Hilti USA Reviews

Pros

Great Training. Amazing Products and Services. Great Culture

Cons

Compensation is not great, for the quality of employee they want.

Advice to Senior Management

Middle management is horrible

Pros

In a sales position, Hilti offers you the freedom to do what you have to do to get the job done (which is making forecast).The company offers superior products and is very well k own in the marketplace it serves. Hilti has always impressed me with it's high ethics and wanting to do what's right. Also Hilti has always been concerned with the welfare of it's it's employees and being fair.The have a great company culture. I know my mostly positive experience is certainly based on having been blessed with having good managers (for the most part) and that can make or break your experience with Hilti (or any company for that matter). I do believe Hilti is truly interested in seeing it's field sales force be successful and also in cultivating customers and making them raving fans. It's not a "perfect company" by any means and there is always room for improvement but it is by far the best company I have ever been associated with and I am proud as well as fortunate to work for them. I would recommend this company as a great place to work to anyone.

Cons

Like any sales job, there is pressure to perform (or make forecast), but that is the nature of most sales jobs and it comes with the territory. There is not a lot of flexibility in pricing products and there is always a push to get more premium for items, even if they are "me too" products, which can be difficult in a slow economy. For upward mobility in career progression, 99% of the time it will require uprooting and moving to a new location somewhere else or at the corporate headquarters. I don't know if that is something that can be avoided at other companies either unless you are based in their corporate HQ location, so I really don't see that as a real "ding".

Advice to Senior Management

The only advice I have would be for the product development people to research industry trends a little more. Without getting specific, in my opnion, Hilti is a little behind the competition in some product categories and is having to play "catchup" a bit. Also, it may be a bit of a pipe dream, but I would like to see more manufacturing of Hilti proucts brought back to the USA. As like a lot of companies, in the past 10-15 years manufacturing has been sent to lower cost countries. I think in the next few years you will see a movement to use more Domestic (Made in the USA) products and Hilti should prepare for that.

Pros

People
International oppty
Tuition reimbursement
CFO is outstanding and great to work for
Support development
Change is constant
Global organization

Cons

Work life balance
Not mobile means not promoting
Distribution of workload
Not seen as positive if you want to stay in your role for more than 3 years

Advice to Senior Management

Find something and stick with it. Stop changing the story every year. Spend less on extravagant meetings and walk your own talk.

Pros

Coworkers were incredible
Company Car
Good 401k/Benefits
Only good because they give you alot of vacation and you can use it whenever

Good Quality Product

Cons

Underpaid
No room for advancement
Pass on you for promotions in favor of MBA outsiders
Middle level management is absolutely awful
Brainwash employees into thinking Hilti is the one and only.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to develop and sell things that the market demands. Not create an awesome product, with very little applicability, charge an extreme amount of money, and then expect your sales reps to sell it well.

Cary Evert needs to go.

And don't constantly change pay structure. Put reps back on commission like the old days.

Pros

Great benefits and vacation (if you can find time to use it).
Some of the best product in the industry.

Cons

Was a great company when I started back in 2004. I love getting up every morning and getting to work, but not long after I being with Hilti a new CEO was put in place and that is where things went down hill. The company was no longer fun and exciting, it was a run by a crop of new managers that ruled with fear and intimidation. Every day if felt like it might be the day that you will be let go.
Being a researcher and I found that the company lied to the sales people about the quality and capabilities of some of the products. Also during my time there the pay structure was changed and
and commissions were capped. There was no longer a reason to work any harder once sales goals were reached.

Around 2007 I began to see the writing on the wall and foresaw the down turn in the construction industry. I confronted management and asked them to help me prepare and come up with a strategy to continue strong sales as the market fell off. I was told my analysis was wrong and there was no foreseeable end to the grown that we had experienced the previous decade. Wow how short sited were they. In 2009 I was layed off in a downsizing of the sales force. Let me tell you, that was a great day. It was a joy to wake up in the morning again knowing that I didn't have to deal with them any more. Since my welcomed departure from Hilti only 2 of the 12 people I stared with in my market remain. All but one were layed off in the last two years.

Advice to Senior Management

Fire Cary Evert and hire back Gil Morris as the CEO and rebuild the management structure from the ground up.

Pros

This company has some of the best products in the construction industry. Service is second to none, and the people who work with Hilti customers on a daily basis are some of the most well trained people out there. Thank you Hilti for teaching me the best way to get a customer to say yes!

Cons

When the previous CEO of Hilti North America, Gil Morris, left things changed for the worse. The idea of a work/life balance became something that only existed if all sales goals were met. Now employees are questioned as to how they plan on making up for sales lost when they are out and phones are expected to be answered 24/7.

Many managers from regional management up to the Executive Management Team now have a reputation as "yes men." Free thinking was encouraged and rewarded prior to the change in CEO. Now, people are encouraged to express their opinion as long as they are close personal friends of the CEO, or their opinion matches up with the plan that is handed down from the Executive Management Team. Assurances are made to employees by members of management at all levels and then promptly forgotten if the ROI to corporate headquarters isn't high enough.

This used to be a great company to work for. They were very employee focused and from what I hear they still are in all locations except North America. This does not sound like a problem with the company as a whole, just with a portion. Things began to go down hill in North America when there was a change in the CEO, maybe it is time for another change.

Advice to Senior Management

Return to your focus on employee satisfaction. When the employees are unhappy, or feel like they are "just doing a job" you are no better than your competition and it shows in the daily customer interactions. If employees are what make Hilti great then listen to the "brutal facts." The results of the yearly employee survey have been in a downward trend. Use the information that you are given to make this company what it used to be, not just a place to work.

Pros

Transparency throughout the corporation.
Culture. People.

Cons

Wants everyone to be mobile. Cannot stay in position you were meant to do.

Pros

Great People on the front lines.
Company Car/Van, Gas card
Benefits
Work life balance

Cons

EMT changes the comp plan every 6 mo. and does not lead by example.

Advice to Senior Management

Wake up and see that you are going to loose the people that make your paycheck.

Pros

Extensive Training
Top of the line products
Advancement Opportunities, both domestic and international, if you are mobile
Continually introduce innovative products
Flexibility in work schedule
Technical support

Cons

Occasional stock issues
Changing bonus structures (However the last one was actually an improvement)
With so many product lines, it takes a long time to absorb everything
Ford Transit Connect as company vehicles. It's embarrassing to drive these things.

Pros

Great Products
Innovation of Products
Talented Individuals
In general the employees care for the company and take pride in their work.

Cons

Current CEO "leads" through intimidation and although he asks you what you think, he really only wants to hear your opinion if it mirrors his own.
Goals change daily depending on direction from Europe
Culture Journey is a three day event once a year.

Advice to Senior Management

The entire Senior Management team is weak and Corporate should wake up and make the changes required to make Hilti great again. Start with the CEO