Agfa Healthcare Reviews

Pros

The Tech Support Dep't had some very knowledgeable and skilled people who were very helpful and supportive of the customer and the field engineer alike.

Cons

Due to recent personnel cutbacks combined with aggressive installation projects there were simply not enough field support engineers to support the customer base.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus more on quality service and less on "making the numbers"

Pros

providing a valuable service to Health-care

Cons

slower European bureaucracy makes being able to adapt to changing environment more challenging.

Advice to Senior Management

more input from within, rather than top down

Pros

lots of opportunities for motivated people

Cons

Continuous restructuring, putting more and more pressure on people who stay.

Advice to Senior Management

focus on less products, just do the right thing.

Pros

-Culture that exists from previous company Mitra is one of mutual respect - for colleagues and ultimately for customers. Everyone works on a first name basis, and there are no Mahogany offices for the elite.
-We really do care about the patients that will benefit if our products are used properly and functioning properly. Everyone that works here has a personal committment and is proud of the work we do in HealthCare....this is one of the things that keeps us going! We can directly relate the efforts we take to real people....neighbors/friends/mothers/uncles/and strangers.
-Agfa is a good community player - charitable contributions and sponsorhip/participation in local activities - More and more each year which makes us proud to say we work for Agfa when our neighbors ask where we work
-Flexible hours and Health/Fitness focus allows a good work/life balance. Employees run fitness classes for each other for free, and we bring in a yoga instructor. Gym on site is a huge bonus that many employees take advantage of.
-Good benefits....especially the RRSP matching program. There is no other employer offerring such a good RRSP program in this area.
- Upper Management and company executives really do understand Software Development! (although that was a problem for a few crucial years that did cause alot of havoc)
- We have a Vision and we have a Strategy - although that was previously a problem for the company...the current management have roadmaps, strategies, focus, etc.

Cons

- HR local management- is a problem. They don't listen to employees, and are biased on the side of local management at all times. It is obvious who they work for and they can't be trusted. Why get into an HR role if you basically don't like people? (disclaimer - the people focusing on benefits have always been an asset to the HR team and are not included in this statement)
-Hiring - not sure if we have a weird process...but we can't seem to get the people in the door fast enough. We have positions to fill...and lots of local talent to draw from. Do we take too long? Do we do too many interviews with too many people in them? Do they get scared by our HR people?
- limited access to professional development - training - as budgets have been cut for last 5 years
- Middle Management - no accountability, busy saving their own skin and pointing the finger elsewhere. Sometimes promoted to roles they have no experience in...this will hurt the people depending on them eventually. They delegate and then take the credit for work they didn't do. For a few years they have created an atmosphere of fear about speaking up for what is right.....those people that did were effectively 'removed' or left to persue other opportunities.
-Retention - we have lost many very valuable people to other local organizations

Advice to Senior Management

Bravo! We see Upper Management taking responsibility and being Accountable...this needs to trickle down to the Middle Management.
Beware of what Middle Mgmt tell you - and what is really happening. This is a good area to consider listening to the people at the lower levels of the tree...and meeting with them more often

Pros

- extremely proud of our product and that we make a direct difference in healthcare. Peers are amazing.
- interim R&D Manager well appointed & amazing. Ps keep her because she is amazing and NO one can pull together projects like she can. She "gets" it. Regional Health Manager remarkable and working toward a better product.

Cons

- totally agree with comments of March 2010 submission!
- 6.5 project plan unfair to other staff not on same project. Everyone works hard and long hours and not just select few should be compensated for overtime hours. Isn't that called "discrimination"?
- bonuses subject to bell curve: 15% needs - 70% meets - 15% exceeds. No matter what any manager says, it's based on favoritism. Everyone in R&D works incredibly yet they had to fill a quota. How insane is that? Managers based feedback on year end assessments soley to fit the placement, not the other way around. Some people never heard a negative word all year but got 15%. Good way to demotivate.
- No cost of living increases in 2 years (how can we convince anyone to work here with those stats)

Advice to Senior Management

Bring back the respectful days of Mitra and values we hear about. Why in the world do you keep some of most boorish, negative and incompetent Management staff? They don't even have the background, education or soft skills close to doing the job? They are costing HUGE dollars and causing irrepairable damage. And, they stab the good Managers in the back until they leave too.

Pros

Understanding managers. Support for work/home balance.

Cons

1970's "information hoarding" mentality by mid-level managers from Dupont days.

Advice to Senior Management

Cadre of old Dupont mid-level managers have goal just to survive for the sake of their pension plan. They make commitments in a vacuum and look to pass work on to others as much as possible. Goals aren't embraced but approached as just a check-off item. They do not strive to excel and grow business through innovative thinking.

Pros

Agfa Healthcare has good benefits and excellent work / life balance. Comp is average and personal development opportunities in product development are good.

Cons

Agfa Healthcare is an Engineering / Product Development centric organization. They struggle with virtually all aspects of strategic planning and upstream marketing.

The management culture is dominated by Engineers and tacticians.

This is a good place to work if you want to build a product -- it is not a good choice if you want to build a career as a strategic Product Manager.

Advice to Senior Management

Decide whether the organization would benefit from becoming a market driven entity, or whether products and services development is the central aspect of a successful business.

If becoming market driven is a goal, then align the strategic product management function to align with attaining that goal.

Pros

Peers/Colleagues are supportive of each other

Cons

Lots of layoffs and changing the structure of the company. Meaningful communication from the top down to the lowest level in the organization is lacking.

Advice to Senior Management

Find financial and non-financial ways to reward employees and incorporate this process into daily operations. Recognize and offer growth opportunities to ALL levels of employees (not just managers).

Pros

The overall benefits package is ok, comparable to other companies this size. They do pay you on-time. What else is there to say?

Cons

There is a lack of strong leadership, employees kept in the dark. Making do with very little, low moral. No one is inspired to do anything beyond the bare minimum.

Advice to Senior Management

Talk to the employees first, ask for suggestions to find out what can be done to reduce cost. If you just slash blindly, it may have the opposite effects.

Pros

International exposure, access to a variety of customers and projects, room for initiative

Cons

Initiative ad hard work is not necessarily valued, political organisation, transformation from analog to digital incomplete

Advice to Senior Management

Make quick work of transformation to digital organisation