Givaudan Reviews in Cincinnati, OH

I have been working at Givaudan full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – The flavor industry is stable/growing. Givaudan is very good a creating new flavors. Good benefits and pay. There are opportunities to grow/expand career. It's a global company.

Cons – Givaudan is mostly focused on flavor creation. The difference between the creation side and the production side is night and day. Creation side, people are excited about what they do, and the company likes to showcase - there's clear passion and excitement. On the production side, things are disorganized, neglected and there's an obvious lack of excitement/passion. People just look forward to their next paycheck. The company does not invest in production and most of the needs are neglected. The leadership organization is constantly changing (longest running site director was 3 years...), and as a result, no clear direction exists (constantly changing). The culture is very much silo-ed, and not very much team work. Opposing viewpoints are strongly discouraged (people don't really get a chance to voice their concerns/opinions). Work/life balance is pretty poor (on the production side).

Advice to Senior Management – Need to create excitement/passion in what we do - not just on the flavor creation side, but also on the production side. People need to feel that what they are doing is contributing to the success of the company, and not viewed as second class to R&D and flavor creation. Value the experience and contribution of production - they're the ones meeting customer demand day in and day out.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Givaudan full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Competitive Pay, fresh coffee readily available-- and that is about it!

Cons – The culrture is one of complacency and entitlement; manufacturing and operations are stuck in the 1950's and the safety issues are frightening. The revolving door of managers will make you dizzy.

Advice to Senior Management – Invest in the people and invest in the plants. Failure to do so will bite you in the end. Key customers like Coke, Pepsi, Kraft, Unilever, and General Mills will go elsewhere (as supervisors, managers, and executives are) if you don't invest in people and processes in N. America.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Givaudan

Pros – a stable company with decent benefits but who knows any more with sap or should i say stop all production

Cons – if you are not one of the favorites you will not get promoted they say they are taking someone with more seniority or they will hire a temp.

Advice to Senior Management – get a decent management that wil listen to the people that live this seven days a week instead of pointing fingers

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Givaudan

Pros – Great people who are passionate about what they do and are some of the best in the business. Great mentoring and job opportunities. Fair compensation.

Cons – Company has grown a lot in the past few years and headcount has not kept up, so in some situations departments are spread thin.

Advice to Senior Management – Management team is doing a good job and the fiscal policies minimized impact of recent economic crisis on headcount. However, there were unrealistic expectations for gained efficiencies from the Quest acquisition and more resources are nowneeded in some areas to support continued growth.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Givaudan

Pros – Very good benefits package. Optional summer hours where you work an extra hour M-Th and you can leave at noon on Friday. A good job for someone who's very organized, a quick learner and motivated but who also doesn't have grand desires to move up the corporate ladder. A good fit for those who are deadline-oriented in a fast-paced setting and can adjust to plan changes on short notice.

Cons – Not many opportunities for people to move up the ranks. Demands from managment are often confusing/conflicting making for a frustrating environment. Very poor in recognition and offering positive feedback. Management often treats subordinates very disrespectfully. Still seems to be animosity with employees from another company (Quest) they recently purchased--somewhat cliquey. Communication between different internal groups can be very poor. General atmosphere feels negative, like everyone is stressed out all the time. Being a Swiss-based global company, there is frequent interaction with co-workers from many other countries/backgrounds which can be the cause for a lot of misunderstandings, confusion, etc.

Advice to Senior Management – I don't know what kind of management training supervisors get, but some kind of general guidance needs to be taught. Higher-ups didn't seem to care or proactively get involved when there are known conflicts among those below them. Subgroups seem very segmented and tend to be reluctant to actually work with one another.

I worked at Givaudan

Pros – Commitment to basic research from the R&D leadership but not necessarily from the executive team.
Truly international company, great opportunities to travel.

Cons – The more you work, the more they will make you work. Nobody cares about your problem, you get a paycheck so shut up. If you do not play golf forget about career progression. It is also advised to be a yesman.
Hiring salaries are usually good but pay increases are crappy. One year when the results were great we were told that our bonuses would be limited because we should create a war chest in case of bad years. When the following year was below expectation because the operating return on sales was 18% instead of 20%, we got no bonus, no salary increase, the 401k match was canceled and 10% of the staff was fired.

Advice to Senior Management – Build an HR department whose role is to build a company spirit and value employees instead of asking them to organize the annual golf outing and undermining any of their attempt at respectful people's management. Stop the result-at-all cost mentality and start focusing on how things are done. Stop considering Givaudan as an ATM machine for Swiss investors.
Make upper management accountable instead of putting all the pressure on middle management.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Givaudan

Pros – Largest, most established, flavor and fragrance firm. Very respected by customers. Huge palette of flavors and fragrances.

Cons – Givaudan hires experienced people, and rarely trains from the inside. i.e. opposite of Procter & Gamble (only know people that have worked there). Schitzophrenic company. Many groups are so insulated from what others are doing. It has an insular network of people that have problems sharing knowledge, due to the high turnover of employees. Like many large companies, you are either chosen to lead, or chosen to be a pair of hands - and the twain shall never meet. Basically, the people who care and want to make a difference are not given a chance, forced to pay their dues all over again, and ultimately are not listened to. Outside consultants are constantly hired to screw things up. A very conservative, slow moving, company that allows only a select elite handful of 20-years-employeed to act as the fast paced show-stoppers. Once you are hired - get in line, there a busload of people ahead of you who are adept at politics but inept in true innovation. HR has had more turnover than anywhere else. Incredible list of people I know that haven't lasted more than 2-3 years. Cincinnati and Switzerland - not known for bucking the trend - in my not at all humble opinion.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire very good mid-level managers who have good track records, and get rid of the relics. Momentum and money are the only thing keeping Givaudan going. A feeling of comraderie is missing. Givaudan has gotten too big. Its too late. Big behemoth slowness will continually be stop-gapped by "new" internal programs that are just a regurgitation of BS. LACK OF PASSION IS ENDEMIC.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend