Alcoa Reviews

Pros

Good work life balance, good benefits, great place to learn and move on with the experience. Its like a training ground for engineers.

Cons

Management is very one sided while using intimidation as the main driver for results. Not a good place to work if low stress is what your looking for.

Advice to Senior Management

Open up. Take employees' advice and listen to the voiceof the people. Hire based on experience, work ethic, and knowledge.

Pros

Lean standards highly advanced;
EHS standards and people respect (SA8000);
Sustainability;
Online RH easy to reach;
Daily defies make you learn, apply and later on help novice to growth as professionals.

Cons

No traveling or external courses available;
Low payment;
Lean policy applied to professional learning elsewhere;
No international assignment to maintenance staff;
Policy for career advancement not clear and there is the impression of unbalanced values took as part of growth like friendship with high ranks, etc;
Old school company;
Leaders pretend to be always with aluminum market on crisis!

Advice to Senior Management

Get higher payments to engineers or will you ever loses engineers to Vale and pretend there is a natural movement for professionals?!
Propel continuous formation to engineers without reckless saivings on traveling, courses and exposition on market. We won`t run away!

Pros

Workplace safety important - of all my former employers, I felt safest touring their plants. Was pleased with the medical insurance. It can be a wonderful place to work depending on what department you're in and who your supervisor is.

Cons

Your work experience and what all those benefits like flex hours and work-life balance mean to you are totally dependent on what location you are at. There is a ton of nepotism, much of it hidden, and many areas are not a healthy place for women with children to work and advance. New hires valued more than long term employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Value the long term lower to mid level employees.

Pros

The company has a global presence so there are many opportunities to move around. Benefits as far as insurance, 401k and pension were good.

Cons

The workplace environment was in some ways archaic, stuck behind the times. Management was resistant to change, particularly as far as the work/life benefits that could be offered to employees. Very rigid and upper management unapproachable. There was a good amount of nepotism and playing favorites. Micromanagement was a problem; on some issues, it was hard to fathom why upper level managers would need to be involved. Poor vacation and personal time off policy.

Advice to Senior Management

The mission statement to be the "best company in the world" is a bit broad, lack proper focus and definition.
Needed to have 360 reviews, team building and management training.

Pros

Semi secure employment
Close to civilisation so no Fly-in Fly-out
Good shift structures that give plenty of time off
Relatively safe working environment

Cons

Poor leadership and management that places very little value on the people that actually DO the work
Has degenerated from a great company, into just another shareholder pandering miner ripping the guts out of Australia and putting very little back in
The workers show loyalty that is not returned by the company

Advice to Senior Management

Try to remember that it is the "little people" that actually do the work and make the products that provide for the massive salaries that some of you are receiving.
Let those that are doing a good job, continue top do that job and stop trying to force the work practices from some country or operation that is not doing anywhere as well as we are, onto us in a misplaced attempt to make us better. Leave us to do what we do well and spend your efforts on trying to get the others up to our standards.
And stop implementing change just for the sake of change - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Pros

Fairly decentralized so you can do good work within your own business.
Plenty of opportunities to work internationally or on global teams.
Alcoa name still carries some weight with external vendors, etc.
Full breadth employee benefits.

Cons

Current CEO says some of the right things but fails to back it up with corresponding action.
First career HR professional put into top HR job was a disappointment - she just left the company and her replacement is another non-HR professional.
Most of the talent within HR has left over the past 3 yrs.
Company has lost its integrity, especially among top management.

Advice to Senior Management

Make the tough talent calls at the highest levels, don't espouse to hold values your actions don't support and do what you say you're going to do.

Pros

Exposure to many markets and many people.

Cons

New York City headquarters separate from revenue producing businesses.

Advice to Senior Management

Define clear career paths. Pave opportunities for personal growth and development.

Pros

Alcoa Inc has a very well-established system for career development & performance review, and has very good health care program.

Cons

Alcoa Inc does not provide a very good base salary, and raise for each year is far below national average.

Advice to Senior Management

Alcoa Inc should provide a very competitive base salary, and the raise for each year should at least match national average.

Pros

Good salary and benefits including a pension plan. Lots of autonomy to make decisions and lead projects. Opportunities to apply for other positions within the organization. Educational assistance available. Will hire experienced mature employees.

Cons

Since each location is managed individually it is not unusual to see a lot of nepotism and favoritism where you see a manager bringing in his entourage as he/she is assigned to a new location regardless of qualifications. This company is an old fashion manufacturing company where the old boy network rules not the best place for professional women to grow. Not a lot of employee recognition.

Advice to Senior Management

Improve HR in each location and value employees dedication and loyalty. I would suggest a 360 review of each Plant Manager and to be suspicious of locations where HR personel is going through a revolving door.

Pros

Reviews on an annual basis, yearly objectives clearly stated, fine group of people to work with on immediate team, advantages as a big company are that everyone's heard about Alcoa.

Cons

Having worked for the company before it was bought by Alcoa, I could see life before and after. Alcoa seemed to make things more bureaucratic. Seems that the company got more impersonal after the acqusition.

Advice to Senior Management

People make the company, not numbers.