There is obviously an attrition issue across the customer success space at Oracle.
Does the O do last chance saves to try and keep talent?
5 replies (most recent on top)
Wisdom of the Ages...having turned to the dark side +50 years ago, software design, system analysis, customer support has morphed over the years. Much of what was stated is true. You are responsible for yourself, no one else is. The best manager, the best company, the best performance at the best job, can all disappear in the blink of an eye due to external forces. Sometime they are real, sometimes they are perceived and illusional. Regardless no one will look out for you, but you. Having worked at +27 salary positions at mega corporations like Oracle, NEC, GE, Pennzoil and medium orgs and startups with less than 20 people, and contracting to Raytheon, DIA, etc. I learned early that your position can be lost at a whim of a VP. What they fail to understand is the wheel can turn and when you are approached for a recommendation it can come back to bite them.
I worked for Oracle Consulting years ago during the Dot.com days when there was unlimited money chasing too few consultants and anyone else with a decent brain and experience. Those were fun times that we'll never see again. Oracle was doing the same thing then as is mentioned here - fire thousands and then try to hire back twice the number a month or so later because no one had a clue where the whole Dot.com biz was going one month to the next. At that time Oracle didn't appear to know what kind of biz it wanted to be then - talk about whiplash. It wanted to remain a software/licensing company but was making a ton in the consulting biz. Since they didn't want to be seen as anything but a software company by Wall Street they'd have hefty layoffs once the consulting revenues got close to 'confusing' Wall Street. Consulting & consultants during those days earned a lot of money. Problem was it was a meat-grinder and the average time one lasted was 18 months - not sure what it is now. Back then it was a great company to work for, lot's of benefits and they paid top dollar with fantastic bonus every quarter. Then as I'm assuming it is the case now, Larry and Oracle management was and is extremely smart and knows how to make a lot of money.
You want to survive you need to understand not just the technology but the Oracle biz model and which side of the 'bank' you're on. Game out your employment opportunities and your time of survival as if you're one of Kim Jong-un's relatives or inner circle. Unless you're one of those rare and lucky types, at some point it will end no matter what you do. No one should join nor remain at the company - nor any company - if they do not understand what it does, how it succeeds, and its culture. I read what people post on this and other sites and sadly they never grasp the truth that they are 100% responsible for their own career and paycheck. People like to assume that they're immune to the downside in both good times and bad as it'll hit someone else. We all fall into that trap at some point - multiple times I might add. Work hard and work smart for every paycheck you get and never forget Oracle - like most companies - owes you nothing beyond the last check you received. It doesn't mean they're a bad company run by mean people - though some decisions are really hard to justify and are just plain stupid regardless of the 'thinking' behind them.
Like all things we prosper when we have shared interests with other people, groups, and companies. Pay attention to that as well. I've been in this biz for 30+ years and a lot of what I've tried to convey here allowed me to make a lot of money, be secure and make it through layoffs, and walk out the door by my own choice and not the company's. Being the smartest person in the room is fantastic for the ego. Being the wisest and realizing the smartest person in the room can easily get cut 'tomorrow' is the better position to be in. Learn to think like management and plan accordingly the best you can. Try to position yourself to where you won't be caught up in the broad layoffs that are the norm nowadays - try to avoid getting caught in the 'net' like the other fish. Accept that you can be cut regardless of how good you are and how much your clients and immediate manager's love you. Bad things happen to good people and this biz is no different. Be Resilient.
Sorry to drone on. We have a fantastic industry and very smart people making it one of the best fields to work in. I really do care how people are treated and thrive. That said, accept the risks and realities of your situation and add that to your knowledge base and how you think and act. You'll be better off and more secure. I wish you all the best.
My entire team was laid off a few months ago. Now Oracle is trying to hire them back ASAP. Go figure. Total cluster-F.
They use and discard talent on the regular.
No