year. Do you know what that does to us employees who rely on them as part of our pay? Pay raise is a joke, but what really bothers me is they cut even the smallest items. No holiday parties or company outings. Office cleaners were replaced with cheaper ones so we'll have to let trash stink over night or over the weekends, replaced office coffee vendor with cheap Mr. Coffee, which I guess was too luxurious item because soon after they have replaced it with the cheapest model from Keurig, and now expect us to supply them. Green teas are gone too, paper towels & utensils are scarce, at this rate I think I may have to bring my own toilet paper soon. Medical benefits are a joke too. $3000 deductible for two people or family? Oh wait, it's only $1500 since they would pay the other half, hew! Only $1500 deductible!!! Unless you are really sick, good luck meeting that deductible (yes you will have to pay out of pocket for prescriptions too until you meet the $1500 deductible). During a meeting with senior managers someone asked about getting stock options. The response was why should we? This is where 'Power of We' comes from? (motto geniously created by top management) I guess it makes perfect sense when you interpret we = senior management. Yes, sadly I feel your power of we everyday... but won't be for too long.

Pros

Work from home policy is great Embedded base is pretty loyal Day-to-day freedom to get your job done Base salary is solid Interesting work

Cons

Constant changes in upper management (senior VP level and secondary cxo suite) prevents initiatives/strategies from playing out Debt load is brutal and despite being the clear driver behind layoffs/furloughs management cherry picks stats to deny it as an issue in internal messaging. Layoffs don't seem to have much thought behind them other than the balance sheet - positions are eliminated that almost immediately require backfill Account managers are rarely knowledgable about what they are selling which puts a huge strain on the shrinking SE teams - management is either unaware of this or do not see it as an issue. Business partner community is coddled and can complain there way into being allocated resources, discounts and exceptions from certification requirements

Pros

Pay is in line with industry

Cons

IT Organization is toxic. Changes happen to upper management almost every year and adjustments are continually made as the new leaders 'fix' things. Too much is in the way of good people getting things done for political reasons

Pros

Pay's OK. 3 weeks vacation is nice. Interesting work at times. For the most part, the people you work with are very competent, interesting, and professional. Peers tend to be very helpful and willing to help. Genuine desire to do what's right for the customer and to produce good products with in the constraints imposed by poor upper management.

Cons

Lousy senior management that's only looking out for themselves. No job security unless you're working in India. Many people train their overseas replacements. Each year real compensation drops as cost of benefits goes up. Lots of hurry up and wait. Don't expect a severance package when you're finally laid-off. Lots of pressure.

Pros

Union represented, the best benefits and time off. Dying breed of represented telephone positions

Cons

the company is trying to automate and outsource everything they can. Upper management has been playing musical chairs most of the 9 years I've worked here. They have changed direction as many times as the CEO. They have given away all of our services business to business partners and now they figured out that was the death of us and are trying to get the business back. They made a horrible decision to take on legacy Nortel. Avaya is still owned by Silver Lake and they never have companies or employees in their best interest.

Pros

Very good people in general, those that are left and innovative products. The ability to work remotely or from home is a plus.

Cons

No balance of work and home life. Lack of any real direction for products - upper management does not understand the company and the direction it is going does not make sense. No bonus to speak of. Features are constantly being cut as there is no budget and/or there are perpetual layoffs.

Pros

Good work-life balance Freedom to access Internet especially social networking sites

Cons

No Strategic plan for employees, have tactical plans only Not a single professional or career enhancement trainings to support function employees like IT, HR, Payroll, etc. Sudden change in upper management (specially at executive level) is not good for employees PMP process is completed after year end, which must be completed before year end like other companies and hike must be given on 1st day of new year Do not want to retain employees even best performers No early talk about pay hike, promotion and bonus (which is also part of employees' package) No respect or importance for support function employees Don't have money to give to support function employees but gives good amount to only R&D, Sales, Marketing teams and senior management Always have budget problem for support functions including pay hike, promotions etc. but not for other functions Age old technologies and poor infrastructure Decision process takes too long is not dynamic

Pros

Super flexible hours, basically unlimited PTO, and few micro-managers

Cons

Antiquated culture - might as well be the 80s in there. Very old workforce with no younger people or cross-training or innovation. CEOs and upper management have no clue how to keep up with competitors or manage company finances/debt. They've gone into bankruptcy twice while upper execs walk away with golden parachutes. Multiple promotions with the promise of a raise, but no actual raise after 3 years of verbal promises. Bosses and leadership are very out of touch with reality. They expect employees to pull off insane projects with zero resources and absolutely no regard for the work that actually has to be done, so expecting perfect execution inside of a month for a 6-month project that requires 2-3x the planned budget. Was laid off the day after labor day with 1 month's pay as payment for 8 years of service. They don't care at all about employees or their development or happiness.

Pros

Pay was good working from home benefits package

Cons

Longgg hours...No work or homelife balance, management does not give a rats a** about your family life. This company runs each of it's employees into the ground. As one reviewer stated, if avaya could tie you to your chair, they would. The workload varieties and amounts are neverending making it a 24x7 job. Customer service does not come first making Avaya Extremely processed challenged Too much of the 'throw it over the wall attitude'. Too much change in upper management providing 0 consistency in the direction of the company. Very Low employee morale. Company is a revolving door of employees Job security is zero company does not walk the talk