Alten
3.0 out of 5 stars.
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Location
United Kingdom26 reviews

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3.3Work-life balance
2.7Pay & benefits
2.8Job security & advancement
2.6Management
2.9Culture

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System engineer

Featured review

Alten selected this as a representative review
An excellent company to work for with excellent salary package. You will be given the opportunity to work on cutting edge engineering projects in and around UK
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Excellent career opportunities

Fast paced but very good career progression due to high level of organic growth. Requires dedication and commitment to meet high levels of quality expectations.
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Productive

Leader in Engineering and IT ServicesALTEN supports its customers’ development strategies in the areas of innovation, R&D and technological information systemsSo I recommend this
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Job roles never explained

Full of very unprofessional and rude business managers that are terribly inexperienced and have no knowledge of the people they employ and or the client and the clients true end requirements.
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Profits before people.

In my time at Alten I was fortunate enough to experience what it's like to watch a company transform itself completely with a very negative result.When I joined in 2019 Alten was very much a people-orientated engineering company that emphasised rewards in exchange for hard work. Their recruitment process seemed honest and they were very straightforward about the way that the company worked and what was expected of their employees. At the time I was looking for a step-up from my previous job and this seemed like a good move. Yes, I might sacrifice some of my work-life balance but overall it seemed like a good place to gain some more experience.The team I joined was a bit rough around the edges but had a positive working culture that emphasised process improvement and a high rate of work delivery and quality. I learned a lot in the first few months and I count myself as privileged to have worked alongside my team and to have accomplished as much as we did in such a short time.Unfortunately Alten was hit very hard by the economic effects of the Covid pandemic and had to make aggressive staff cuts to balance the books. It seemed like they conducted this process fairly openly but right from the outset it was clear that a lot of people were going to lose their jobs. Whilst I wasn't one of them I do feel sorry for the people who were made redundant as they had pretty much no chance to offer viable alternatives to the redundancy police. The company conducted a consultation and rejected the plans offered by those who they were consulting with because ultimately they didn't meet the - 

Pros

Some good people

Cons

Average pay, unpleasant customers, incompetent management
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management is appalling

If you are a yes man and willing to work without questioning management in the way they manipulate staff and customers then this company is ok. Question management or request training or anyghing that will cost tbe company extra money then this is not tolerated.

Pros

Easy to get job

Cons

No support
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Excessive workload , poor support

Nice colleagues, but salary is low and managers are far too busy to support properly. nice colleagues, not much investment into employees. profit driven, not care driven.

Cons

no support from seniors
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Do not care about employees who are treated very badly

This company does not care about it employees at all, they are treated with no respect and got rid of whenever it suits the company for little or no justifiable reason – a very hire and fire culture. They will always believe what their client says above and beyond their employees, and use this to get rid of their employees when it suits them, especially when the clients budget is cut. Passing their 3 monthly reviews is a farce, as they are very limited and this does not go against your overall performance. Do not raise any issues that they are having with the client, as they will use this against you when it suits to get rid of you. Their processes are a joke, and reviews with senior management are very unprofessional and you are treated with contempt. They are late, arrogant and will not review and take a considered approach to all the items on the agenda. Making very unjustified decisions on a very small limited area of the issue. They do not consider your overall performance and if I had worked their longer, I would have taken them to an industrial tribunal, but as they work very underhandly I cannot. HR attend reviews but stay silent – worried about their own job security. In summary a very poorly ran company who use you to maximise their profits, whilst feeding you lies about what a great career you can have with them. I should have known better as what I heard from other people working for them was and is true and very shocking.

Pros

Absolutely and utterly none at all.

Cons

Do not care about employees who are treated very badly
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Exciting workplace with many opportunities

Career managers are very helpful in picking out potential projects and progressing your skills. There are a wide variety of projects available within a large number of companies. Friendly workplace. Coronavirus situation handled poorly. A lot of redundancies in progress.

Pros

Good Facilities, Supportive Career Managers, Flexibility, Plentiful Career Opportunities

Cons

Poor handling of Coronavirus, possibility of needing to relocate, Job security depends on available projects
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Do not work for Alten

Worst job experience of my life. It’s good maybe only for young graduates. No job ethic towards the employees whatsoever only customer oriented policy. Very bad
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Excellent engineering services.

Provide consultant services for different type of industries. Alten is a strong consultant company with great interaction with important industries that can give opportunities to consultants to have interesting engineering experience.
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Enginering role

Alten is consultant company so consider it before you join. Very nice and helpful colleagues on the project Management decision is very poor. Almost no training, if it's not strictly required by customer. Carrier developement is dificult, if you do not want to be hiring manager.
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Good company to start with

Fast pace environment which allows ground for progression in a short time. Possibility to take the lead on different topics, very open minded management. International environment with an amazing team. Only negative aspect: base salary compared to working hours
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Avoid this company at all costs.

Alten claims they employ 34000 staff worldwide in several countrires including Australia. When checking for jobs overseas in those countries there were no offices in Australia and when questioned.....they were ''in the process of buying other Engineering resources so in the future they will have offices in Aus''. In the induction Australia was lit up red as was most of the world giving the impression Alten are bigger than they claim to be. This is just one lie in the hundreds of promises that are made to their staff. Alten have the highest turnover of staff yet they still hide behind the 34000 new recruits. The pay is disgraceful. They pay staff less and they offer you a supplementary bonus to make up what was already your salary. This bonus isn't written in your contract so don't ever attempt to get a mortgage with it. They can change your job location once your contract at the customer finishes so you have to commute in some cases 3/4 times as far and they do. No additional allowance for expenses. Note all expenses are to be paid from your pocket and some of the expenses you may claim back over a month later - oh and you need to post the receipts not email them as that's company policy. To leave Alten you need to give 3 months notice yet they can terminate your contract within 1wk until your probation period is complete. They can increase this past 6months if they choose. Alten claims to pay for training yet the only training you will get is what is offered by the customer or internal training which isn't accredited. The health insurance package is cleverly worded in - 
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Horrible company

I had a very bad experience with this company for 1 year. They are very pushy and demanding for the salaries they pay. Also, there are some arrogant french managers which treats you as you worth nothing and you should be proud to work for them...without reason. I have 9 years experience in automotive engineering and this company is the worst place I ever seen. This is the company that you don't want to work for.
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Pyramid structured organisation

Alten UK's entire business strategy is somewhat different than any other company I have ever worked for. It is basically a commission based structure which relies on aggressive recruitment and brutish expansion. Built on the backs of those who have long since left; as it becomes clear after one or two years the full extent of this parasitic company. Recruiters receive commission for finding the engineers, business managers receive commission for bringing them on a customers project, and the engineers themselves receive commission for sending CV's to there respective business manager. To the extent that during your annual appraisal, if you have not sent in some of your friends or former colleagues CV's, it will effect your yearly performance (and annual raise). Instead of developing your career (as the business managers will continually tell you they plan to do), this pyramid structure attracts a very hungry and money oriented top level management, which cascades down into all areas of the business. Not an engineering company, its a recruitment company. With business managers more like salesmen. Not a company I want to support and not one I would recommend you to join (unless that is, like many of my colleagues, you plan to use them as a way into the UK market and once here, find something new.
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Perfect workplace for self development

Working on behalf of one of the biggest engineering companies in the world, consultants are challenged to give their best within diverse environments, at the same time that they are supported by a robust managerial strategy. Such experience helps ALTEN´s employees to build strong and solid personal and professional skills, which are highly valuable and suitable for any environment that is aiming for development and thriving goals.
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Good environment

I have been working at ALTEN Ltd as a recruiter intern and I have had a lot of responsibilities, I wasn't considered as an intern but as an employee. The communication is really good and you can growth with the company.

Pros

career opportunity
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Consultant company

Usual average consultant company: hiring if contract are won, firing when lack of job even new hires. No real growth of carrer path or development. Work location is uncertain.

Pros

Work/Life Balance

Cons

Poor salary
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Terrible place to work, very unprofessional and bad work culture

Hands down the worst place I have ever worked. Very low salaries, rude and unprofessional staff, terrible work culture and no work-life balance. They expect you to work long hours, doing several different roles for a pittance. Leaving this role was the best thing I ever did.

Pros

none

Cons

everything
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Unorganised and only business focused

Highly organised culture where project leader has no time for support, business managers have no knowledge of work and no plan to place employees in right place with right skills.

Pros

Has good client list

Cons

Arrogant Managers with no understanding to engineering
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Overall rating

Based on 503 reviews

Ratings by category

3.3 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance
2.7 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits
2.8 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement
2.6 out of 5 stars for Management
2.9 out of 5 stars for Culture

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