AstraZeneca Reviews

Pros

Good benefits, Good people. Great training.

Cons

They need new drugs in the pipeline.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't hire people before layoffs. Try to place the people you have in house first.

Pros

Good to have on your cv.
Global point of view into the businesses.
Permanent employees get ok benefits.
Good physical conditions, nice food place etc.

Cons

Unfair promotions.
It is important who you know not what you do.
Too far to the city unless you are living in alderley edge
Ongoing outsourcing.
If you are not European, your chances to be promoted are very low.
Too traditional.
Not enough focus on product pipeline.
Fixed terms are treated unfairly comparing they are doing the same job to permanents.

Advice to Senior Management

Try cuting costs on senior management levels.
Inefficient structures at some departments lead to idle employees.
Dont only talk about diversity but also lead by example and promote real diversity.

Pros

Fantastic, life changing molecules to sell

Cons

No new drugs in development

Pros

Good pay and benefits, collaborative environment mostly

Cons

Current downsizing and entering into a period of negative growth

Advice to Senior Management

Work harder on the pipeline

Pros

Great place to start, lots of opportunity to move and learn within the company

Cons

Lots of turnover. Very disruptive

Pros

Employee are able to learn a lot in this pharmaceutical company, learn how the big pharma to do research and development, especially what is the high standard for quality.

Cons

Top leader dominate the opinion and not willing to hear the voice from employee or hear but not accept. Employee work hard but are not rewarded for their achievements.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen, listen and listen. Employee are the real assets for the company and should be cared as well as leaders.

Pros

Great products, friendly work place, work life balance

Cons

Low on diversity , unfair and political promotions , poor product pipeline

Advice to Senior Management

Give opportunity to non Europeans and non Americans, be honest in communication

Pros

Good mid-level management. Vastly improved in recent years (2009 onwards).

Cons

Headed at the very top by sales people who have a short-term vision and shareholder focus when it comes to R&D. Short-term vision can be quite detrimental in an industry where product development cycles are about a decade. The current management will be long gone by the time the real trouble manifests itself, which explains the incentive to 'create value' now, at the cost of future failure.

Advice to Senior Management

Good R&D is the life-blood of pharmaceutical development.

Pros

There are opportunities for working 1/2 day Fridays and for telecommuting, depending on what department you're in and what kind of manager you have. Good salaries, benefits, etc.

Cons

Work/life balance is a joke, jobs are often eliminated or "restructured" based on management's whim and their like/dislike for certain individuals. The most qualified candidates are typically not promoted.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop micro-managing every little thing. Most of the mid-level employees can do their own jobs and yours (and better than you can) without someone looking over their shoulders 24/7.

Pros

You are working for a FTSE 10 international company during challenging time of evolution with highly professional and high calibre individuals

Cons

They are slow to promote and recognise contributions. Differing work life balance at each site with the London HQ fairing worse on both a work life balance and comparable salaries / bonus paid on a geographical basis. Highly political with various Kingdoms not working harmoniously

Advice to Senior Management

You need a clear and credible strategy to grow the business. Cost cutting will not solve the main problem which is that 40% of AZ's current turnover will be gone in the next couple of years due to patent expiry. You have a strong sales force and have a pipeline which is still a couple of years from delivering siginificant returns as well as excess manufacturing capacity. Demerge the manufacturing business to compete against the generic manufacturers and utilise the sales force you have by increasing the toolkit that they have to sell.