HSBC reviews

Probably too big to manage effectively. Everyone pretty much becomes a cog in the machine, unless you become senior management or happen to work in a fairly independent division / location. With such size, it's difficult to avoid bureaucracy. At least in Hong Kong, back-office functions can be so narrowly defined, while overseeing a complex range of customers, that no one really has the 'big picture'. There often is a disconnect between what top level management sees and what actually happens at the working level. e.g. organisation of divisions is viewed differently depending on the level it is viewed by.

Pay is low, expected to work overtime a lot, no recognition of a good job done. There is a clash between the mentality of the Household Company which HSBC bought a couple of years ago with the fast pace mentality of the international brand. Morale is low. Senior leadership changes a lot and the good people go in and out of the company. There is no work life balance. They have been outsourcing some of their functions with people in India causing a culture clash. Location is far from downtown chicago.