HSBC Holdings Reviews

Pros

- competitive salary
-prestigious
- a lot of opportunities for your career
-international experience and constant travel

Cons

-long hours
- in Panama people are quite slow to learn new things, if at all

Pros

If you want to work in an offshore sell side research or aspire to work in onshore sell side research but not getting opportunity, HSBC EDPI is the best organisation to work with. Being a captive unit of HSBC Research, you get to learn a lot during first two years of your career. This center provides support to the all the global offices of HSBC and other than marketing and speaking with clients you can literally do everything.

Cons

But you should leave organisation within 2-3 years, else you get stuck in your career because there are not enough opportunities available to move onshore. If you stay for more than three years, it will be difficult to get job elsewhere. Senior management is least interested in anyone's career. Most of the senior people are fighting for their own survival, because once this sort of set up does not need many senior management personnel.

Advice to Senior Management

It's a high time that senior management should clearly spell out the future vision for its Bangalore research center. Here, we have new center head every two year and with that we start working towards a new vision. Unfortunately, currently we are working without any vision.

Secondly, be honest in your communication with employees at the time of recruitment itself, what sort of future you can provide. Unwritten rule is we encourage people to leave after they have completed 4-5 years in the organisation. It's better if we communicate explicitly that our main aim is to keep costs lower and with the sort of work available, we will be happy to hire less experienced people at the cost of existing experienced people.

Pros

Large org and good reputation
Global
Lots of opportunities
Flexible working

Cons

Bureaucratic
Lack of senior leadership competence
Lack of communication
Too many stakeholders involved in every decision

Advice to Senior Management

Streamline senior management and ensure roles are accountable

Pros

Interesting work when it's managed appropriately.

Cons

Complete and utter chaos, poor management, little accountability.

Advice to Senior Management

Make IT accountable for business objectives.

Pros

Global reach with a presence in the most vibrant economies in the world. Not the best payers, but a better work life balance than the American bulge bracket houses.

Cons

Senior management are more comfortable with fixed income and currency products than they are with equities and corporate finance.

Advice to Senior Management

Capitalise on your strong relationships with Asian corporates and take share from the American houses while they are down on their luck!

Pros

Many positives - HSBC provides excellent benefits, global opportunities and enables employee career growth. They are fast paced and recognize natural leaders.

Cons

Continual reorganization has resulted in the loss of many positions and the excellent employees that delivered for HSBC. This presents uncertainty for existing employees.

Advice to Senior Management

More planning, mentoring and training for Management at all levels regarding long term strategy and sustenance, resource planning and employee retention.

Pros

great benefits including 401, pension, vacation

Cons

incompetent management, no promotions and recognition, long hours, layoffs

Advice to Senior Management

more appreciation

Pros

Conservatism is rewarded during uncertain times.

Cons

Stifling bureaucracy and checkers checking the checkers.

Pros

- Professionalism
- Good Customer Service
- Ample training for staff
- career advancement
- Good brand name
- Aggressive

Cons

- Hard to maintain work-life balance
- Trade off between rapid growth and customer satisfaction
- Not much of financial training

Advice to Senior Management

-

Pros

1. Large Bank has many opportunities of mobility internally
2. Good work life balance in some areas
3. Freindly people

Cons

1. Poor systems architecture, very outdated, eg using Lotus Notes for email.
2. Poor Management and Direction
3. Very slow in decsion making and getting things done

Advice to Senior Management

Review management and training. Poor Managers should be demoted as has negative impact on staff morale.