HCL Technologies Bank of Ireland Kilkenny

Karmakarma

I've worked for HCL technologies, my department was "fraud" for the BANK OF IRELAND!... I have to say the only thing that kept me in that job for so long was how many great friends you make!... but when it comes down to the actual day to day running of the place it's like HELL!

The place is so small that sometimes you can be left sitting in the canteen for hours without a computer because they don't have enough equipment or a place for you to do your work!. The so called "canteen" has only enough seats available for "6" people in a company that has over 120people employed and at any one time there could be at least 15-20 people on break together which results in sitting outside in the freezing cold or sitting on the floor or in the hall ways.

At one point the TeamLeaders would actually sit in a different room "training room" & push out who ever was in there so they could eat their lunch comfortably. They don't provide any proper facilities for you to have your lunch/break, the place is a health & safety nightmare. Cleaning products just left everywhere, dirty dishes everywhere, Tabacco all over the tables, lime & grime absolutely everywhere, holes in the walls, paint is patchy & walls are dirty with stains, no hygiene hand wash available.

The windows are not allowed to be opened & are covered with blinds due to "security & data protection" the air con does not work & is filthy. So everyone gets sick all the time & they wonder why the sick leave is always so high.

Also the hours are ridiculous from week to week you've a different shift so your body clock doesn't have time to adjust & you never have two days off together or a weekend.


Management is a big joke! J & M are both senior team leaders;

J is very temperamental he constantly shouts at you or points his finger in your face or clicks at you for your attention or burping in your face with no apology. Dress code clearly does not apply to him either. People are petrified to even speak to him if they need help. I've witnessed him physically taking hats off people's head as if they were in school.
He can be extremely nasty with his comments and making rude remarks about agents to other agents in regards to their work ethic. He has no managerial training or guidance and has the full run of the show in there and if he don't like you! You may as well just quit or he'll make your time there a living hell!.

M is another senior team leader who hasn't a clue what she is doing, she goes for multiple coffee runs a day to avoid doing any work, she speaks down to people as if they are less than her, screams at people to take calls and god help you if she comes in; in a bad mood because she can be extremely nasty! She has not got a clue about credit card fraud or visa debit fraud but manage to take such a high position. You can be garaunteed a smart or sarcastic reply if you ask her any question. I've witnessed her make this girls life (who is a part timer) a nightmare.

Also not one team leader in there will take over an escalation if requested by a customer you are told to tell the customer they are busy or not there, apparently this must be the kind of customer service Bank of Ireland want for their customers as they are fully aware of the behaviour of management in the building.

It's a sackable offence to have any type of equipment that can either record, store or take pictures on the call floor but more recently agents have gotten hold of a photo that is clearly taken on a call floor with computer screens very visible and 4 or 5 Teamleaders & team mentors posing in it. What a MAJOR BREACH! Of security.

There is no HR personnel in the facilitie but they do have a "HR Champion" who is not qualified or have any training at all & is extremely bias in all decisions he makes & has been known to sweep things under the carpet and let them escalate until it's too late. He also has a lack of sympathy or empathy when it comes to agents & their personal problems such as Mental Health issues or Medical issues etc.

Payroll in there is crazy! Each week you do not know whether or not you'll be able to pay your bills or feed your family as you're unsure if they've paid you properly. They constantly deduct you hours and you could have never missed a day. Then they put them into your next weeks wages and your taxed again so you lose out on what you worked for.

The breaks are a joke in there also!. They give 15minutes through out your day to ONLY use for the bathroom! Which is kept track of & if you go over they will make a show of you in front of everyone and tell you on the floor that you've used up all your comfort break for the day!. If you have a problem such as kidney infection etc thy expect a cert so they extent your breaks. (P.s your name is on a big projector for everyone to see & your name high lights red if you go over your time, so if your in the toilet for 5mins the whole entire building knows).

Confidentiality is something the company doesn't seem to recognise. If you have any HR incident you can garauntee everyone else will know about it before you do! If you discuss something in private you can be sure your TL & "HR Champion"will have a good public gossip about it.

Reports about a certain Team mentor bullying an agent were dismissed & they promoted her, but when that mentor reported another guy for bullying it was quickly acted upon.

I've seen so many things in that company that blow my mind. I could write endless stories.

HCL is all about been in a click!. If they don't like you, honestly you're best off leaving.

Truly speaking I don't know how the Bank of Ireland supports this company & how they treat their staff.

I just advise you not to work here unless you're extremely & truly desperate.

Musicman2000

Has a very bad name around Kilkenny, sounds likes Eistech in Waterford.

Ally Dick

Did Bank Of Ireland outsource this function to HCL India recently?

Karmakarma

Ally Dick wrote: »

Did Bank Of Ireland outsource this function to HCL India recently?

Have the contract with them about 4years

Tom Dunne

Did it ever occur to you that by posting such detailed information it would make you identifiable to a coworker, or worse, a manager in that organisation?

Greyfox

I've worked for HCL too, definitely the worst job I ever had, in my customer care department theres new starts every few weeks as most people last less than 2 months. They regularly don't pay people correctly, you have to tell a team leader when you want to go to the toilet outside of your break and most people fail to reach the riddiculous targets they set there staff which really messes with morale

OisinDunne

@OP....You do know that there are unions around that can help you. These employers (while not Irish) are still subject to Irish Employment law.

Brownelloc

I work in the Middle East and I met HCL at a conference there, around 2000. One thing lead to another and I arranged a visit for them to Ireland so they could come and see some of my outsource clients here and what I could do for them. They were two of the rudest, most arrogant individuals I ever had the displeasure of hosting. They were demanding on the hosts - to a point of arrogance and they told me out straight that their mission was to suck all the knowledge they could out of me and the hosts in the few days we had together so they wouldn't have to pay consulting fees!

I was shocked and intrigued last week when I received a spate of emails asking me to apply for an operations Director role for HCL in Kilkenny. I applied and all the usual emails went back and forth. I applied partly out of intrigue; just to see if the two gentlemen I met were still representative of life at HCL.

I also read the posts here and my worst fears became more apparent. I know how HCL operate in other parts of the world and the "sweat shop devoid of emotion, and incapable of creating staff or customer experience" is what came to mind. I decided that on principle, there is no way I would be a party to treating people like that so lost interest in the job.

Nonetheless, my interview was setup for last Monday so I was ready, by the phone waiting for the call. The call never came. When I contacted them and asked them why, they initially told me they would investigate and now they just ignore my emails. So they encouraged me to apply, setup an interview and then didn't bother their a*** making the call.

My experience is that the negative posts here are probably bang on the money. A total sham of a company that treats people like mere commodities. To this day I regret ever hosting them in Ireland. I would never want to be seen as part of the management team of such a company and it is sickening to think that Irish companies are turning a blind eye to this carry on all in the name of saving money. HCL and their clients are equally responsible and they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

That's my tuppence ha'penny anyway.

Stonedpilot

Karmakarma wrote: »

I've worked for HCL technologies, my department was "fraud" for the BANK OF IRELAND!... I have to say the only thing that kept me in that job for so long was how many great friends you make!... but when it comes down to the actual day to day running of the place it's like HELL!

The place is so small that sometimes you can be left sitting in the canteen for hours without a computer because they don't have enough equipment or a place for you to do your work!. The so called "canteen" has only enough seats available for "6" people in a company that has over 120people employed and at any one time there could be at least 15-20 people on break together which results in sitting outside in the freezing cold or sitting on the floor or in the hall ways.

At one point the TeamLeaders would actually sit in a different room "training room" & push out who ever was in there so they could eat their lunch comfortably. They don't provide any proper facilities for you to have your lunch/break, the place is a health & safety nightmare. Cleaning products just left everywhere, dirty dishes everywhere, Tabacco all over the tables, lime & grime absolutely everywhere, holes in the walls, paint is patchy & walls are dirty with stains, no hygiene hand wash available.

The windows are not allowed to be opened & are covered with blinds due to "security & data protection" the air con does not work & is filthy. So everyone gets sick all the time & they wonder why the sick leave is always so high.

Also the hours are ridiculous from week to week you've a different shift so your body clock doesn't have time to adjust & you never have two days off together or a weekend.


Management is a big joke! J & M are both senior team leaders;

J is very temperamental he constantly shouts at you or points his finger in your face or clicks at you for your attention or burping in your face with no apology. Dress code clearly does not apply to him either. People are petrified to even speak to him if they need help. I've witnessed him physically taking hats off people's head as if they were in school.
He can be extremely nasty with his comments and making rude remarks about agents to other agents in regards to their work ethic. He has no managerial training or guidance and has the full run of the show in there and if he don't like you! You may as well just quit or he'll make your time there a living hell!.

M is another senior team leader who hasn't a clue what she is doing, she goes for multiple coffee runs a day to avoid doing any work, she speaks down to people as if they are less than her, screams at people to take calls and god help you if she comes in; in a bad mood because she can be extremely nasty! She has not got a clue about credit card fraud or visa debit fraud but manage to take such a high position. You can be garaunteed a smart or sarcastic reply if you ask her any question. I've witnessed her make this girls life (who is a part timer) a nightmare.

Also not one team leader in there will take over an escalation if requested by a customer you are told to tell the customer they are busy or not there, apparently this must be the kind of customer service Bank of Ireland want for their customers as they are fully aware of the behaviour of management in the building.

It's a sackable offence to have any type of equipment that can either record, store or take pictures on the call floor but more recently agents have gotten hold of a photo that is clearly taken on a call floor with computer screens very visible and 4 or 5 Teamleaders & team mentors posing in it. What a MAJOR BREACH! Of security.

There is no HR personnel in the facilitie but they do have a "HR Champion" who is not qualified or have any training at all & is extremely bias in all decisions he makes & has been known to sweep things under the carpet and let them escalate until it's too late. He also has a lack of sympathy or empathy when it comes to agents & their personal problems such as Mental Health issues or Medical issues etc.

Payroll in there is crazy! Each week you do not know whether or not you'll be able to pay your bills or feed your family as you're unsure if they've paid you properly. They constantly deduct you hours and you could have never missed a day. Then they put them into your next weeks wages and your taxed again so you lose out on what you worked for.

The breaks are a joke in there also!. They give 15minutes through out your day to ONLY use for the bathroom! Which is kept track of & if you go over they will make a show of you in front of everyone and tell you on the floor that you've used up all your comfort break for the day!. If you have a problem such as kidney infection etc thy expect a cert so they extent your breaks. (P.s your name is on a big projector for everyone to see & your name high lights red if you go over your time, so if your in the toilet for 5mins the whole entire building knows).

Confidentiality is something the company doesn't seem to recognise. If you have any HR incident you can garauntee everyone else will know about it before you do! If you discuss something in private you can be sure your TL & "HR Champion"will have a good public gossip about it.

Reports about a certain Team mentor bullying an agent were dismissed & they promoted her, but when that mentor reported another guy for bullying it was quickly acted upon.

I've seen so many things in that company that blow my mind. I could write endless stories.

HCL is all about been in a click!. If they don't like you, honestly you're best off leaving.

Truly speaking I don't know how the Bank of Ireland supports this company & how they treat their staff.

I just advise you not to work here unless you're extremely & truly desperate.

I take it you didnt like it there.?. Arent bank of Ireland taking on all HCL employees?Across the road to the promised land boi! all call centres designed to squeeze every penny but never heard of one as extreme as this. All banks now run from call centres the branches all being closed and anyway those in branch havent a clue, banks tend to put the duds in branch as no one except the elderly or those with dementia go in there.
To the person who said go to a Union I can say from experience in a call centre with a handful of members or worse 1 member they couldn't care less. The CWU are so distant with members in call centres they might as well be in China. Unions only care when it suits themselves. 1 member in a pickle, your on your own kid! Is the attitude they have. Beyond pathetic.

Ohmeha

HCL are known in the banking industry to be cheapskates from their back-office operations to their IT services. BOI use them heavily and now do AIB. Most internationally owned call centres are difficult to work for, many employers recognise that but you probably don't realise the experience will stand to you in your next employment. BOI themselves are not far off some of the HCL level shambles you described so standards within outsourcers are not of any concern to these companies once they're cut from the same cloth and saving on costs.