Parker Hannifin Reviews

Pros

Its great being part of a big company in some respects. They do have some benefits that are ok. The 401k is average and they do match 3%. The name Parker is good to have on a resume for future use. Its a great place to get an education in how a big company operates.

Cons

The group we reported to, Seal Group, acquired our location 3 or so years ago and had basically destroyed the company through a lack of understanding of our business and customers. This is typical of Parker and how they do acquisitions, they buy a company and then try to change it into something that it is not in an attempt to make it generate more cash. In the process they lay off people, cut their pay, close some locations, send production to mexico or china and raise prices to customers. This is the Parker "operating plan".

The bonus plan is non existent unless you are a Division Level Manager or higher in the company.

The healthcare insurance is expensive and is a typical old school (80/20) plan that attempts to not pay for claims. I thought these types of medical plans were gone long ago.

The company has very arrogant upper management that think they know everything. But they really don't know everything, they have just been at Parker so long that they don't know any better.

Metrics. Parker has set the bar for friviolous metrics, useless paperwork creation and cumbersome programs that have no benefit. They claim to be be LEAN experts but they hire many people just to manage the LEAN metrics boards and then lay off the workers. At our division they lay workers off every month and hire more and more people to just shuffle paperwork and enact all these programs that require yet more people to manage the programs. Soon there will be no workers and only managers that are managing LEAN programs. I guess with all the work being moved to china and mexico there will be no need for anyone doing any actual work.

At our factory we had only one real customer and that customer hated us after Parker bought us. I am afraid that the division I worked at will close its doors and everyone will be out of work because of the way the company is being ran. Sometimes it was like they did not know what they were doing.

Every Parker factory is poorly staffed and at the breaking point of survival and can barley service its accounts. They are obsessed with headcount reduction and running the plants with as few people as possible. This creates high turnover and low morale and customers that hate Parker.

Advice to Senior Management

Parker needs to think about its priorities and put its customers and employees first.

Profits through layoffs, moving production to mexico & china is not how to manage a company.

Pros

Great place to gain experience, but not to persue a career. I do like some of the technology, although most technology at Parker is 20+ years old. They are great at hydraulic hose and cylinder manufacturing(Hydraulics Division), this is the real cash machine at Parker. Most other divisions were slapped together through acquisitions and plant closures, not much organic growth. I like my coworkers. There is some good talent here, but most people are looking to get out and follow their career aspirations.

Cons

Company has a brutal culture of short term profit generation, at all costs. Employees under the level of GM are used as cannon fodder to generate bonuses (RONA), stock options and other huge payouts for upper management. The company has a mind numbing set of metrics that it uses to command and control from afar. The company is self insured and has a sub standard healthcare program that is quirkey, but they have an agreement with a company that gives free massages to employees, you can't go to the doctor for a check up because it costs you $500, but you can get a free massage! Parker is a typical big company that has lost its way and is just another "me too" big organization that is offshoring all its jobs as fast as it possibly can. They have an operating protocol called (the WIN strategy/LEAN) and this appears to be a copy of the Danaher operations scheme to some degree. What the WIN strategy really means is how can Parker lay off as many people as possible in the name of "LEAN". Most business units are strapped for resources to the breaking point. Where Toyota uses "LEAN" to free up manufacturing capacity to meet increasing demands for its product big companys, like Parker, use it to reduce overhead expense(employees). Employee turn over is huge below the level of GM. At the GM level, and above, the average length of service soars to many years of service. With many in upper management easily averaging 20+ years of service. This is because the culture at Parker in these ranks is such that they view Parker as a type of personal wealth creation machine and once they are part of the "machine" they realize they don't have the skills to duplicate their compensation elsewhere and they become "Parkerized" and don't leave. I dislike this type of management style. We should be worried about customer service and growing the company through increased organic sales. Not increasing profits by closing factories.

Nothing special about Parker, typical big company trying to maximize profits (and personal enrichment)at all costs, but at Parker they take it to a whole new level.

Advice to Senior Management

Let's get back to work servicing the customers and building the company and stop all this executive personal enrichment activity and short term drive for cash, and more cash, and more and more and more. The customers are not happy, the average employee is not happy. Let's start thinking long term and try to get to a balance of healthy growth, happy customers and a stable manufacturing footrprint with happy employees.

Pros

Good international with a great financial performance.

Cons

Huge product offering which is hard to oversee.

Pros

Good management and great feedback.

Cons

Long hours and tedious duties.

Advice to Senior Management

Hold more all hands meetings.

Pros

Parker Hannifin offers good pay for type of work. Good people there to work with.

Cons

Hours can be long. Sometimes family time or free time has to be sacrificed.

Advice to Senior Management

please be more flexible with time off. Allow a discretionary day or two.

Pros

Opportunities for adavancement are available for those nwho make an effort. The Win strategy is working in regards to increse profitablility.

Cons

Pay typically below thier peers, in my case management does not respect majority of employees look at profits only which tends to kill moral which ultimately effects profits.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay typically below thier peers, in my case management does not respect majority of employees look at profits only which tends to kill moral which ultimately effects profits. Lack of respect for qualified technicians "atitude that anyone can do a job "which results in poor quality

Pros

a relatively stable job.
located close to boston metro area.
the company itself is very diversified and globalized.
Opportunity to travel internationally.

Cons

inflexible working time.
managerial teams are very ineffective and care very little about employees.
It's more like a manufacturing warehouse and doesn't really wanna support R&D.

Advice to Senior Management

PH is diversified and has branches on totally different fields. However, the managerial teams don't have diversified culture. Especially, the R&D activities are not properly managed but more like treated as manufacturing/operating activities.

Pros

Vacation time is good. Get most holidays off. Can change hours when needed. Still offering Profit Sharing! A Couple other perks that are good. Get lots of free meals!

Cons

Lately, not enough people to do the job properly. Lots of stressed out employees! They trying to save money, but dragging employees down. Always use to have enough people! What Happened, LEAN? Benefits could be better.

Advice to Senior Management

We have good employees..lets make them happy again!!

Pros

It is a company with a lot of potential, if it can ever get out of it's own way and instead focus on what is important

Cons

Too much "pass the buck" montra. People are more interested in personal gain than actually doing anything productive with their day.

Pros

Stable, broad product offering, excellent medical plan. Multiple facilities globally so there is the possibility of moving around

Cons

Very political. My local division management is inept and doesn't understand the business we are in. They are making short term descisions to meet numbers that are going to negatively impact us longer term. They try and keep everything secret even obvious decisions

Advice to Senior Management

Stop being blinded by metrics that really don't represent a corporate goal. Our goal is to build and sell products not to generate paperwork. Share longer term goals so your employees have something to work towards