HCL Reviews

3.6

63% would recommend to a friend

(5,595 total reviews)
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Shiv Nadar

78% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

HCL has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 5,595 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The HCL employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

6K reviews
2.0
28 Dec 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I'm desperately searching my brain for positives.The whole experience from training to working on the floor was a complete travesty and at times -most of the time- farcical. One very positive note - Some of the folk there were lovely and fun to be with. I miss that the most...It could have been so much more.

Cons

Too many to mention...but here are the major ones. 1 Micro managed to nth degree. 2 Horse play on the floor and several major incidents. 3 Training was appaling,badiy designed and painful. 4 Relentless,inhumane and at times, a health hazard. 5 This list is not exhaustive!

1.0
19 Aug 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's a job. Most of the staff (especially at junior levels) are pleasant and good to work with, but a few middle and senior managers are incompetent, rude and hold very high opinions of themselves. I occasionally come across someone really talented. UK staff are often in the client facing role as part of a larger offshore project so you sometimes get to work with some prestigious clients (and to constantly apologise to them). Most UK staff are TUPE'd in from other companies so will be on their previous package which makes it bearable until they get made redundant after 12 months because they are too expensive to keep. Unlike a contracting agency, you won't get laid off as soon as your project completes (but you will be pressurised into joining some other project which has a vacancy, whether you have the appropriate skills or not even if it is not commutable for you).

Cons

Very bureaucratic, "check box" culture which is also very hierarchical. HR department has been replaced by a computer, but this is also true of many companies. Treats staff like commodities that can be shipped around the world to work on projects without suitable experience or skills. Burns them out and replaces them. No investment in people, equipment or ventures unless a client is paying for it. An example of mandatory company training consists of a webex at 5 am with a presentation from someone in India reading a badly written script. Be prepared to pay for you own training if you need to learn new skills. Has pretensions to be being a global company, but really it is an Indian company with a few satellite offices. Difficult for Europeans to prosper since they just don't fit into the culture and won't be given senior positions. Don't be fooled by the UK Top Employers Institution badge: It's a subscription, not an award. If you are based on a client site (many UK employees are), you will be forgotten about. In these scenarios HCL is like a contracting agency and will email you daily to complete your timesheet so that they can charge the client for your time and that is all the interaction you will get. HCL constantly spams it own staff with campaigns, silly competitions, mandatory check-boxing, and invitations to presentations or evening events that are in Bangalore or Noida - another example of not filtering content or modifying the company culture for European staff. Integrity is in short supply. Peter's principle isn't.

2.0
27 Jan 2024

Review

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent people and Remote working

Cons

No career progression Treated like a number No compassion from HR managers when on bench

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Glassdoor has 6,159 HCL reviews submitted anonymously by HCL employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if HCL is right for you.