SuccessFactors Reviews

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for less than a year

Pros – I wrote a review back in October called, “Awesome first week, I'm blown away by how great it is here!!!” - and wanted to follow up 6 months in, so folks can see whether it was rose tinted glasses or not!

With his review I'll build on what I wrote previously…so please refer to the last review too....

1) OK, so on the people front, 6 months in - what's happened is that at SuccessFactors I see relationships build in a different way. We use Social tools internally (our secret sauce) which are like a combination of Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Flickr/Slideshare/Youtube - u name it - its like all of those rolled in to one! :) so basically we collaborate in ways which are just on the cutting edge - and the ideas and banter and productivity is just great - and everyone really supports everyone with our social recognition tools - even just a high basic 'like' count can make you smile and make your day!

2) Lars is still for real and his enthusiasm and passion still shines throughout - he's now started regular, online town hall sessions where folks can ask any questions or share new ideas…..

3) The on-boarding!! - you lucky people! When I did it in November the SF offices were in a building that was ok - but now you'll be meeting folks in our new pad which apparently is one of the coolest places to work ever!! Look it up on YouTube - and you know one thing that's so cool - is that every wall is wall to wall whiteboard and folks just draw up ideas and random thoughts - how cool is that!

4) How cool is this - we had a good guy leave our marketing team for a job that he could't refuse - and no matter how much we tried to persuade him to stay, he still left. But 2 months in and he's back - but what's cool about that is that nobody bats an eyelid - its totally cool and no one thinks any less of him….in other companies that would rarely, if ever, happen!

Cons – 1) If you enjoy working in the shadows hatching plans to topple the next in line - then SuccessFactors isn't for you

2) If you don't have an inner passion - then SuccessFactors isn't for you

3) If you truly enjoy other people taking the credit for your fantastic ideas - then SuccessFactors isn't for you

Advice to Senior Management – So, its been 6 months in and I still love it here!

I've had a few moments when I've been down, with my Dad battling some health issues, but I have a fantastic team that I work with and they've always been there to lift my spirits back up.

Just as before feel free to look me up on LinkedIn if you want to find out more.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for less than a year

Pros – Disclaimer: I promise I'm not a recruiter :) grantmcnulty on LinkedIn should prove it!

Before joining SF I looked at Glassdoor for reviews, so wanted to share my early experiences in case you're looking to join the team.

- The people that work here are phenomenal - so friendly and welcoming - an incredible team spirit - something that I have never experienced to this degree before - truly amazing...
- Lars - when I researched SF I looked at a lot of the SF and SAP Sapphire videos - and external interviews with Lars - and at the time I was thinking "is he for real?"
- Lars is for real!! - his passion, enthusiasm and support for his team is amazing - its only when you join, that you see his emails and hear stories from your colleagues - it's fantastic to see how great his interactions are - no wonder everyone's so pumped...
- The on-boarding process has been great - you get all of your tools (iphone, ipad, laptop etc..) before you join - all configured so you can hit the ground running - you get a buddy assigned to guide you through the organisation etc.....and you get a sales mentor assigned to take you through all of the training....
- And the Jam product that we market and that we use internally is awesome...this morning I've been working my way through it and the internal collaboration that you see on Jam is simply amazing.....

So its only been week one - but I felt compelled to review early on because it truly has blown me away - and because SF are recruiting extensively for great people - I wanted to share my experiences in case you're looking to join us right now...

You won't be disappointed!!

Cons – Too early to tell :)

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors

Pros – In short my time at SF has been the best experience of my professional life. Many would feel the same about their time at SF, even those that have gone to the competition.

The simple fact is the company is in a state of perpetual evolution. Lets be honest and gain some perspective here... Any company in this economy, much less high-growth and recently public ones, are either evolving or being left behind. Lets not take this too personally. It's obvious that corporate evolution results in individual pain but let's not throw a tantrum over it.

Yes there is "Oracle-ization" going on. Some might call that Maturity... particularly those that buy their exercised options and/or shares on the open market... As of the date of this posting ALL option grants are worth something because the stock is trading at $9.23 and is above the highest strike price that I am aware of. Many people on Glass Door have and will continue to benefit financially from the very decisions they are bitching about which amazes me. You can't have it both ways, so deal with it and move on.

It’s easy to hate Oracle when you work for the little guy, but look around Silicon Valley and name a more successful company that has retained the familial start-up culture 100%. Even darlings Google and Apple aren’t the same companies they were at inception. If SuccessFactors is making moves to grow out of the awkward, inefficient, and in many cases unprofessional behaviours of a start up, then good on them! I’ll be cheering from the sidelines as I watch the SFSF stock price climb and competitors fall off the map or get gobbled up.

I realized I am better suited for the start-up phased business and I do not begrudge those that are more suited for the public/corporate environment. I'll simply focus my time and energy on the new thing that grabs my attention and deserves my passion while the newbies make SFSF more and more profitable. I'll be extactic with the financial security of SFSF cushioning the risk of the next start up...

Cons – Ironically communication is the biggest challenge at SF. In short there is constant communication of the trivial, infrequent and inconsistent communication of the meaningful, and a bit too much gloss for some of the internal communication. There was a time when a new leader brought words like "cadence of reporting and communication", but it really turned out to be monthly half day meetings where the team reported to that leader what they’ve been doing. From what I hear this may have changed to where team members are actually collaborating on projects... Let’s hope so.

With this said, I do appreciate the dash of reality in the all hands meetings where the challenges we/any company faces is presented. Actionable short, mid, and long term planning then needs to be communicated clearly, owned by individuals, and followed up with progress reports at the next meeting. Similarly long-term company strategy could use a consistent format and communication... "Today we are a square but we are going to evolve into a rectangle on our way to being a trapezoid in 5 years... "

Advice to Senior Management – 1) When EVERYTHING is moving at a million miles an hour, take the time to communicate and re-communicate the meaningful. Check in to measure understanding formally and informally. And continue to ask for feedback and new ideas.

2) The macro environment is one that all businesses have to deal with, but few SF competitors have the foundation, resources, talent, and drive to keep up ... much less breakaway. Let's leverage our sustainable competitive advantages to own this market while others are struggling to survive.

3) Let’s learn from our customers and do the things that our highly successful customers are doing. My stock would LOVE to see the multiples our customers are seeing... If we even pull within 10% of Oracle’s Market Cap all the “Oracle-ization” whining will turn to cheers!!!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for more than a year

Pros – Young entrepreneurial culture, competitive pay and bonuses, work from home ok.

Cons – ZERO work life balance and NO respect for your private time. Expect calls & meetings into the late night and also expect you WILL work weekends! The CEO is a bit of a wacko and sends crazy emails and the management will drive you into the ground with long hours and lots of work. Horrible experience.

Advice to Senior Management – HIRE! ! Hire enough people to do the job!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for more than a year

Pros – Nice company culture and good team

Cons – Salary is not very high

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – The compensation and benefits at the company are pretty good. There are people who work here who are amazing and make it a good place to work. There are some career opportunities because of the size of the company.

Cons – So many changes have led to poor communication and very bad decisions. The continual hiring of people outside the company rather than looking to promote people inside the company has led to a significant culture change that is negative. Those who have been hired into leadership are out of touch with those who are doing the actual work. We have a lot of managers but not a lot of real leaders. People are disgruntled and dissatisfied.
There is VERY little real training outside of the Sales team. The Leadership team talks about training constantly but will not invest ANY money in training or resources.

Advice to Senior Management – Get dirty. Go talk to the people who are actually doing all the work, not those who are managing them and are feeding you the "corporate" cliches. Be concerned about your managers. So many new managers have little or no people experience are are doing a poor job of managing their staff. Decisions are being made in the best interests of the managers career not the best interest of the company. Put your money where your mouth is. Stop talking about training and then never delivering on good training programs. The customers are the ones suffering for lack of training, bad management decisions, and inefficiencies. Stop listening to people that you are hiring from other companies who know nothing about how this company works. Listen to those who have worked her and know the real truth about what is going on.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Flexible schedule, work from home opportunities, autonomy

Cons – Inter-departmental issues. NO ONE takes ownership and PS is left holding the bag. Upper management knows there are issues but ignores them - weak executive management doesn't address the key frustration with why people hate it here. Lack of accountability and ownership among departments; no one is focused on working together to fix issues.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay attention to death by 1000 papercuts - that's causing your smart employees to burn out. Don't let people get away with ignoring issues until they are escalated to the CEO.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Awesome Sales power; Can beat anyone in the market.
Good team of Talent Suit experts in the cloud.
Management team was small and encouraging to the last level of the employee.
Was a good pay master.

Cons – No more a place to work as a team to deliver and engage in company growth after SAP acquisition.
Attrition rate has been the highest after acquisition.
Average paymaster.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors full-time for less than a year

Pros – - Great product for HCM (The complete cycle from hiring to retirement)
- Strong HR business processes understanding
- Amazing parent-partnership with SAP
- Clear vision
- Great Leader

Cons – at this moments I haven´t found any major Cons besides the complexity of making collaborative sales between SAP and Sucess Factors.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep the direction. I like what I see and were we go!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at SuccessFactors

Pros – Great compensation that is extremely competitive in the software industry. The people here are passionate and love to win, it really seems like everyone, from legal, finance, and even internal HR, is behind sales. The overall culture is exciting.

Cons – They are working hard to ensure customer service is at the same level as the technology, but it can be problematic for an employee to seek answers on behalf of clients.

Advice to Senior Management – Arm the field sales with the abilities to assist existing clients beyond just saying "create a case"

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company