Hewlett-Packard Reviews in Toronto, ON Area

Pros

good working conditions, work from home policy

Cons

expected to address business issues outside of 9am-5pm work hours

Advice to Senior Management

overall satisfied with my career at HP

Pros

Client opportunities to experience diverse businesses and geographic locations.

Cons

Lost focus that people make the difference. Used to be a great place to work. Now everyone hides behind voice mail.

Advice to Senior Management

Please, get focused. You need experienced people who have a track record of positive teamwork and delivery. The current work environment is caustic. If projects are ever to get done where we make real money, you must focus on real teamwork and get rid of the bully tactics. Most of the good people are leaving or have left.

Pros

Great opportunities to shape your career in any direction, in any country. Senior managers are expected to spend at least a year in a different country.
Employees have access to online-university style training modules, which covers up to date courses for hot Technology certifications like Microsoft, Cisco and HP Procurve.
Business culture is typical large enterprise - very professional, encourages high ethics and embraces best-shored work-force with many opportunities to travel for training and knowledge sharing.
Employees are encouraged to self-serve technology needs and are given a high degree of autonomy. if you enjoy problem solving, that's a good exciting thing to add to your days work.
Depending on job role, there are options for Teleworking from home.

Cons

Virtual teams abound in the organization - co-workers will often be in different cities or even countries - and you will have to compete with peers for raises and bonus pools, without having common levels of performance measures. You will be challenged to ignore cultural barriers, and it can be hard to determine whether a project issue lies within a process or is just poor communications within the team.
For a technology company the internal IT systems are painful, with a myriad of portals and passwords, and ramp up time for new hires can be over 6 weeks to get access to software tools and resources.
Teleworkers are often overlooked for promotion into management - head offices are where your careers really grow.

Any large public company is not immune from shareholder influence - when things go bad, the bonuses go and next response is to chop departments that are not profitable. Most employees become immunized by the continual threats of layoffs and reorgs - they come often, are publicly praised by shareholders, and while they are not personal, really mess with team dynamics. I have had 15 different dotted line managers in 4 yrs.

Pros

Looks good on a resume
They pay
Really hard working and dedicated people
Discounts on gear
Benefits are good
Time off is easy

Cons

No vision
Sr Management takes credit (and reward) for other peoples work and ideas
Low pay
perception that you are "Lucky" to be able to work there

Advice to Senior Management

Stop the cuts.
Resources ARE Financially motivated.
Give credit where due.
Stop thinking about YOUR bonus and care about your staff
You dont keep the best of the best by treating them like an average Joe.

Pros

work life balance
Culture
Social gatherings
Great managers who understand your issues but are following order and their hands are tied

Cons

Quarterly Bottom line achieved by resource cuts in th past. Leo is trying not to fall into that rut but he will soon have to based on the direction of adopting archaic EDS processes which in one word sucks

Advice to Senior Management

Overall management has good intentions but are restricted based on the restrictions placed on them by senior management and HR. Hence my thoughts are i understand.

Pros

There is opportunity to move around and experience different things. There are opportunities to learn.

Cons

Compensation has been a big issue. There have been several years of tiny or cancelled raises and even pay reductions. Benefits have predictably gone downhill as well. I'm not sure the company quite knows what it is doing on the services side.

Advice to Senior Management

Invest a bit more in your people. They took a big hit under Mark Hurd and it will take some work to win them back.

Pros

It is a well recognized company.
Figure out the ins and outs of working in a large company.

Cons

Asked to do three people's jobs.
Constant deflecting of what employee's want to satisfy Wall Street
Hiring of Junior people with little to no experience for higher positions at a lower wage grade
Great profits for company, but no raises for employee's

Advice to Senior Management

HP decided to satisfy Wall Street more since the passing of both owners but funny enough our stock has only fallen. It turns out that original owners had it correct, satisfy the customer first and they will reward you financially. No one believes in that theory anymore.

Pros

My salary is OK, but that is based on promotions and raises I earned from many years ago. There have been no salray increases for me or anyone I work with since 2005.

Cons

Autocratic management style.
No real direction given - We are all told to just shut up and do as told or else
Our input is never solicited or taken into account

Advice to Senior Management

Learn how to actually manage people. Sitting at a cubicle barking out orders is not leadership

Pros

Great people.. hardest working bunch of folks i have ever met.
Work from home (if that is desirable for you)

Cons

extremely long hours
no respect for life/work balance
pay /work hours = less than minimum wage
no attempts to retain key resources

Advice to Senior Management

You cannot deliver without delivery teams. Off shoring may be cheaper short term, but is costing more in good will and damaging customer relations.

Pros

Still have a job at HP

Cons

HP wants all North American workforce out, if possible leaving on our own. That is how they treat us.

Advice to Senior Management

It is too late even if you want to follow "HP Way".