IMS Health Reviews in Philadelphia, PA Area

Pros

Competitive salary & benefits; reasonable work/life balance culture; good business model; some really smart people work there; some really nice people.

Cons

Constant layoff & outsourcing culture disheartening; financially-driven culture; recent management changes have introduced uncertainty and strain on workplace.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to figure out how to lead your people at the human/emotional level - vs. exclusively through pay and bonus. Studies show that people perform better when they feel appreciated, have autonomy and feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. IMS does not lead in any of these areas very effectively, which leads to a workforce that lacks spirit. Give them purpose, and they will give you growth.

Pros

Good benefits, good pay, very smart people everywhere. Providing intelligence to an important business sector (healthcare) can create some unique opportunities.

Cons

Big company politics get in the way of progress. New management team is smart, but appears arrogant and has created a turbulent and unsettled atmosphere. The core market is shrinking, and expanding into other sectors has been challenging for the company to-date..

Advice to Senior Management

Provide a sense of purpose beyond profit, and create an environment where people aren't afraid to take chances.

Pros

The benefits were very good.

Cons

Lack of communication
Lack of respect

Advice to Senior Management

Get to know your employees

Pros

Opportunity to learn, Team work, good environment.

Cons

Compensation is very low compared to other pharma companies for same position.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay well to retain good workers

Pros

Easy work environment
Do not need to be especially sharp to succeed
Very easy to float by if you are liked by management.

Cons

Constructive criticism is neither offered nor accepted.
Yearly reviews are rubber stamped, no employee input.
Management by bullying.

Advice to Senior Management

Realize the problems with your data---thart it is consustent but also consistently wrong. Upper management is so scared of deviations that more is swept under the rug than you can imagine.

Pros

Great people. Flexibility in scheduling time off.

Cons

Too much out-sourcing. Boasts of life-work balance but depends on your position.

Advice to Senior Management

Would like the leaders at IMS to communicate with the people in the trenches.

Pros

Trys to promote work/life balance
Lots of training opportunities

Cons

Lack of communication, both within departments and throughout the company
Constant outsourcing and layoffs

Advice to Senior Management

Keep more resources on-shore to keep IMS as subject matter experts in the field. Employees need to feel more valued for work engagement to increase.

Pros

Great benefits, great coworkers... those that remain.
Vital product to pharma industry.
Increasing emphasis on employee development, mentoring and retention as merits and bonuses eliminated.

Cons

Years of layoffs have taken their toll... those who remain are beyond stretched
Not an innovative company
Ability to execute beyond core products is questionable
New owners (TPG) actions are sure to be disruptive to existing personnel, but could be of overall benefit
No merit salary increases for most employees, reduced bonuses.

Advice to Senior Management

End the existing PMP system, give people the PMP scores they deserve even if there's no ability to give merits.
Focus on listening to the customer and driving results, no just on financial performance and "being in charge"

Pros

there flexibility and support of staff. They let you travel to go on conferences. they don't however give appropriate direction on future career opportunities. they have good benefits. they have good customer servivce and employee solutions center.

Cons

feel underpaid and don't feel manager supportive. they say you can work from home, but really you can't. It depends on the client. No introduction to company potential career options/paths for well-educated employees.

Advice to Senior Management

consider education adn experience of employees. they should meet with the employees more. give better pay. bonuses should be higher and be well-earned. there should be no limit to success.

Pros

Overall, IMS employees are very smart and hard-working. They are given opportunities to help their pharmaceutical clients solve challenging problems. I believe the company is also very committed to the professional development of employees; managers are very supportive of employees who schedule time to attend the many and varied internal training classes or those who want to attend industry conferences. Until recently, turnover at the company has been very low so you work with a lot of people with significant experience. Most are happy to share their insights with new comers. Finally, the overall benefits package at IMS is generous. Employees won't necessarily become wealthy based on their salaries, but the retirement program and health benefits are outstanding.

Cons

There is a dearth of general management talent in the company, especially at the more senior levels. Their focus on financial issues comes at the expense of developing products and services, recruiting and retaining talent, and ultimately creating real value for clients. Because of the focus on revenue and operating income, I think the company under-invests in its infrastructure, especially (and ironically) its financial systems. As the company has evolved from an information and analytics organization to a services organization, it hasn't made the requisite changes in its systems to support that business model. As a result, managers and executives spend far too much time collecting and reconciling the information they need to manage business.

Advice to Senior Management

Spend more time communicating directly to employees and make yourselves more visible and accessible to them.