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Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro)

Engaged Employer

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) reviews

3.1

52% would recommend to a friend

(1,076 total reviews)
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Charles Liang

56% approve of CEO

55% positive business outlook

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 1,076 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
1.0
Jun 15, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

To be "fair" with my review... - Adequate Coverage for Medical Insurance - Free breakfast bread pastry? (To add... breads are usually a day from expiration...)

Cons

Cons? Limitless. I can write a book about my experience here at SMC. - Zero guidelines & zero procedures. Worst training I have ever seen. In other words, no reference material. The only way to learn is to mess up. You’d have to make your own “How to Guides”. To add onto this… The #1 reason why there aren’t set guidelines or procedures is practically due to how the management feels that day or week. One week you’ll be following procedure A, next month you’ll have to follow procedure B. Several months after that you’re being questioned as to why you’re going Route B and not Route A. - Understaffed. Has anyone ever heard of a customer service center that is run by less than 20 people? Hundreds of customer accounts to manage, a plethora of duties for a variety of customers, and no streamlined procedures to follow. As big as Super Micro is you’d expect their customer service to have over 20 people. - Under paid. This ties into the above point. For the amount of work you’re given, the pay is definitely not worth it. Many start at a range of $13.00 ~ $16.00. Raises? You’ll be unpleasantly surprised. - No promotions or advancements available. Many can vouch for this. I’ve discussed this topic with many individuals in each department. (Warehouse, RMA, Sales, Engineers, Technicians, etc.) You will hands down likely to leave the company with the same position you were given at the start. I’ve known PMs that stay as an “entry level production manager” for over 5 years with no chance of promotion. The ONLY way you’ll get a promotion is if someone leaves and you’re “buddy buddy” with the head of the department. - “Open Door Policy” is taken very lightly. There’s always going to be conflicts between people in virtually any working environment but… things are usually swept under the rugs here. I’ve seen harassment cases get blown away as if it was just a feather caught in the wind. Victims involved are usually left with a bitter aftertaste with no resolution in sight. Some people seem to have leverage with the managers here that their wrongdoings get overlooked. I’ve voiced my concerns about workers that have nasty attitudes who over the years don’t seem to change. My bosses would just tell me to ignore them and get on with my business. - Rarely open to new ideas and suggestions. If you have an idea that you believe can benefit you or your coworkers, you’d best believe it won’t be taken in to consideration. Although you’re told that if we have any ideas or suggestions and that you should bring it up… when you do… it’ll get brushed off. I've lost count how many times I’ve tried to bring something up and my suggestions were thrown out the door. - WEAK MANAGERS. The RMA department here gets a lot of “guff” from other departments. You’re going to get picked on and nagged at by other departments. Sales often treat you as if you’re yesterday’s garbage. PMs will look at you as if you’re brain dead when you seek their help. Almost every other department looks down on RMA. Yet despite all this when it comes down to fulfilling their customer’s needs, these same people who beat you up will look to for magic. From the CEO all the way down to sales, if you can’t conjure up some magic to make a miracle happen… You’ll be hearing about it sooner than you type up an explanation. What do your managers do? They cower in the corner and come back and verbally beat us with complaints from upper management or other departments. - Large turnover rate. I can’t quite speak for other departments but you can probably see from other reviews that RMA is not the only department with this issue. Why do people leave? Everything that you’ve read above attributes to this. However, in RMA most people leave due to the mountain of work they expect you to do versus the amount they pay you. Within the last year and a half RMA has had six people quit. Remember what I said about less than 20 people in this department? Take that into consideration when you think about these six leaving. My piece of advice to applicants who are dead set on giving the RMA department a try, don’t talk back to your Supervisor & Manager. It will get you nowhere. As a matter of fact, these people will make it their goal to make you miserable to the point where you become hostile. You’ll eventually feel your health deteriorate with the constant ridicule you’ll get from your supervisor. Also be prepared to carry water one day and next week push a mountain. (Obviously this is a hyperbole, but this is how often processes change. Again it’s based on your management’s mood) There is almost no point in expressing new ideas because the supervisor will cut you off before you can finish to express their point.

1.0
Nov 12, 2015

Safe haven for the lazy and incompetent

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free breakfast: day old bagels, steamed buns, and a selection of bread every morning, 2 pieces of free fruit every Wednesday, and milk (seriously HR is REALLY proud of that one). This company doesn't know how to trim the fat. If you're looking to take it easy and looking for a free ride this could easily be your ticket. Nearly all the departments have bumps on a log that everyone just tolerates but no one wants to fire even though they're not bringing anything to the table. Management wants to save face instead of getting rid of the dead weight. It's too hard for anyone to admit that someone was a bad hire.

Cons

The CEO thinks that 10lbs of oatmeal is a suitable anniversary gift to the entire company (On the upside local food banks got plenty of donations). This company is super Taiwanese so if you don't speak mandarin you'll have a difficult time communicating with over half the company. Be prepared to play a highly political game. This is a very hostile work environment and Charles actually likes having people pitted against each other. HR is totally useless. I've seen so many people being verbally abused by their bosses and even heard about people physically striking their employees. SMC is a very strange place to work, because you'll never work anywhere else where everyone is openly talking about wanting to leave or hear about so many people quitting without giving notice.

2.0
Jun 5, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You have a great opportunity to work in a game of thrones where the managers are the nobility, the sales are the merchants, the product managers are the knights, the lab technicians are the squires, the engineers are the smiths and masons, and the production workers are the serfs. The entire realm is under the king whose rule is absolute and decisions are final. The king gives multiple weekly speeches in his court where many subjects become jesters at his whim in an attempt to gain favor and advance in title. The national language is Mandarin, and the state religion is green computing. Your basic sustenance in the form of meals and continued employment is practically guaranteed in exchange for your unconditional loyalty to the crown. Some positive points of note: The company has been growing rapidly and has a lot of potential. The culture has been changing for the better, albeit gradually. The pay is decent, and health insurance and dental plans are excellent. Breakfast (if you get there early enough), lunch (if you can muster the stamina to sit through one of the offered lunchtime trainings), and dinner (if you stay past 8pm) are all provided. As long as you don't rock the boat, you have a virtual guarantee that you will be able to collect a paycheck until retirement. There is potential for upward mobility assuming you're willing to get mired in the office politics and put in the necessary face time - i.e.) working evenings and Saturdays.

Cons

There is no concept of work/life balance. Work hours are officially 9am - 6pm, but anticipate last-minute meetings or tasks from your manager that often hold you late into the evening. Be expected to be asked to come in on Saturday as well, if only to make a showing for the CEO. Face time and tenure are valued far more highly than actual results or one's ability to do the task at hand. Most of the time managers are running interference to your work, trying to anticipate the CEO's next ask. All hands meetings and irrelevant training sessions erode the useful working hours during the day. Since there is no VPN access for local employees, one has to stay well after hours in order to get any actual work done. Employees are expected to be in the office by 9am and stay until 6pm, and there is no option of working from home. Practically any time out of the office outside of lunchtime requires you to take vacation or sick days, which accrue fractionally at a paltry 10 vacation days and 5 sick days per year. Titles, raises, and compensation are far too arbitrary and are as much about who one knows at the company and the rapport with one's own manager rather than what experience and potential the employee brings to the table. There is a lot of backstabbing and office politics with most employees engaging in behavior to serve their own self-interests rather than looking to grow the business. Managers kowtow to the CEO even when it is not in the best interest of the company because they are too afraid to voice a dissenting opinion. This mentality permeates through all levels of the organization, and most employees who stay longterm have learned to keep their heads down and run out the clock. Those who try to be disruptive - in a positive sense - get ridiculed publicly. Turnover in many teams is high. Those who have the ability to leave for better opportunities often do, and those who stay seem to be there only for either a paycheck or immigration purposes. When new employees join, the onus is placed on teammates, sometimes even in positions junior to the new employee, to show them the ropes. Managers give little in the way of formal training, and employees are left to their own devices when it comes to figuring things out. Defined processes are often lacking, and those that do exist are far too onerous and manual for a company of this size. The CEO has to sign off on practically every decision. This often results in long lines outside his office to get approval for many routine decisions that in any other organization wouldn't even require approval above one's own manager.

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Glassdoor has 1,163 Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) reviews submitted anonymously by Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro) is right for you.