Karl Storz Endoscopy Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy

Pros – The building is clean. There are friendly co-workers that drive dump trucks to work and think nothing of driving a dump truck to a restaurant that has valet parking.

Cons – The upper management is out of touch with the floor workers like all companies in the US. They always want you to do more with less.

Advice to Senior Management – Put the year end cash distribution back at Christmas time. Through a Holiday party during the Holiday season. Don't cheap out and combine ALL the years parties into one in the spring.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy full-time for less than a year

Pros – Management and support is great

Cons – I haven;t been here long enough

Advice to Senior Management – Implement standard training

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Great benefits, good work/life balance.
Good products. Stable company (with current reorganization, some positions eliminated but management made an effort to find a position within the company for the displaced employees)
Can work your way up even without a technical or healthcare background.

Cons – Slow in getting products approved. Overall, very limited career opportunities although some are promoted quickly but majority, not.
If you are a professional like an accountant, project specialist, marketing coordinator, these positions are usually classified as exempt in most other companies but at Karl Storz they are classified as nonexempt so if you are not accustom to it or it affects your "ego"it may be take time to adjust

Advice to Senior Management – Good efforts in keeping the company stable despite the turmoil and uncertainty in this economy. There are a lot of talented individuals who can contribute to the company but need to offer more career opportunities for advancement.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – They believe in supporting the career goals of their employees.

Cons – Not much growth for individuals.

Advice to Senior Management – Don't be so locked in the pay structure and unwilling to promote.

Former Employee – worked at Karl Storz Endoscopy full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Good benefits, offers basic medical/dental/vision coverage at minimal cost to employees, including long term care insurance at cost. 401K contribution and vesting plans are in line with most big company plans. Office is modern and clean with easy parking for all employees. Large break room with many seating areas. Kitchen is well stocked with various coffee and tea options. Kitchen has multiple microwaves and toaster ovens for those who like to eat in. Good location, close to the 105 fwy on/off ramps which quickly connects to the 405 fwy as well.

Cons – Management is out of touch with staff and most are more concerned about saving their own skin rather than exhibiting good leadership and trying to develop and/or mentor their staff. Company resources are spent on external growth while internal staff is overworked and underpaid. Moral is low because management neglects internal support staff and only focuses on external sales staff. Company seems to be loose with the purse strings with sales and marketing staff more than internal support staff in other areas.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy

Pros – Family owned company has some advantages

Cons – Slow to market with products and new technology

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy

Pros – Pay well
generous time off
benefits great
they create excellent products that you can be proud of
they pay for additional trainings and certifications

Cons – lack leadership, vision and direction
most executives have only worked at KS and doesn't have the necessary experience to move the company forward
its a low trust no communication environment that runs up and down the entire management chain
unfortunately, its a fear based culture and you are not rewarded for doing what is right so no one rocks the 'status quo'

Advice to Senior Management – start working together as a team, agree to be transparent and start respecting your peers and subordinates. thank your people for the work they do, they would appreciate hearing that once in a while.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy

Pros – Laid back, no-one really checks up on you.

Cons – People say yes when you ask for something but then they never follow through. They just say yes to get rid of you and make you believe things will get better but they only get worse. The supervisor never shares information with people under him because he's afraid he'll get the boot because of politics in the company.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop promising things you know you won't deliver on.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy

Pros – Great benefits, that's about it...

Cons – First off, this is a very political company. My position is called an OES, in a nut shell we trouble shoot video monitors in an OR setting. Well it was bad from the get go, I mean bad….my manager, in service made enemies with the sales team who were very difficult to deal with….pre-Madonna’s…so we could never build the rapport we needed to enter into this account and get on the same page….something was sure missing….mainly support and communication.….the transition from the previous rep was horrible, he was an a-hole and not friendly towards me, seemed very fake….there was a huge lack of communication and training from the previous rep.

Also was told I would have a 3x5 work space to handle emails and process returns when I wasn’t trouble shooting video monitors. I had zero…so when I was not fixing video monitors I would hang out in various departments…oh yes roaming around a hospital waiting for something to do. You can only inspect so much equipment when there is literally no space and a pretentious SPD manager who hates vendors.

Just remember...you are very expendable at this company. Chew you up and spit you out at the drop of a hat.

Advice to Senior Management – Bottom line….My manager…an OK guy… I do understand survival of the fittest, and he has a family to think of, and he seemed to have my back, but when the chips fell…. he through me over the cliff. So as for me, lesson learned the hard way.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Karl Storz Endoscopy

Pros – They have been around a long time and have established themselves in the marketplace. They have deep pockets so money is not an issue. They have quality products that help to save lives.

Cons – They are caught in the "Storz Way" of doing things and this is a term used frequently around the office. You are limited in your ability to make decisions since all of the decisions are dictated from Germany. It is common knowledge to have all of the responsibility but no authority. The senior management within the company comes from Germany and has a similar mindset. Few Americans have progressed to the senior ranks. Everything is a process and they are so locked in that creativity and progress are hindered.

They are very dismissive in their practices and have moved to hire people and then never followed up once they changed their minds. Lack of professionalism. For example: Our team found a qualified candidate, we unanimously wanted to extend an offer, HR never followed up nor did my manager. Once we did make an offer the candidate had changed their mind and withdrew their application due to our lack of follow through. I couldn't blame him, I was embarassed at how my management team treated the candidate. I also feel that because I was apart of the team, this behavior effects my professional reputation. It also let me know how I should expect to be treated later. Lesson learned this is not a place to grow your career but rather to sustain it if you play by the rules.

Advice to Senior Management – Review your business practices. The way you treat your employees and future candidates is clearly unprofessional. Karl Storz is getting a bad reputation and is either unaware of that or doesn't care. Either way that is not what this company should be known for. Karl Storz has created a work environment that really needs to be reviewed. The manner in which you hire, and the lack of respect for your employees makes Karl Storz a difficult place to build a career. If you need a job, work for Karl Storz for a year or two and get a paycheck. But if you stay, you may lose your sense of business ethics or worse lose your reputation through association. I am already looking for a new job.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend