GlaxoSmithKline Reviews

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – Benefits and pay are outstanding; great co-workers and opportunities for personal development.

Cons – My Director gives lip service to the empowerment initiative. She continues to micromanage everyone in our area and has been doing so for 12 years. Andrew, she does not watch your broadcasts, or go to our SVP town halls. With the simplifcation taking place in IT, employees are at the mercy of those making decisions. In my case, I was moved to a new building, new boss, new group only to find out that I will be "scored" on my performance for this year only. I have been with the company in various departments for almost 19 years and my score will NOT include my performance for the first 18 years.

Advice to Senior Management – Andrew, if you are serious about empowerment and transparency within the company, please oust those decision-makers who are not on board with you. I am truly inspired by your leadership and hope that I will continue to be employed by GSK. p.s. I will find out next week if I am still a GSK employee.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – Excellent benefits including vehicle, retirement, medical, along with competitive salary and above average bonus structure.

Good position moving forward in the industry to stay towards the top with viable pipeline.

Cons – Transitionary phase has been challenging during the last year as instability due to significant movement in top level management has created a trickle-down effect to all levels of the company.

Do not view R&D as overhead and continue slashing this department, outside acquisitions will only get you so far.

Advice to Senior Management – Doing a commendable job during dynamic times, but do not feel the need to act just for the sake of acting, i.e. workforce reorg and incentive overhaul.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – good pay and also good benifits.
some potential for growth
pension and 401 k are also a good benifit to have

Cons – Promotions are based on level of educations, not level of knowledge or experience.
communication feom management could be better, they are very reluctant to tell anything, even when asked in person they like to dance around the questions. I guess thats everywhere though

Advice to Senior Management – Be truthfull with your employees, Haveing a degree doesn't mean everything. Some of the dumbest people I have met have degrees. I have 2 of them, so I am not just a bitter employee that has been passed up for not having a degree, I have seen people with degrees get a job and not be able to complete thier job, and the person that got passed up without a degree has had 20 years experience running machines and knows what is going on

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – Some great people
Resources ++++
Minimal micromanagement

Cons – Not evreyone is working for the same company
Some 'old boy' and 'cronies' circles (esp ex-SB)
Philadelphia offices are c*^p

Advice to Senior Management – Get on with the simplification agenda and make sure that the changes are driving simplification and not just carving up parts of the organization to suit individuals. Cut some more as there is still plenty of 'fat' in the system. Make people accountable and reward them appropriately when they achieve what they are meant to achieve. Get R&D to be more productive or change the model. Continue to diversify the business.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – This company is exceptional when it comes to work-life balance. The hours and benefits exceed industry standards and are truly the best part of working for GSK.

Cons – This company is in the middle of a major transition. Those who survived the restructuring are being left with less resources and more to do. Their pipeline is marginal and it is left to be seen whether the "new" strategy will pay off.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to your employees. Don't just give lip service to the empowerment, truly empower your employees. Moral is low because of all the changes. Get on with your strategic changes and move on. Lastly, Andrew, you blew the "war chest" by overpaying for most if not all of your M&A activity for the last 18 months. Your hubris, if you are not careful, will destroy the company.

Former Employee – worked at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – Good pay and good benefits.
Some departments better at allowing role expansion.
Some technologies managed well (upgrades, patches, versioning, etc).

Cons – Some areas have micro managers, not enough people who understand the big picture.
Senior management spending sprees for business trips and meals.
Promotions don't always go to the person with the highest talent and skill level.

Advice to Senior Management – Drop the eighteen month rule for the US as well. Take a detailed 180 degree review of all management. Streamline processes and remove the bureaucracies.

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – Good Pay. Good Benefits. Some really excellent groups to work in on the technical side. Smart people in most cases. Some excellent technical management. Excellent training resources. Modern thinking generally.

Cons – You roll the dice on getting competent management. Once someone makes Director level it's like tenure. You see many people who used to be competent and work hard get complacent once they hit Director level - it's like retirement with a job.

Company values process over leadership. Challenging the status-quo is frowned upon. If you're not a subject of the crown or willing to move to London, you can forget that promotion. A less qualified Londoner will get it first. High-achievers, entrepreneurs are leaving for greener pastures, and average, non-challenging people are staying.

Pulling more chips out of US and redistributing toward the Far East. (This is a "Pro" if you're in the Far East obviously)

Advice to Senior Management – Something's been lost along the way. We used to be bold, aggressive, and brave. People don't feel that way any more. Directors and up should be held more accountable for their people leadership and shadow. They need to be evaluated by their direct reports. Because of the cuts people are too scared and management have become process robots. We can do better.

Instead of eroding the base, why not shake up the top?

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – Flexible working environment
Adaption of new technology

Cons – "Not my problem" attitude among the superviors.
Too much travel for pleasure by senior management
Always look out for less cost effective process.

Advice to Senior Management – Empower your employees and let them share what they have in store.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – impact on the society and patients, benefits, work-life balance, pension, bonus, culture

Cons – limited opportunities for growth in IT, large company with bureaucracy, hard to get promotions

Advice to Senior Management – some exciting changes are taking place..we all love andrew witty..

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at GlaxoSmithKline

Pros – The company researches, develops and delivers medicines to patients around the world. Great benefits and one of the few big pharma companies that seems to be in the right direction while the industry faces major change.

Cons – As is the case with any large corporation, it can be easy to get lost. Company is undergoing significant change.

Advice to Senior Management – We are doing a great job adapting to the changing external environments (regulatory, heath policy, globalization), but there are also risks of turning employees off with so many changes over a short time.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend