KLA-Tencor Reviews

Pros

Highly Skilled work force, Leading edge technology!

Cons

Work Life balance not good!

Pros

Benefits are great. Especially, the insurance.

Cons

If you are a working in the field it is difficult to get noticed if you do a good job managing the customer.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to flatten the organization.

Pros

As a software engineer, the work was interesting. My management looked to me for most of the technical direction of our product, which was satisfying. My requests for resources and purchases (e.g. laptops, books, commercial software utilities) were never denied.

Cons

During my 3.5 years at KLA-Tencor two of my managers were put on performance warnings and ultimately dismissed from the company. My last (third and final) manager was put on performance warning after 8 months, which is the reason I resigned and took a position elsewhere. I don't consider it professional to give the details of the aberrant behavior I witnessed from my managers. I will just say my experience was bizarre and unsettling.

As an individual contributor, I only interacted with the lower levels of management (line-management up through mid-level management), so the more senior managers may not have the issues I witnessed.

I am giving the KLA-Tencor's CEO (Rick Wallace) a low rating because all I can really judge him on is the culture he created that I worked in (described above) and the value of KLA-Tencor's stock during my time at the company. When I started the price of KLA-Tencor stock was $50/share, and on my last day it was $39/share.

Advice to Senior Management

Why were so many of my mangers put on performance warning and ultimately dismissed from the company? I would have stayed with you a bit longer if it weren't for the aberrant behavior of my managers.

Pros

Good compensation if you consider bonus and profit sharing. Highly regarded top management and excellent training. Vacation and sick leave are merged into "paid time off" which can increase vacation time if you don't use much sick leave.

Cons

There seems to be quite a few reorganizations which can be a god or a bad thing depending on how you feel about your current management. Hours can be long, but probably on par with other Silicon Valley employees.

Advice to Senior Management

I would try to limit reorganizations when possible and try to maintain staffing levels a little higher even at the expense of a slight hit to profit.

Pros

stable
market leader
smart people
friendly working environment

Cons

no growth
no clear career path
Cheap

Advice to Senior Management

expend to new market, new technology

Pros

Plenty of technical challenges. Very good management team for implementing best known practices.

Cons

The company is very conservative. I do not see any signficant growth potential as the company already has a large markeshare.

Advice to Senior Management

Some divisions have become too political. Need to inject new blood to both management and individual contributors. Use external audits to understand what is going on in the biggest divisions with weak management.

Pros

There is both support work and project work available
However increasing use of really poor consultants have made everyones life a lot harder

Cons

No opportunities for career advancement in IT
No recognition and little reward for your hard work
Incompetent senior management
No respect for employees

Advice to Senior Management

Others have mentioned it before
The senior IT management just does not listen so it is worthless offering any advice
Really poor management has made IT a really poor place to work

Pros

KLA-Tencor is one of the best leading company in the semiconductor industry and also best supplier of semicon equipment to chip makers. ---

Cons

There are always problem with resource planning in the local side, no matter how high business grows or not.

Advice to Senior Management

Forecasting is one of the most important factor for upper management, contrarily there's lagging in-between upturns and downturns as long as I have experienced this company. Especially KLA-Tencor needs to improve insight of foreasting to upcoming future, so that employees and the company can grow together.

Pros

Relatively pressure free atmosphere and no overtime

Cons

Pay, Pay, Pay and benefits

Advice to Senior Management

How about more pay

Pros

As someone already mentioned some of the people who are left are not as bitter. It's hard to come up with positives, when the atmosphere has been poisoned by the existing managers and directors

Cons

I see a number of reviews of the IT department here already and I can't add much more to that. Most of the people left have to answer to incompetent managers who are self serving and have no interest in your wellbeing. Offshoring is the norm. There is no interest in living corporate values. Crazy deadlines abound. Decisions are made in a political fashion with absolute no regard for fairness or equality. No training. No skills development. Work after hours is expected since planning is so poor or non existent. CIO is on the fast path to destroying this company

Advice to Senior Management

As someone already pointed out, there really is no point in offering any advice to the IT leadership because listening is completely wasted on them. They have destroyed the morale, motivation and interest of everyone they touch. It truly is heartbreaking. I had the opportunity to leave many times but stuck it out, but I too am glad to have moved on. Horrible people and horrible policies and procedures