Pros
After reading the intern review posted in January 2016 I agree with the majority of negative points they made, there was a time where Elite was not a great place to work. Every point made was pretty accurate on the lay of the land and the mindset across the board but my review and theirs will be opinion based so no doubt there will be different views and experiences. There was a ‘We can do what we want and get away with it’ mentality based around the sales department, members of staff were let go (not all of them were related to cost cutting exercise) and people genuinely felt under valued and under appreciated. Over the last 18 months things have changed, all of the changes have been for the better. The changes haven’t happened over night but they have happened quickly enough to keep people at Elite and encourage others to join the company. Simple things have made a big difference like there is now a HR Manager, this has made a big difference. Having a HR manager has caused a lot to change for the better in terms of benefits for staff and also having a impartial person to speak to with on any issue. All staff now get their birthday off, it might not seem like a big deal but it is a great gesture. There are healthcare benefits, child care support, eye test support and plenty of other benefits to match up to most other companies. The ‘cost cutting’ exercise stopped pretty much after January 2016, there were apologies from management and they moved to put this right very quickly. All departments are more or less fully staffed with the right amount of capacity in the head count, before hand all team were overworked and pushed to their limits with too few staff. There have been big changes within all departments but mainly the Customer Service and Sales department. Sales - There is no longer a ‘sales can get away with anything’ mentality this has been handled fantastically by the leadership team. The field and desk based account managers have a changed attitude towards their work and colleagues. The department now has a much improved working relationship with the Customer Services and billing teams, the sales guys genuinely seem to be enjoying what they do and do make an effort with other members of staff. There has been a influx of new sales people added to the team over the last 12 months, each and every one has been a great addition. This isn’t just for hitting targets and numbers but these people have great personalities and are all approachable. There is a change in management style and mindset within the department meaning that each person isn’t selling a ‘flavour of the month’ product and selling something just to hit a target, there is a focus on selling the right product and solution. Their attitudes are positive and they will approach the right person to help provide the correct product/solution to the customer. The sales team genuinely care about what they are doing and enjoy it, there isn’t dog eat dog vibe anymore and people work together rather than for themselves. Each lead/opportunity now goes through a pre sales team then all orders are validated before they are provisioned, this cuts out the customer services team getting incorrect orders/paperwork dumped on and told to just fix it. Customer Services - The customer service department is now a really positive and productive department, before this as the intern mentioned the team was a very negative place to be and work. There has been a big change in management across the department, there is a change in the service manager and engineering team manager. It seems every member of staff within the department is happy, positive and feels valued, people within the teams genuinely want to be there and they all work really hard. There is no longer a feeling that the team is a dumping ground and that 'if you don't like it then leave' mindset. The 3 teams and individuals within the teams are regularly winning awards and competitions at company events and on code days (they have been brought back). The rewards that the guys are winning aren’t just a pat on the back or a well done email. They are winning money, day out at the races and so on. With winning something tangible it helps the teams and individuals feel appreciated.
Cons
ow for some cons - There still is a bit of a sticking point in terms of job progression, not a lot of new opportunities come up that often but the ‘heads of’ are making an effort to give people more varied tasks to carry out and there is plenty of training happening now. It would be great of there were more opportunities for progression but this is a 2 sided affair and the staff need to be worthy of this so i’m not blinkered in thinking this should be handed to me for just because I want it. The car park can be a real pain at times, it may seem a small thing to pick at but this does cause a massive disruption to everyones day when people need to move their car every 5 minutes.
