Where should I start? Having worked for a number of years enough to know a company from inside out, I can only say that it is big let down for bright talents which they hire from top colleges (IITs). Given the brand name it has, campus recruits are easily sucked into the brand only to relalize later that it is nothing but a joke especially for the oil and gas people. The quality of work is pathetic. Even somebody working in a 3rd tier oil and gas contractor in the US will have a much wider knowledge and perspective of the industry and technicalities. Just because of the Indian talent in this company, it has not gone to that level. But on the contrary, there are some people who even do not know the difference between a casing and a tubing after working for 3 years in Shell India.
Now coming to the management, they can be best termed as a bunch of jokers and hypocrites who are fooling around with the careers of young talents. They can go upto any extent in situations of adversity, even to the extent of laying off people deliberatly. The management, most of whom comprise of the fairer skin are treated like kings in India. Right from the facilities, cars, drivers, the best in class villa accomodation and what not, they still crib about India, They even claim openly about the beaurocracy that has imbibed into this corporate environmnet. Some of these jokers even claim and boast about who stays and who goes from the company. It is understood that it is a bad time for the industry and you are seeing layoffs across it. But the behaviour and the conduct of the managemnet at this point of crisis is pathetic. Its a saying that your character is tested at the time of adversity. And these people have failed miserably. Work life balance sometimes goes to new low where people spend 12-18 hours in the office and his boss spends 12-18 hours holidaying simultaneously. Nevertheless, inspite of the environment, people have excelled and grabbed onto other opportunities which Shell as global brand, no doubt, provides. But I pity people who somehow are stuck in there for the last n number of years. We as desi junta are the ones who are generally trapped. People cannot leave their job just because they do not like it. They work inspite of it as they have a number of liabilities and responsibilities which have to be taken care off. I even apprehend that the mangement has understood the mentality and somehow are tapping into these insecurities. Enough said about the top quartile of Shell Bangalore.
Now for the HR, I have seen enough in the other posts. So I will not go into it except the fact that sometimes I felt that there is a expat/HR nexus under the carpet and rules are customized as per the convenience of the top quartile.
To end I would again like to reiterate that Shell as a global brand is good but the Indian version of it is pathetic and will go down the drains someday if it continues with the current practices.
