Merck Reviews

Pros

The mission is unbeatable. You are trying to change human health for the better. People work really hard. You can tell that they are genuine in their dedication to the mission of the company and can be assured that there is no hidden agenda. People mean what they say and they honestly care for doing good for the world.

Cons

Tremendous time of change and there are many simultaneous stresses. It is time for leaders and people who can thrive in this exciting environment. If you want to make a positive difference, then this is the place.

Pros

you learn a lot about pharma

Cons

work on the same project for long periods

Advice to Senior Management

more advancement oppurtunities

Pros

Excellent workplace flexibility - I could work from home whenever I needed to.
Company store - cheap Merck products
Good salaries and benefits
Really good people - peers. Everyone works really hard and understands the company mission to save lives and make people feel better.

Cons

Upper management thinks they know what everyone is doing but in truth, do not.
People are afraid to say what they think - no "courage and candor" although the company lists this as a core competency. People have gotten their "hands slapped" for speaking up and giving opinions (especially after the merger with Schering-Plough).
Company downsizing in order to keep up with the economy, but they don't seem to be changing how they operate in a changing Pharma environment.
When the merger happened, Merck said they wanted to have a culture more like Schering but after 2 years, it has reverted to the "old Merck" - see comment on courage and candor.

Advice to Senior Management

Find out what your teams are really doing.
Use your Merck Sigma expertise and stop wasting so much time making decisions by consensus - just get it done!

Pros

Good people
High level of intelligence
Great strategic thinking

Cons

Can't get anything done
Limited advancement
Unstable
Average pay

Pros

Opportunity to work with Incredibly smart people

Cons

Reorganization efforts are going too far.
Too much collaboration makes it difficult to get anything accomplished.

Pros

Experience working at Merck is widely acknowledged as very valuable. It should help me to develop career even outside Merck.

Cons

Merck is experiencing a hard time due to pipeline challenges. There is great uncertainty in the future of the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Changing the culture is not in any way easy. Merck may need a major culture change in facing the tough economic environment.

Pros

The company has invested in its technology and makes use of an internal social community also utilized for communications, education, news, project groups, etc. SAP is the ERP in use which standard which enables standardized processes and access to information. Since the company is global there are numerous opportunities to grow and experience the world for the highest achievers.

Cons

There can be a bit of unnecesary corporate buearocracy at times. Many jobs have been eliminated or are in jeopardy as a result of the 2009 merger with Schering Plough.

Advice to Senior Management

Make leadership development accessible and mandatory to all of your leaders

Pros

Good pay and benefits, nice culture and athmosphere acquired with the merger (not so when it was just Merck), excellent work/life balance, smart people around

Cons

Still a good chunk of the company sticks to old Merck policy of strong favoritism, with promotions based on personal relationships (too many husband/wife teams), not performance based.

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure of the accuracy and motivation of information being communicated to higher managment from below.

Pros

Amazing atmosphere, opportunity for growth, great collegiality, smart co-workers and respectable benefits like health, vision and dental. Paid vacation hours.

Cons

Long hours, tough work-family time balance, lack of leadership and constant need to multi-task to meet deadlines. Management need to communicate better.

Advice to Senior Management

Provide mentorship and training programs. Encourage social events to meet other researchers and employees to build collaborations and enhance productivity.

Pros

Great health benefits, life insurance, 401K

Cons

Very stressful union atmosphere in the Texas Call Center. There was a lot of tension between upper management and the union. Supervisors and floor managers have very little room to make changes and growth. Some members of upper management have been in there too long. They rarely communicate with the floor representatives and lower management. Some of the representatives do not know what upper management members even look like.

Advice to Senior Management

Share one on one time with your representatives. The sign of a true leader is someone who is willing to serve others.