Covidien Reviews

Pros

Great products, reasonable salary and benefits

Cons

Unrealistic expectations, Cost over Quality

Advice to Senior Management

Look at the J&J Tylenol factories that are being run by the FDA as an example of where you are heading.

Pros

Low overhead in MO together with reasonable wages promotes ability to save $$$ for retirement, college, etc. Management opportunities for experienced newcomers are very good in drug development due to expansion of branded pharmaceuticals pipeline. Some colleagues are capable, bright, and friendly. Nice campus. Most people leave by 5:00-5:30 PM.

Cons

Public announcements of intentions to sell off Pharmaceuticals, Generics, and API businesses (i.e. the Missouri site) since April of 2011 cause great uncertainty. Senior management's vision to expand branded pharmaceuticals is poorly executed- aversion to risk, short-sightedness in developing a deep pipeline, and lack of innovation in the approach leads to small, incremental improvements to existing generics. These products must then compete in mature marketplaces as branded drugs at a high cost.

Advice to Senior Management

Take a strategic risk! Genius R&D talent only lacks courage, not vision. The politics and silos sharply divide the R&D and commercial organizations. These silos could result in products that are successfully approved by FDA, but which go on to be commercial failures due to formulary access issues. We all work for the same company. Bureaucracy and overhead costs could also be substantially cut to improve the bottom line - substantial dead wood.

Pros

Manufacturer of highly innovative products operating with the highest ethical standards.

Cons

Lack of synergy amongst divisions.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to fully leverage total Covidien portfolio.

Pros

They are market leaders, with the best technology. Benefits are great and company car is an added bonus. Commission structure is fair.

Cons

Sometimes to slow coming to market. Come to market with product flaws but push to sell it anyway. Some of the upper management has never carried the bag so the empathy may not always be there. Calculating commission was always frustrating.

Advice to Senior Management

Realize that needs for products are different in different parts of the country...ie open vs laparoscopic. Some surgeons in the deep south are not as progressive therefore having sales reps have a manditory new product number to hit may be unreasonable. Always offer an open and lap product in that specific category for compensation. This will keep energy high.

Pros

It is necessary to know wide range information and knowledge about medical matters and hospital and so on. I became to be able to select their information and make strategies promptly.

Cons

It needs to be patient. To meet doctors and have a discussion with them, we often have to wait a long time. It was time consuming for me.

Pros

Great place to gain experience.

Cons

Poor salary, bad human resources performance.

Advice to Senior Management

One of the best manager.

Pros

The people that are "working bees" are intelligent and competent,

Cons

Management does not know what each Employee needs to be able to perform their job duties. Management is focused on "looking good" and in order to do so, they have the habit of "pointing fingers" at the staff in order to "excuse" their lack of knowledge when giving confused and wrong instructions. The project management Team is inexperience and does not know how to manage timelines and deliverables. They like to cut-corners in order to meet deadlines and get their "bonus" even if it means to get things done without following regulations. Managers are inexperience and only look at doing things "my way" because is the only way I know how to do it. Their ideal employee is a Caucasian Female that only does what is told without thinking of the consequences for the Team, Customers and Patients. HR Team lacks of knowledge of the minimal industry standards when dealing with claims and complaints, they just "look the other way".

Advice to Senior Management

Hire experience, knowledgeable Management that focus on doing the job in compliance and with quality assurance. Stop hiring managers that are just doing what I want.

Pros

Great learning opportunity to prepare you to do well at your next company. You will go to your next job amazingly strong. You will be challenged to grow (but you won't be promoted)
They pay well. the employee stock purchase plan -- max it out every year!
there are some really good people there (but with a 30+% turn over rate,.... revolving door.)

Cons

its easy to shine, but its exhausting and frustrating to deal with the low performing leadership that excels only at creating drama.
The Senior leadership is the worst I have ever seen.-- solid incompetence in 90% of the VP positions. That trickles down to poorly qualified, barely competent people in the director positions.
Leadership is very effective in the art of creating drama drama and more drama either via unacceptable or worse, unethical behavior.
It is heartbreaking to care, to want to do what is right, want to advance but want no part of advancing to be on a “D-“leadership team.
There is a sustained 30%+ turnover rate - don’t believe the excuses they will feed you. Truly think about what that means, what it says about the place.
They have a 2 year relocation payback – to keep people for 2 years. (Corporate HQ policy and all other business units have a 1 year)

Advice to Senior Management

Clean house. Remove every VP -- the leadership team is toxic to the organization, and gut the majority of their director level hires. Hire a turn around specialist to run the place - make sure he/she has the chops and the power to roll heads, or sell the place off to prevent a warning letter, law suit or worse.

Pros

benefits package can't be beat

Cons

overtime constantly, refusal to hire more people, people are not treated like people instead they are just a warm body filling a space

Advice to Senior Management

start treating people with respect and understand that their whole life does not revolve around the company, working 60 hours a week every week is just ridiculous. The attitude of "if you won't do it there are more people waiting to be hired that will" does little to motivate people. It used to be a great family oriented place to work, now it's all about the numbers.

Pros

Great benefit package and excellent opportunities for advancement

Cons

Difficult for employees to keep up with growth rate

Advice to Senior Management

Get to know your employees and their capabilities