Nortel Networks

First I want to say I'm proud and happy I had a privilege to work in Nortel for 16 years in the company of most brilliant, hard working, goal oriented yet friendly and fun loving colleagues in Semiconductor Division in Ottawa. The days were filled less with sparse yet informative meetings but, in my instance, divided mostly between the lab - development/testing activities and work on the results/documentation/project planning in the office. Sometimes also in the production Labs where I supported certain processes. Since each project before commencing was very well researched and planned to the detail including the alternative paths there was no much need to interact with management and weekly information meeting were sufficient to update on my progress and follow the progress of colleagues as well as to discuss variety of relevant technical aspects. In general managers were very supportive and not interfering in technical matters, and in case where they had hard time managing they were shifted to different, more suitable role, where their contribution was still valuable. 
What made Nortel stand out was the effort to create conditions for its employees to be productive and happy. Thus fancy cafes throughout buildings ("Holodeck" at CRK), smart cafeteria - restaurants, on-site free gyms with trainers, ski club with mind blowing trips (subsidized), and most of all courses and training for both professional and personal growth. For example so called lunchtime learning for some time was devoted to family and personal problems, like relationships, raising children or dealing with addictions.
Also Nortel was the first company in Ontario to introduce smoke free environment, and sexual harassment policy. What I learned there was that with proper training, genuine respect and high expectations the management can bring the best in everyone. 
THIS COMPANY WAS MORE THAN A WORKPLACE: IT WAS A FAMILY!

Started in Lab 3 working on a engineering test station evaluating semiconductors for repeatability and reliability in the field or market place. I had the chance to be part of a very diverse team of people. I  was hired through Manpower placement agency on a contract. I progressed very fast @ learning the different phases of Lab operations. One day A group of engineers came into the Lab to review some of the functions that were being done by the team members. They interested in the end product results.  One gentleman Introduced himself to me and informed me that he had reviewed my resume.  He told me that he noticed that I had served in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam conflict the same year that he did as well. He then ask me if I would be interested working in engineering support role, I told him it would be a great opportunity for me to progress.  He informed me that I would have to train a replacement for the test station. I informed him that it would be exciting to not only train a fellow team member but @the same time I would be giving  this employee a chance to learn a new job function.  I received a Recognition & Rewards certificate from our Lab Manager for my leadership skills. I then moved into my new role as a engineering support.  Every day I had the pleasure of going to the different functions in the Lab and checking equipment to insure parameters  and company specs were being met as well as making adjustments to the working stations in the Lab. Just before the company dissolved I was busy building a robotic manipulator to test semiconductors along side my fellow Vietnam Veteran. Every day was a new adventure and the sense of learning some thing new. Thank you for this chance to voice my review.

While there was no such thing as a typical working day there, since we were always learning new skills and procedures, and we were always striving to provide the best service and customer contact experience, it can be said that working there was always stimulating and exciting. Each individual agent had his own shack or cubicle so it was very private and you could truly concentrate on the work at hand. The electronics and communications equipment was first-class, truly excellent, and it allowed you to provide the best, most efficient service possible anywhere. I acquired so much technical knowledge about telecommunications technology, procedures and regulations that it would not be possible to summarize that here. Management was highly efficient as well as friendly. So were all my coworkers. The most challenging part of my work was trying to always go an extra mile towards providing the most sensational, friendly and proficient customer contact experience on every contact. This required feeling a very high level of empathy for our customers, as well as staying well-focused throughout every single contact experience.The best thing about it was that doing all this was very rewarding and enjoyable and that is what I most liked and enjoyed about my work. Also, we were located in a very nice tall skyscraper in downtown Toronto that afforded a wonderful view of the Toronto skyline.

This is truly a Jewel of a company and there are no words that can describe the people that worked at Nortel (from the lowest post to the top most post).

I have worked at Nortel Networks in a multitude capacities and roles for over 28.5 years. My long tenure with the company can be attributed to my impeccable work ethic, loyalty and my superior’s confidence in my abilities. The role required me stay ahead of current technology and trends and to consistently update my skills by attending various classes, workshops and training modules. My various roles throughout Nortel have led me to gain significant experiences as Quality Analyst, Test Engineer and Team Lead. My work in these roles has honed my troubleshooting, analytical and programming skills. My leadership skills can be seen with the various travelling I have undertaken to places such as Asia, USA and Canada where I have held the role of lead test facilitator and conducting onsite job training, Q&A and collaborating with various teams to ensure project cost efficiency and optimization.

there was plenty of oenings for job advancement  which was a bonus for doing the job right you were treated fairly and with respect. make sure everything was running smooth in the shipping and paint line.learned that many people had different thoughts about the job and would always listen to what the men had to say to make the job run better. i was told as a manager that the men put in an extra effort to make my job easier which i rewarded the men.the hardest part of the job was to lay people off not knowing how long the layoffs would be and i couldnt give them a time period.the most enjoyable part of the job would be handing out the pay ckecks and having a christmas party with my employees that i paid for thats why the men respected me and always knew i had respect for them they were some of the most enjoyable years working to help the guys get along with each other and when i needed the job cone i would ask them to work overtime and never a one  would say no

Nortel had great technology and a great culture.  When we grew the company and were having great success we hit a bump when the administration changed in 2000.  The DEMs and REPs had totally different view of the telecom market....in 2000 Bush cancelled the 8 year project - 1996 Telecom Reform Act - also he replaced Kennard with Powell and that began the downfall of Nortel.  Our new markets disappeared, and our old customers simply purchased unused equipment from the now defunct new customers...
When Nortel started to downsize, rather than keep all of the people that helped build the company and were out in the trenches trying to fix things, they got rid of them and kept the guy that went to lunch with the manager...in effect, they kept all of the add-on employees vs. the employees that built the company.  This 'practice' was amplified further after each round of layoffs until ultimately, there was no one left in the trenches and just useless management tools.

My duties included managing hourly unionized employees in the telecommunications industry, productivity, quality of the product produced and timely delivery to customers. 
I learned how to reach your business goals through people. I attended many management courses and was the facilitator for Nortel's Excellence training.
My peers were a good bunch of guys. Typically I worked in a "man's world" as the only female in the group. We worked together very well.
The most difficult part of the job was finding alternate means of getting product out when we experienced material shortages.
The people part of the job was the most enjoyable to me. We had mutual respect, knew what we had to accomplish and celebrated our wins.

Nortel for me first started as Northern Electric. Granted the name changed over the years I was fortunate enough to grow with a company that did so many things right. From the communication of company direction, to the training, to the opportunities for career growth I benefited from all of it. I remember starting as a line card tester and moving my way to circuit pack, module, systems test, and the Equipment application Engineering building my knowledge as I proceeded to the next step in my career. In the end it boiled down to customer satisfaction. Satisfy your customer through professional service and building relationships that would make the dynamics of the team, the department, the organization an entity of true value.

Hardly worth mentioning as the company is basically  dead, but I enjoyed my time working for Nortel.  The management structure was sound(at least at the lower levels) there was a strong culture where people were proud to work for the company and the compensation and rewards for work ethic were tangible and welcome.  

Things did start going downhill with the divesting of various business units that were considered "critical, but not core" .  Still, Nortel took good care of those laid off or divested into other companies.  

Its unfortunate what happened, but I don't regret working there.

I started at Nortel as a casual in assembly.
 A few months later hired as a permanent employee in Mod2.  A semi- conductor lab.
  A few years later I as a coordinator in Mod4,
I was involved in forming a Award and Recognition task force.  We designed many initiatives in recognizing and team building exercises that had a goal of assuring all
inclusive initiatives.   Our time and motion group was nominated by global headquarters for consideration.  I loved working for this company!

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