Honeywell Aerospace Reviews in Redmond, WA

Pros

The products, technology, and heritage of Honeywell make it a Mecca for engineers interested in aerospace and flight safety. Overall, there are good, smart people working on challenging problems on engineering and business issues.

Cons

The industry downturn has limited the company's investment commitment compared to that of its industry peers. As a result, resources are severely constrained and friction has created poor morale amongst the survivors.

Advice to Senior Management

Flat organizations like Honeywell Aerospace can thrive and succeed, but it requires outstanding trust and commitment between the few top leaders and the many employees doing the actual work. Build that trust! Right-sizing the organization and managing costs is important, but off-shoring has gone too far.

Pros

Some can get in a niche and it will be a reasonably secure job.

Cons

Not cutting edge. Using techniques and methods that were proven ineffective 25 years ago by the rest of the world. Those trying to change things for the better are not rewarded, only fought at every step of the way, including by upper management.

Often not given the tools needed to do the job. For example, so many websites are blocked now, that I've been unable to access websites I tried to use to find good info to do my technical job. Also been blocked from doctor's websites. Far too much "scare tactics" that you are being monitored.

Too much hero worship. Instead of setting up a positive environment to do things right in the first place, the standard procedure seems to reward the "heros" who come in and save the day so that it is ALWAYS a firefighting mode type of lifestyle.

Advice to Senior Management

Look to the long term. Realize that products are 90% software and 10% hardware now (that switch happened 20 years ago)....much more software support is needed. Allow more pilots to try newer methods and processes to realize they can be much more effective. For example, waterfall software development process has been LONG proven ineffective. There are much better processes out there (like Agile).

Pros

Honeywell is a great company to work for. There are plenty of opportunities to grow in a company this size. The technology that the Aerospace side of the house has is fun and exciting.

Cons

Learn as much as you can about each facility. They are NOT the same. The Redmond facility is all about who you know and how close you are. If you have "grown-up" there you will do just fine. If you are an outsider coming in, you may find the "Good-Ole-Boy" club hard to deal with and a hindrance when issue resolution is in order. The management is focused on dollars more so than the employees. There needs to be a balance and the employees are not afraid to tell you their feelings of neglect.

Advice to Senior Management

Managers are in place to manage BOTH the company and the resources (employee). Keep the people in mind as times get hard and numbers get tight. Employees will give more if they are recognized for the job that they are doing. Do not be afraid to address problem individuals as they are like cancer in an organization.

Pros

Good benefits and compensation. Interesting work. Good local management. Good group of solid professional and friendly engineers and managers locally.

Cons

Performance Review Process is pathological. Raise pool has been as high as 3.5% and as low as 0% in the last several years with the trend downward. Stick based rather than carrot based leadership model. Leadership uses threats to remove compensation to motivate behavior. (Does not work well.) Huge focus on globalizing jobs under false economic principals. (Global work force is cheap but cannot do much of what domestic resources with same job title do.) Domestic resources that leave are not replaced. New bureaucraticc processes released weekly. Process overhead has grown substatially over last several years.

Advice to Senior Management

Replace performance and development process with one that recognizes the realities of the current work situation. When people leave due to poor reviews, they cannot be replaced at the same salary domestically, or at all globally.

Pros

Flexible hours and interesting work. Honewell Aersospace makes electronics for commercial aircraft that helps to save lives. Makes you feel like your work has meaning.

Cons

Honeywell is very focused on outsourcing work. Job security is an issue.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus less on globalization.