Not recommendable even for ambitious beginners, at least at this time
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
1. Office location with a very good connection to public transport (tram, U-Bahn, S-Bahn, bus),
2. Calm ambience within the team as well as with the colleagues from the other departments
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
1. Lack of an effective customer success strategy and account management,
2. Lack of bargaining power against highly demanding customers,
3. Lack of recognition and compensation mechanisms for the made contributions, especially when they span activities reaching beyond the actual role,
4. Lack of a clear career path and possibilities for further professional development,
5. Lack of transparency between the business units and departments about changes in the personnel
Verbesserungsvorschläge
1. Introduction and consequent execution of regular performance measurement instruments to rationally justify the individual career perspectives,
2. Effective contract management to keep better track of the bargaining power between the client and the company as a provider,
3. Continuous update of the knowledge gathered by the colleagues over time (e.g. in terms of the new release or functionalities),
4. True team building to balance the workload (project management - consulting - account management - support - BI - interfaces),
5. A long-term perspective with regard to the acquisition of accounts instead of a short-term orientation for the benefit of a quick turnover, especially when they hail from previously untouched markets,
6. Treatment of customers in a serious and partnership-oriented fashion
Arbeitsatmosphäre
It was on a comfortable level both internally as well as with the customers before the initiated transformation. Since many employees left, the workload needs to be handled by a handful of colleagues, which nurtures an increasing frustration. Motivational incentives are missing.
Kommunikation
The communication across the company’s hierarchical levels and between the international business units is opaque and cryptic. Especially the headquarters in Paris are very secretive in terms of changes in the personnel and the future strategy of the company, which has an additional discouraging effect.
Changes affecting the departments within one local business unit (such as BI, PS, Interfaces, Support) can be heard mostly through the grapevine as well. Suggestions for improvement from the employees are received, but due to the company being centralised in Paris, these either do not materialise at all (officially for budgeting reasons) or many months later.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
One of the better aspects, which was even stronger before the transformation and the many departures it entailed. The atmosphere is still acceptable and the people are helping each other to the best of their ability, so long as they can spare a moment.
Team events are seldom and take place virtually due to the current pandemic.
Work-Life-Balance
Due to the chronic lack of building and maintaining lasting project teams, along with no intention to hire new professionals, the responsibility to promote the projects rests only on a couple of shoulders, thus implying lots of unpaid extra hours without a possibility of compensation. This is especially evident in high-scale implementation projects, where at least three people would have been necessary, but not even a deputy is at disposal in case of a sick leave or during one's vacation.
Moreover, the missing clear distinction of responsibilities (account management - consulting - project management - support) increases the workload substantially, which is indirectly leveraged by the clients to the fullest at the expense of the employee.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
On project level, the lower-level colleague is being thrown into the heap of responsibilities by the superior. The negative impact on the work-life-balance is evident and would have been sensible at the beginning of the employment as a test of resilience, but not permanently. Attempts at balancing the work across a couple of colleagues (from the same department) have never been made.
The demeanour of the top management before and during the transformation is characterised by their absence and/or passivity in the most critical moments and generic motivational speeches, when nothing is at stake (yet). Actions of some sort are taken only when the employee’s departure is irreversible, intentions to retain the most valuable experts are either non-existent or taken into consideration when it is already too late.
The same applies for the B2B contacts, when an escalation becomes the name of the game and responsibility is not taken in a situation when the project turns out to be a more challenging deal than expected.
Interessante Aufgaben
Once one gets used to the usage of the platform across all standard modules, there are not many secrets left to be unveiled. The learning curve stagnates after about a year in this regard.
Considering the aforementioned transformation, the contact with the clients involved in implementation projects has become even more tiresome, as most of them are not willing to accept the new policies. The bargaining power on the company’s part is fairly limited due to disadvantageous conditions stated in the contract. Gestures of goodwill are a standard due to the deadlines not being met. Services that ought to be paid for are offered free of charge and must be executed by the employee.
Besides, the lack of clearly distinguished responsibilities in the department leads to other monotonous, bureaucratic tasks, which raise potential for confrontations with the clients regarding the delivery of the platform.
Gleichberechtigung
Alright, the overall staff is fairly balanced.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
The atmosphere between the colleagues is overall positive regardless of age, at least according to my experience.
Arbeitsbedingungen
Calm work environment thanks to the possibility to work from home, which is rather a merit of the pandemic. Otherwise, daily commuting would have been obligatory.
The substitution of dysfunctional equipment can take at least a couple of days, which causes delays in the project work. The provided devices do their job, but they are at least second-hand instead of state-of-the-art.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Nothing outstanding. An explicit commitment to environmental and social campaigns is unknown to me.
Gehalt/Sozialleistungen
Salary below the sector average, which might be considered suitable for entry-level positions at best. It allows one to make ends meet while living in a metropolis, but not in the long run. Overtime compensation and performance-related bonuses are absent.
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Since the transformation, the relationships with those customers who are in the middle of the implementation project soured due to the new limitations in the corresponding policies. On the other hand, the relationships with clients at the post-implementation stage seem to be more stable.
Compared to the direct competition, it is hard to identify a true USP of the platform that would eclipse the other available solutions and that would be instantly recognised by an ordinary user on the client’s part.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
If you are unlucky enough, you will get stuck in an unprofitable implementation project all alone that consumes the majority of your capacity. Consequently, there is no time to shine in other projects, which in return does not let you gain any plus points to negotiate a promotion or an increase in salary. Even if you perform well, chances are that the recognition will end with a written or oral compliment.
The periodical performance reviews take place on a very irregular basis, which rather served to downplay one's contribution in order to circumvent a renegotiation. Furthermore, extra training and workshops are more of a spontaneous circumstance than a regular part of the career development.