A company in decline - Staff Level Engineer ADP Employee Review

1.0
Feb 15, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It was a very stable source of income.

Cons

Where to begin... I could literally write a book, and ADP would be the textbook example of a company that has high aspirations but sabotages itself at every step of the way in attempting to achieve such lofty goals. For starters - management is unqualified. There is no other way to state it - none of them have the training, the skill set, nor the ability to actually lead a team, yet they self reference themselves as "leadership team" every chance they get. Leadership is a skill that you either have or you don't, and no amount of stating it will change that fact. ADP managers are not leaders, plain and simple. The "Circuit City" effect - this is all too real now given the events of the past few years. ADP started by offering a VERP to people 55 and over back in 2018, and WAY more people chose that option than they anticipated. This left them with a dearth of qualified personnel in very key areas of the company. Since then, there have been numerous layoffs ridding themselves of yet more highly qualified SMEs, all in the name of saving some coin. At the end of the day, everyone now sees that the company has entered what can only be described as a death spiral - where the only personnel left are unqualified, unmotivated, depressed, apathetic robots doing the bidding of their unqualified managerial superiors.

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ADP Response
5y
Thank you for bringing these situations to our attention and providing your insight into your experience working for ADP. ADP prides itself on creating and maintaining a workplace where employees work in a professional environment and are treated fairly. We appreciate your feedback and advice and we would like to hear more about your specific situation so that we can review your concern completely. Please contact our Associate Relations team at 1-877-878-4811 or hr.associate.relations@adp.com

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5.0
Jun 17, 2026
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Pros

work life balance continued education opportunity

Cons

segmented internal departments some unreasonable client escalations

2.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Established company with a long history and relatively stable business operations. - Provides a sense of job stability compared to many organizations navigating rapid changes in the current AI-driven market. - Lower risk of frequent restructuring or large-scale layoffs than many high-growth technology companies. - Opportunity to work with experienced employees who have deep institutional and domain knowledge. - Predictable work environment that may appeal to individuals seeking long-term stability over rapid change. - Strong choice for professionals who value job security and a steady career path in an uncertain economic climate.

Cons

- Documentation is limited or rusted, and many operational processes lack clear runbooks or standardized procedures, making onboarding and troubleshooting more difficult than necessary. - If you're coming from a modern, fast-paced engineering environment, the organization may feel behind current industry practices and tooling. - Internal politics can sometimes outweigh technical merit or execution. - There are teams with very long-tenured employees where change and innovation can be difficult to drive. - Decision-making often involves multiple layers of approval, resulting in significant bureaucracy and slower execution. - Processes can move slowly, and collaboration is not always transparent across teams, leading to inefficiencies and occasional confusion around ownership. - In some areas, roles, responsibilities, and operational processes are not clearly defined, creating unnecessary chaos and inconsistent ways of working. - Engineering standards and best practices vary considerably between teams, making cross-team collaboration challenging. - Organizational change tends to happen slowly, which can be frustrating for employees who are focused on modernization, automation, and continuous improvement.

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