Hewlett-Packard Reviews in Portland, OR Area

Pros

The people are smart, fun to work with and collaborate well. Projects are interesting.
Local management does what it can to offset the negative aspects of senior management's short sightedness regarding the work environment and foolish cost cutting measures.

Cons

Senior management has a long way to go to recover from the last few CEO policies that have valued company acquisitions, cost reductions and importing of external management well above investment in organic growth of businesses or employee talent. This is leading to poor long term business prospects for a company that needs to innovate and makes employee talent retention and development, problematic. Furthermore, it is not clear if the latest leadership has the resolve to reverse their recent predecessor's decisions in the face of short-term business problems.

Advice to Senior Management

For senior management (not that they will be reading this, of course)... Don't assume only external companies have value or that they can be easily integrated with the current businesses. Foster an environment where internal business units are encouraged and rewarded for innovating and even let them propose completely new business plans, as necessary. Especially if the only alternative is to disband them entirely as they will be extremely motivated and bring the benefit of an integrated team with knowledge of existing company processes.

Pros

Flexibility to work as mobile or telecommuter

Cons

Stressful, too big, complex, pay not equitable among employees

Advice to Senior Management

Bring back the HP Way

Pros

Low expectations, Still a few people left who beleive in the "HP Way"

Cons

Yearly cuts in benefits, retirement, and pay. Upper management is behind the curve in all areas of tech. HP does not lead the way or invent anything anymore.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire people with passion and vision.

Pros

- Excellent Coworkers - sharp engineers and dedicated staff
- Facinating technology and challenges
- Resources and development funding - working for a big company with deep pockets means building reliable products with sufficient prototyping.
- Local management
- Support for work/life balance
- Flexibility in work hours
- Diversity in race/gender/etc

Cons

Compensation structure doesn't always make sense. Promotions without raises, lopsided performance culture, slow to gain in base salary.
Support for education has been reduced over the years.
International travel sucks.

Advice to Senior Management

Fostering teamwork is more important than finding (and funding) individual superstars. Dial back the differentiation in rating, lean on the managers to ensure performance.

Pros

The work life balance made working at HP very nice. The culture before Hurd was wonderful and now with his departure, hopefully some of that old culture will manifest.

Cons

During the Hurd years, HP didn't seem to care about their employees. While Hurd and his team collected huge compensation, they gave the whole engineering staff pay cuts.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus long term. Develop employees and pay them well. The employees make the products that your customers buy. Employees that are respected and treated well will ensure the customers are also happy.

Pros

Not Much anymore. 15 years ago it was a great place not anymore.

Cons

The Executive Management could not care less about employee morale. Executivews are only in it to make their big bonues while screwing all other employees. Horrible place to work.

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of the excessive bonuses

Pros

Flexible hours, Great Colleagues (Intelligent, thoughtful, hardworking), good projects.

Cons

Employees (Pay and Benefits) are viewed as a cost to upper management, rather than viewing employees as an asset.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat employees as an asset.

Pros

The people are top tier and work well as a team across functions and entities. People are always willing to help you out.

Cons

The performance ranking / rating system forces some people into the bottom categories even if all objectives have been met or exceeded. Over the past decade there has been a constant stream of benefit and salary takeaways, especially during the Mark Hurd regime. They contibute some 401k matching if company finacial results are good enough. If you need a drink of water, bring your own cup - nothing is provided. Everyone's personal financial position is falling. No immediate increase in salary when you get promoted. Cubicles are being downsized and a large percentage of people are being forced to work from home with no reimbursements for phone or internet connection expenses. Upper management bonuses have grown wildly while the rank an file has been losing ground. I'd have to work over 1,100 years at my current salary to match Mark Hurd's compensation over the past three years, and that's prior to his massive exit package - add another 400 years or so for that.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat employees as the asset they are instead of a "cost of the workforce" expense to be minimized. Reduce the disparity in rewards between upper management and the rank & file.

Pros

During times of downsizing HP attempts to help workers find work within the company.
Ability to telecommute depending on type of work being performed.
Flexibility to leave for health appointments or home repair visits.

Cons

No Pay Raises
No Bonuses
Not really a 401k match (although looking from the outside I'm sure it says one of the benefits is an employee match)
Not very impressed with co-workers (although plenty of other people have stated they are)

Advice to Senior Management

"Lead!"
Someone said, that it appeared the desire for HP is to have all North American employees voluntarily quit. If that is the goal, keep doing what you're doing and the talented people will leave when they get the chance (economy gets better or spouse starts working/increases income).

If that is not the goal, then start making and driving decisions. To often it feels like there is an absence of leaders able to make decisions and drive work forward.

Pros

- Hewlett-Packard employs some of the most competent people in the industry. When you work there, you know that you will be surrounded by great co-workers.

- In Vancouver, there was a great company culture. There was a bowling league, and there were company-wide parties twice in the 6 months I was there.

- Work/Life balance was great. They allowed great flexibility in hours.

- There was a free printing lab where you could print very large (36" wide) photos.

- I worked with the most artistic group of engineers I've ever met. The printing business seems to attract photographers and others interested in color.

Cons

- When I started working at HP after a long-term co-op position at another company, where I learned a massive amount over 2 years and was treated as an engineer after my first year. Employees who had worked elsewhere before HP treated me like I had a little experience. Employees who went to HP straight out of college (like I technically did) treated me as if I had no experience. This was very frustrating as the team was overloaded with work yet I wasn't considered competent enough to be given bigger responsibilities.

- Layoffs. Though we were treated well. A former HR person started up a layoff support group where we'd meet weekly for questions and answers. She brought in Unemployment people, TAA counselors, bankers, and everyone she could think of that we'd need. She was really great.

-There is no on-site HR.

Advice to Senior Management

1st level of management: You do a great job, keep up the good work!

Upper Management: Please stop focusing on buying other companies and instead focus on appreciating the amazing employees you do have and letting them develop the products you hired them to develop.