Business Insider did some trawling through the employee reviews site Glassdoor to find out what Apple employees love about working for the company.
Perhaps unsurprisingly in a company co-founded by a man who saw his mission as changing the world, the feeling that you have a chance to do just that topped the list. It’s the philosophy reflected in the memo Apple gave to new employees on their first day, saying that people who join the company want their work “to add up to something … something big … something that couldn’t happen anywhere else.”
Getting to work with “bright, talented people” and being part of a large company that “operates more like a cluster of startups” were also said to be key – bringing with it pressure to perform, but bringing out their best work.
The pressure itself was described by some as being part of the appeal, with the sense of satisfaction that goes with “achieving some pretty hefty goals in a heroic time frame.”
Being part of a growing company, still expanding and moving into new markets at a time when other tech giants are laying off staff, was felt to be exciting.
Employees praised the leadership of the company, Tim Cook notching up an impressive 94 percent approval rating. This went hand-in-hand with being trusted to do their jobs without micromanagement.
Lest you think Apple employees are some kind of saints who are above such mundane things as salary and perks, fear not: competitive salaries, benefits even for part-time employees, career prospects from having Apple on your CV, company shuttle services and even the quality of the food in the Apple campus also made the list.
The site likely attracts reviews from more senior staff, working primarily for corporate Apple, with retail staff perhaps not always sharing this enthusiasm.
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“This went hand-in-hand with being trusted to do their jobs without micromanagement.”
Not my experience (and many others that I know who won’t speak out). For the three years I worked at the Genius Bar, there was an increasing amount of micromanagement as time went on. Managers were constantly over our shoulders saying “How many appointments are you in? You need to take another one” as if we didn’t know what was best and how much we could handle to continually deliver the best customer service. Our time to train and keep up to date, deliver in-house leader-led training to the rest of the team, to perform regular maintenance on repair systems and to do repairs at the end of the night always took last place to help five people [poorly] at once. We would get pulled from these activities constantly (or they just wouldn’t happen) because we were always understaffed. Thus it was necessary to micromanage everyone in order to keep up with the insane demand and to meet stats so we looked better than surrounding stores in the market. At least in my store, it was the Geniuses who were aware of all of this and the Red Zone/sales staff who were just lemmings (likely the source of the quote above).
I am happy that I got the experience but also that I no longer work there. I am truly sorry to all of the customers who had poor experiences because of it. Waiting an hour to just have your phone swapped by a technician who doesn’t know what they are doing is inexcusable. I really enjoy helping people, but it is not helpful to anyone if the goal is to just push people out the door as fast as possible because there is a constant timer going. A good technician provides good customer service by [most of all] actually fixing the problem and verifying that the problem is resolved, above all else. Management just doesn’t seem to get that at Apple.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Joel. As mentioned at the end, I suspect most Glassdoor reviews come from the corporate side rather than retail.
Makes sense.
Your experience is spot on Joel. I come from being an Expert (career level sales position) and it is similar. Development time? Only if for some reason we aren’t under staffed, being trusted to do your job… No way in hell. Currently it is the worse it has ever been. We have had senior manager tour before from other stores and tell us “your job is to sell, nothing else”. This wouldn’t be a big deal if it was best buy or any other retail store. Apple is different or supposed to be, we don’t get commission at all. our job description is about creating an experience and giving relevant solution for Our customer to earn their trust and loyalty. Well that all goes out the window when you give managers bonuses for hitting numbers… Also, the people I’ve seen promoted and hired on as managers the last 8 months have been some of the most unqualified, uninspiring, and micromanaging group of people at any organization.
There has also been a shift in tracking numbers. Apple is starting to track “conversion rates”. If you notice employees starting to push for something bought instead of show you how a device can benefit you, this is why. Apple for the first time is now talking about Salesmenship. Again normal talk at a retail establishment but may as well be racial slur as far as retail employees are concerned.
All this said, I’ve seen a huge downward spiral in Apple retail recently. I sincerely hope that Angela can sort through the bullshit and align Apple retail with the credo, we hold so dear but have lost sight of.
Can’t agree more.
Yeah man, I’m sure that happens at some stores but that’s not true of all stores. People are people, there will be great managers and poor managers. However, for the most part employees are pretty autonomous. There have been numerous times when approaching a manager, he would respond with “It’s your call. What do you want to do for the customer?” :]
You understand that you were working “retail” right, which is one of the worst jobs to have regardless of the company. That’s not real Apple, that’s Apple’s retail.
I think after working for the company for quite a while I would be aware that there is a difference between retail and corporate. But to say “that’s not real Apple” is a total miss… more than half of Apple’s employees are retail, and all of the training which gets pushed from the top down on market leaders, store leaders and managers comes from what you deem “real Apple”. The environment is created around what you call “real Apple”. The culture is much the same in Apple no matter where you go. As a Genius I got to partake in life at Cupertino for a few weeks which introduces you to the company quite well, and don’t get me wrong, most of my first year was great and there wasn’t as much micromanagement. But what anix001 says above spells out the shift in Apple Retail quite well. It’s all about stats and numbers for them now. People are just part of a chart to them, and in agreement, I believe it is due to their desire for bonuses.
I am actually interested in working as an hardware engineer in Apple after i got my PhD degree in Electrical Engineering(Of course that depends whether they think i am qualified or not). Anyone has any knowledge on this?
I spent 10 years in Silicon Valley, and the way IT companies there treat their employees is incredible. Although the work is very demanding (you have to be very good to design a silicon chip or develop software), the workplace environment and culture is almost like a continuos party. Plus you have great weather and places to visit.
And, the weather is so good that you don’t really need to get housing because if you did, you wouldn’t be able to afford anything.
They forgot to mention discounts on Apple stuff