Pros
1. Job stability - On this front Polaris should get a 10/10. There is high degree of job security offered to employees. In case project gets over associates get 2 weeks bench time in the US. Company tries to find another project and tries to accomodate you rather than plainly laying off as done by the likes of Accenture and IBM. 2. Exposure to global banks and financial domain - Polaris has plenty to offer to those who are interested in learning banking products and financial stuff . This company works exclusively for banks hence there will never be a situation when you have to compromise with the domain. In other big companies such as Infosys or Cognizant there is no respect for an associate's preference to work on a particular domain and you will find employees getting switched amongst various domains, including banking 3. Decent HR policies in USA - HR people are very prompt in responding to issues. The company does not cheat employees in the name of variable pay. The salary is fixed and comes on time at the end of the month thus making financial planning/loan re-payments/credit card payments very easy. The training sessions are held in Newport office on various occasions and are very nice to attend. 4. Competent immigration team for USA - On this front Polaris should again get a 10/10. Immigration team is very knowledgable. It is in sync with the latest policies of the USCIS and also knows how to prepare and file the visas for associates without missing any important part of the application. Company offers decent onsite opportunities to folks in India. Company has a good track record at the USCIS due to which H1/L1 visas get approved even when the USCIS is very strict (although there can be denials as well). Recently USCIS made it mandatory for H1B folks to ensure that their physical job location matches the location (basically LCA) listed on form I-129. Without much delay Polaris HR checks with employees holding H1 Visaand see if correction is to be made. Those employees who needed the new LCA filed for H1B amendment and I am sure they got the new LCA from the USCIS. Now this is called following immigration rules. Not like an Infosys or a TCS that cheat US immigration laws by sending people on B1 for coding/testing and also dont maintain proper LCA records for their H1/L1 employees. 5. Higher chances of recognition for good work done- More dependency on the billable associates in USA make them valuable to the company and they are treated fairly compared to the India based employees 6. Processes Green Card - Those employees who join Polaris in USA can aspire to have green card processed. The wait time is less and the company also prefers that its employees apply for green card so that they can be on the company's payrolls for long time. Although employees have to pay some portion of the cost of green card, it is worth the shot because you dont have to spend a year or two just waiting for approvals from management ladder as it happens in cognizant or a wipro/infosys.
Cons
1. Salary - This factor is undoubtedly the first on the minds of employees. Salaries are almost stagnant and low and there is little hope that there will be increments that are huge. 2. Brand name - Due to bad behavior of some senior managers in Polaris gurgaon location the entire company got a bad name in the year 2009. The exit of employees was encashed. The company is doing well and has a bright future but due to a negative image the bright side almost gets neglected 3. Too much of politics and egoism - This is a factor that is present in all Indian IT companies and hence Polaris is no exception. Indians can never get along well. Possibility of an Indian getting well along with an American or a European is higher than the possibility of an Indian getting along with another Indian. Un-necessary assumptions and evaluations of an employee on the basis of religion, caste or language is very detrimental for the project but nobody listens. You cant escape this situation even if you are in USA.