Working for DELL in Dublin: is it a good company to work for?

flavy · 01-06-2014 02:28PM #1

Hi,
I've recently applied for Dell of Dublin (Emea) and I'm going through the interview process these days (I live outside Ireland). I'm considering if relocating to Ireland or not in case I should be successful for that position. Anyone can give me some info about Dell? Is it a good company to work for or not? I've read about many layoffs in Dell of Ireland in the past years and I fear about the future of the company in case I should work for them. The position I applied for is an Enterprise Technical Support role. Do you know anything about that role or did anyone of you work for that role in the past? What salary should I expect for that position? They said me that it's negotiable but I can't figure out the salary range and I didn't ask the Dell recruiter to avoid being invasive. What can you tell me about that? Thanks in advance for your help.

SPM1959 · 02-06-2014 01:35PM

Might be a good idea to post this on the Work and Jobs forum too.

YumCha · 02-06-2014 01:38PM

Try http://www.glassdoor.com/

PyeContinental · 02-06-2014 01:49PM

flavy wrote: »

Enterprise Technical Support role.

This is probably going to be a call-centre job in Cherrywood, Louglinstown, South County Dublin. You'll likely be tethered to a phone headset, taking calls from business customers (of varying technical abilities) who are using Dell Poweredge servers and have technical problems or queries.

Dell as a company has restructured significantly. However, its ethos has always been one of maximising profits at any cost. Objectively that is something you could say about any company of course. However Dell has never been known for treasuring its employees as though they are their most valuable asset. It's possible they may say this, but that doesn't mean it's true.

Find out what they are willing to pay you before moving country for this job, and what exactly it entails. If it involves some field-service or customer-site interaction, this could make the job less boring. If it's phone calls all day, it can be soul-destroying.

flavy · 02-06-2014 02:08PM

Thanks for your replies. Yes, it is call-center based so no field service. It should be very boring, but I have no other job opportunities at the moment being on the dole. There are mixed reviews about Dell at glassdoor, many complaining about the highly micromanaged environment, high stress and lack of life-work balance. I am uncertain whether to accept or not, but if I should accept I would only stay in Dublin 1-2 years max and with that experience acquired then move to the Uk to look for better job opportunities. Frankly, I see few opportunities in Dublin other than call centers, while in the Uk there are many other roles in the IT without being on the phone+headphones.

No Pants · 02-06-2014 02:13PM

It's a call centre role, with many tough targets to meet. The targets frequently move around, so you need to be adaptable. The support roles in Dublin have been under threat for many years, so keep your CV up to date.

January · 02-06-2014 02:21PM

Moved from Dublin City to Work & Jobs

flavy · 02-06-2014 02:42PM

No Pants wrote: »

It's a call centre role, with many tough targets to meet. The targets frequently move around, so you need to be adaptable. The support roles in Dublin have been under threat for many years, so keep your CV up to date.

What do you mean with 'have been under threat for many years'? Even if they hire people with a permanent job, many of them have been fired because of the crisis?

Stheno · 02-06-2014 10:11PM

flavy wrote: »

What do you mean with 'have been under threat for many years'? Even if they hire people with a permanent job, many of them have been fired because of the crisis?

NO he probably means that Dell have been considering outsourcing them to somewhere cheaper

No Pants · 02-06-2014 10:12PM

flavy wrote: »

What do you mean with 'have been under threat for many years'? Even if they hire people with a permanent job, many of them have been fired because of the crisis?

A lot of roles have been moved elsewhere over the years. Last I heard, the staff numbers at Cherrywood were a fraction of what they once were.

flavy · 02-06-2014 10:36PM

Stheno wrote: »

NO he probably means that Dell have been considering outsourcing them to somewhere cheaper

Yes, they did. They moved the Limerick plant to Poland. Also, I've read there were some layoffs in Cherrywood between 2008-2009 inside the Enterprise support team too. Frankly, I don't know what's the situation now after many years.

SPM1959 · 02-06-2014 11:04PM

They have had a voluntary redundancy scheme there recently I believe.

Stheno · 02-06-2014 11:07PM

flavy wrote: »

Yes, they did. They moved the Limerick plant to Poland. Also, I've read there were some layoffs in Cherrywood between 2008-2009 inside the Enterprise support team too. Frankly, I don't know what's the situation now after many years.

THere are plenty of other companies recruiting foreign language skills here.

IBM have a massive campaign at the moment.

flavy · 02-06-2014 11:13PM

Stheno wrote: »

THere are plenty of other companies recruiting foreign language skills here.

IBM have a massive campaign at the moment.

Thanks, I will give a look at the IBM website.

flavy · 02-06-2014 11:20PM

SPM1959 wrote: »

They have had a voluntary redundancy scheme there recently I believe.

Really? In the enterprise support team in particular? That is worrisome news for a person like me deciding whether to accept their offer or not.

SPM1959 · 02-06-2014 11:39PM

I think throughout the whole company. I did however hear this info second hand so might be good to do some research yourself. Even ask the recruiter during your discussions.

flavy · 02-06-2014 11:43PM

SPM1959 wrote: »

I think throughout the whole company. I did however hear this info second hand so might be good to do some research yourself. Even ask the recruiter during your discussions.

Thanks for the info. I am going to ask him about that.

SPM1959 · 02-06-2014 11:47PM

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/business-news/bruton-advised-of-dell-plan-to-lay-off-150-in-limerick-1-5918709

A Limerick specific article but relevant for Dublin also I believe.

As advised though, speak to the recruiter/HR contact.

No Pants · 03-06-2014 09:01AM

Supposed to be jobs going this year worldwide. Anywhere from "a couple of thousand" to 15,000, depending on which reports you read and when. No country specifics.

gandalf · 03-06-2014 09:10AM

They are currently going through a redundancy process. But they do say they are recruiting in their financial services and solutions businesses.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/technology/dell-ireland-initiates-voluntary-redundancy-programme-1.167402

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2014/02/12/dell_vsp/

flavy · 03-06-2014 02:41PM

I don't understand why they do hire in Tech Support too if they're in redundancy. I think it's disrespectful towards new hires, just to fool us.

PyeContinental · 03-06-2014 03:23PM

Perhaps there are redundancies for technical support agents who support only the english-speaking market, but there are available jobs for technicians who natively speak other languages.

I have previously noticed (with surprise) advertisements for tech support jobs (not necessarily in Dell) where pay for the the multilingual support job is actually less than the English only support job. Why this should be so, I don't know. On the face of it, it does not seem to make sense.

What is your native language flavy?

flavy · 03-06-2014 03:46PM

PyeContinental wrote: »

Perhaps there are redundancies for technical support agents who support only the english-speaking market, but there are available jobs for technicians who natively speak other languages.

I have previously noticed (with surprise) advertisements for tech support jobs (not necessarily in Dell) where pay for the the multilingual support job is actually less than the English only support job. Why this should be so, I don't know. On the face of it, it does not seem to make sense.

What is your native language flavy?

My native language is French. Yes I know about salary differences between English hires and other languages hires. Weeks ago I was applying for Voxpro and I was offered 23K, while other English hires were offered 26K for the same Support role. Then, I refused their offer because I read awful reviews about Voxpro (Cork).

As for Dell, the second link posted by gandalf states: "E'Logic line is "dead long term" as the next generation will be largely based on Compellent technology." It specifically quotes redundancy plans among the Equallogic tech support analysts...and voilà the fate wants that I was just offered the Equallogic position at Dell. I am starting to consider to refuse Dell offer too. I don't want to bear the weight of changing country, relocating to Dublin with lots of costs on my own (Dell does not provide any relocation package) and then to be put on a redundancy scheme after 2-3 months of work. Thanks Dell, but I refuse your offer and go ahead :-)

No Pants · 03-06-2014 04:00PM

Do Dell still have a support presence in France?

kippy · 03-06-2014 04:05PM

SAP are also hiring in Dublin and Galway for people with technical and language skills.

flavy · 03-06-2014 04:17PM

No Pants wrote: »

Do Dell still have a support presence in France?

they have business customers in France but all Tech Support positions are in Dublin.

Grayson · 04-06-2014 01:08PM

I worked there 10 years ago. I was in a call centre role. I don't know what it's like now but it was tough enough back then. I've worked in a few contact centres and it was one of the stricter. i will however say they were incredibly organised. And some teams such as enterprise or server had it a lot easier.

I haven't heard much about them recently but I'd imagine their ethos is still the same.

flavy · 04-06-2014 04:54PM

Grayson wrote: »

I worked there 10 years ago. I was in a call centre role. I don't know what it's like now but it was tough enough back then. I've worked in a few contact centres and it was one of the stricter. i will however say they were incredibly organised. And some teams such as enterprise or server had it a lot easier.

I haven't heard much about them recently but I'd imagine their ethos is still the same.

I agree with you Grayson. Unfortunately, I have no other work to go, having been unemployed for very long time after my bachelor. The only recruiters who accept interviewing me are for call-center jobs. I must accept any of these, I have no choice.

Cuddlesworth · 05-06-2014 12:36PM

No Pants wrote: »

Do Dell still have a support presence in France?

No multinational will hire in France if they can avoid it.

OP, Dell Cherrywood is a ok location for work. Good transport links, outside of the city and decent services around the location and internal to it. The phone support teams can be stressful but most jobs can. If your motivated, you can pick up some decent training and exams and moved out of a basic support position.

Dell culls staff pretty much every 2-3 years, its a reality of the company and creates a environment that so far I think is unique to them. To my knowledge the most recent victims were their cloud services team. Its unlikely they will outsource the enterprise support any more, there was a fair bit of backlash to their previous attempts over the last few years.

flavy · 05-06-2014 02:50PM

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

No multinational will hire in France if they can avoid it.

OP, Dell Cherrywood is a ok location for work. Good transport links, outside of the city and decent services around the location and internal to it. The phone support teams can be stressful but most jobs can. If your motivated, you can pick up some decent training and exams and moved out of a basic support position.

Dell culls staff pretty much every 2-3 years, its a reality of the company and creates a environment that so far I think is unique to them. To my knowledge the most recent victims were their cloud services team. Its unlikely they will outsource the enterprise support any more, there was a fair bit of backlash to their previous attempts over the last few years.

Thanks Cuddlesworth, you seem to be well-informed. Did you work for Dell in the past?

As for moving out of support roles, I see that almost all my friends have been unable to escalate to better positions and they're still in tech support. Unfortunately, helpdesk roles are dead-end, no career chance unless you know anyone in the management.

Here in France the situation is very bad, the economy is collapsing, unemployment is increasing and the government has lost its popularity. We young people almost all move abroad to get a job.

gandalf · 05-06-2014 04:16PM

kippy wrote: »

SAP are also hiring in Dublin and Galway for people with technical and language skills.

These guys are an excellent company to work for. I know several people working for them and they have been there quite a number of years. They appear to treat their staff very well.

Working for DELL in Dublin: is it a good company to work for?

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