Pros
-Flexible work hours -Generally no micro-management and decentralized task hierarchy -Generally friendly managers and HR staff -Administrative staff (including HR, accounting and payroll) are approachable -Clean, new and high-quality work facilities -Break room including pool table, ping pong table and Xbox One -Large number of social events within the company to encourage mingling and networking -Very advantageous healthcare benefits for W-2 full-time employees -Microsoft contracts include the following privileges: -Access to a Microsoft ORCA pass (all ORCA transit free of charge) -Access to Microsoft shuttles within the Microsoft complex free of charge -Access to the Microsoft cafeteria -Access to general Microsoft locations -Ability to work from, at times, the prestigious Microsoft HQ building in Bellevue
Cons
-The management (almost exclusively imported from China) may be at times disconnected from the employees, who are mostly locals -The management (almost exclusively imported from China) may at times have a language barrier with the employees who are mostly locals -From personal experience, almost all upper-level managers were overburdened with stringent work demands. Many such managers, including our own, eventually resigned in protest due to the amount of work and returned to China. The high level of turnover in management contributed to the general disorganization in the company itself -The management was generally disorganized, perhaps due to the above-mentioned high workload and demands. Some managers confided to me that they were receiving less than 4 hours of sleep per night having to deal with many requests from Beijing. This general disorganization meant that workers sometimes had to deal with conflicting information from different managers, including their project managers. This at times led to sanctions and write-ups against certain employees. -The hiring requirements as well as the pay grade for Relevancy Judges at Pactera were not very stringent, resulting in some interesting personalities being employed at our office. Although we had no issue being around and interacting with such employees at a personal level, the emotional instability that some of these employees suffered from caused tensions in the office to rise, especially with regards to perceived threats and paranoia. The Human Resources department rarely became involved with such incidents, leaving the responsibility to fall on the already-overworked managers.
