Boaz Third

Review of Eclaro International

My direct experience with Eclaro was pleasant, but...

My direct experience with Eclaro was pleasant, but tangent experience with their primary client, Hewlett Packard, was one of the worst experiences I ever had in my life. The problem: Eclaro does not sit on the same premises as the work being performed.

I was hired to provide remote support to a procurement manager. The manager was generally unpleasant to all of the third-party contractors. He took pride in being "Crummie" to contractors, downplaying their knowledge, expertise, and credibility with each opportunity. One of the contractors (who did an extraordinary job helping with a key global project) experienced a sudden death in the family. He took two weeks off and upon return, the HP manager fired him on the following Friday -- this occurred "after" the contractor completed a major project upon which the entire team needed for process improvement.

Well, we continued to use the contractor's work-product after the Crummie manager fired him (for nothing). I guess HP got their money's worth. The HP manager took ample opportunity to attempt to say bad things about the contractor after he ridded his organization of another one, but the fact remains that the contractor produced more than the HP manager could have ever produced on his own, with the remnants of the team.

The entire team was demoralized by the HP manager, continually. And for fear of losing our jobs, none of us challenged the HP manager on how he treated subordinates and contractors through Eclaro.

The problem with Eclaro is that by not "being involved" in day-to-day business activities, the contractors are "left on their own" to fend for their livelihoods. As contractors, we all know that it only takes one bad client to ruin a livelihood. I heard that the person the Crummie manager fired later lost his home after wrongful termination. Eclaro was unable to find another contract after displacement. Later, the Eclaro portfolio dwindled after the primary client expanded diversity (no pun intended) by using other third-party contract recruiters.

Eclaro management was pleasant, but quite passive. I would not recommend working as a contractor through Eclaro for this reason. The payback is not commensurate with effort.