Dealing with the local upper management (the ones working within the direct area, and who have a hand in the day to day running of the account) is fine. The issues start when you are dealing with people from outside the BBC Account who are covering for people, or have been delegated random duties.
The biggest issue is the Global Management. Their thinking does not appear to be linked up, and from what I have seen and heard, borders on being almost random. Global Management like to micromanage some of the decisions that would be better suited to lower levels. For example, all recruitment has to be approved at a Global level, this isn't just for creating new roles, but for the recruitment of internal and external roles as well. The process for this is ludicrously slow, and can cripple departments easily. The recruitment system can feel like a carrot and a stick situation, and no one can tell you how long the stick is. it can be months of waiting only to be told no. The people making these decisions have no visibility of the what the team does, the skills that are required, and have in all likelihood, never visited the site.
Similar issues also arise with procurement. If you mis-time your order, suppliers can find that their payment will be delayed until the next quarter to better fit with Atos' finances. This can lead to embarrassment and awkward conversations with suppliers you might depend on to deliver services and good will from time to time.
