RealNetworks reviews

2.9

33% would recommend to a friend

(304 total reviews)
avatar

Rob Glaser

37% approve of CEO

18% positive business outlook

RealNetworks has an employee rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars, based on 304 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The RealNetworks employee rating is 25% below average for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

304 reviews
1.0
Feb 4, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great location and I met a lot of wonderful, bright and creative co-workers when I worked there. Good work-life balance. Great place to fly below the radar...get paid to do little (and plenty of people at Real do just that). Decent cafeteria and cool building.

Cons

Lots of reorgs - there were three in my department during the two years I worked there. It got tiring trying to figure out each new boss's vision and communication style. The management in general is incompetent and chock full of poor communicators. The company is not innovative and seems to recycle the same tired ideas that previously failed. It's always a year too late in launching products and websites of any interest and when they do, the marketing is so poor or non-existent, that they inevitably fail. The senior management can't get the ship rolling in a positive direction mainly because the CEO believes it's his way or the highway. People who are lazy but can grandstand get promoted. As long as the department is making good numbers, management doesn't care if there are morale issues. Pay is lower than what you'd make at another hi-tech company. Turnover is high.

4.0
Jan 13, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people here are really nice and the job is pretty challenging. The cafeteria is pretty hit and miss with really spicy food everyday but the soup is usually pretty good. Working on different projects is fun and the location in Belltown is pretty good too. The bowling alley downstairs is fun but I forget it's there half the time. My manager is pretty cool about scheduling meetings and understands when other things come up and we need to reschedule. Halloween around here is the best part and they really go all out with costumes, prizes, decorations all the works.

Cons

Management doesn't always tell you what is going on so you have to figure it out through other means. Deadlines are pretty tough and missing them is not an option. My manager is pretty good about balancing my schedule and doesn't have me punch the clock.

2.0
Jan 8, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The manager I reported to was a bright and outstanding person to work for and absolutely worked their behind off - but was getting over worked, and was not supported by their VP. This manager built a dream team, and that was the most rewarding thing- was to be a part of a highly competent group of peers. We were on the same page and were very productive - plus we had fun doing it. So on the whole, there really were many bright folks working at Real - it was mostly a pleasure to be there because of that.

Cons

There is a general lack of process at Real - from most teams - and it seemed to be the way most preferred to run things, I believe because it made it easy to not be accountable. One would be hard-pressed to ever actually review a true marketing plan for any of Real's products - their marketing plans are mostly reactive, and not proactive. There are several products that Real should really either scrap or they need to spend time thinking about the viability of them & move on to something more compelling to the consumer. Finally, I found it frustrating and sad that the CEO announced that Real had record earnings in 2008, but then he laid off 7.5% of his staff.

Viewing 253 - 255 of 304 Reviews

Glassdoor has 322 RealNetworks reviews submitted anonymously by RealNetworks employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if RealNetworks is right for you.