Merck Reviews in Philadelphia, PA Area

Pros

Strong company history, outstanding core values, ethical approach to business.

Cons

Slow to respond to business conditions, steeped in doing things the "Merck way" which prevents new ideas, poor senior leadership pipeline, never remove underperforming senior leaders they simply place them in new roles, pipeline of products has been very poor over last few years.

Advice to Senior Management

Change some of the old guard.

Pros

flexibility in schedule, healthcare benefits are excellent, 401K very good. Perks that go along with being associated with a large, global company. Peers in the organization are very smart and creative.

Cons

Due to flexible sourcing model, job opportunities in other areas of the business are outsourced out instead on becoming open to internal candidates. Spending on travel to conferences, client sites, and Merck sites have been cut. New requests for approval for MBA tuition reimbursement are on hold. Morale is extremely low, and i feel some people are bitter towards their collegaues because there is such fierce competition for jobs and bonuses.

Advice to Senior Management

if you want to win back the trust of the public, you must first win back the trust of your employees.

Pros

It is a secure company to work for

Cons

THe salary range for each pay grade is very broad. There are kids coming in out of college making more than people who have been here for 5 years in the same job

Advice to Senior Management

even out the salaries or the attrition will continue

Pros

Merck is a very stable company. Only recently has Merck hit difficult times. They also remain a classy organization, maintaining the drugs on the market that save lives. Merck manufactures drugs like Gardasil and Singuair, to save lives and improve the lives of everyone on the planet . They do not spend time to maufacture non-essential drugs to treat ailments like erectile dysfunction, regardless of the fact that these pills make billions easily.

Cons

Large companies can take long durations of time to adapt and change to difficult issues. Merck represents one of those companies. The FDA also makes it hard to implement change across the organization with its large regulatory noose. This makes for a lot of documentation on your work to prove your work is helping the customer.

Advice to Senior Management

Realize that hiring a simple few employees in certain areas can easily grow the company's profitability exponentially and improve work stress loads.

Pros

Good pay and benefits, flexible work schedules, well known company.

Cons

Current environment surrounding pharmaceutical companies, especially Merck. The company is so big that there's a rather sterile, impersonal feel to working here. Morale is not good at the moment, but I think that the same is true of the entire pharmaceutical industry these days.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to know that the communication in this company needs to be improved. We are too silo-ed; frequently one hand does not know what the other hand is doing. Many people were laid off recently, yet the company helicopter still flies between the facilities to bring execs to meetings. Why not just video conference?

Pros

People in the trenches are good to work with. Historically good salaries and benefits. I've developed many strong friendships with those I have worked with.

Cons

Movement across company to other divisions or departments difficult as most hiring managers look to promote from within and to those who have a standardized set of criteria - no exceptions. There is little to no professional development supported. The current culture is one of fear - will I have a job tomorrow.

Advice to Senior Management

to be successful, change some of the people at the top, not just at the middle and lower levels. These are the people who got us where we are today - so how can things change if the same people are leading.

Pros

The histrory, purpose and the mission of the company and the chan ce to work with smart and ethical people

Cons

Too much bureaucracy and slow decision making.
Weak leadership.

Advice to Senior Management

Rather than the plan to win, focus on the plan to be competitive, get close to reality
Manage the execution, not just focus on the statement of vision
Be pragmatic - Show by example
Top heavy - despite titles people and not able to make decisions
Still too many layers - The head of US Operations is 3 steps from Dick Clark

Pros

Merck is a great place for benefits and recognition (such as lunch passes, movie tickets, award dinners, and just notes to say thank you), in my department at least. They recently increased the number of vacation days we get per year. They also just started a more flexible work week where you can work from home part time, have a 4 day work week, or other arrangements.

Also, since the company is so large, there is a lot of opportunity to move around and try new positions and become more well rounded. The people I work with are the best! They keep me coming back every day with the family-type atmosphere.

Cons

Right now things are in a a transition state -- we are implementing SAP, which in the end should make day to day transactions easier, but in the mean time is creating quite a stir. Many trainings and "hyper-care" stages are on their way!

Senior management is sometimes inaccessable, in a way they seem to be making decisions on their own and there is a very subdivided oganization, but I know there are strategies in place to make this better, so I am optimistic for now.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep communicating and answering our questions honestly. We know this is a rough time, but having faith in the company is important.

Pros

Merck is a good company with great values. They stand behind their product and never waiver on what the reason we do what we do is.

Cons

Policies, processes are put in place in order to better Mercks standing in our industry but when upper manangement has to implement those changes, the rules do not apply to them. There is an inconsistancy in the message that is passed down. We have a lot of good people willing to make sacrifices to make Merck as good as it once was but it is shown time and time again that the people do not matter. This is sad to see

Advice to Senior Management

What can you do to make a difference? We will follow in your lead.

Pros

science driven company. cares fro its employees and patients

Cons

not a strong management in place

Advice to Senior Management

Limit teh amount of politics and et the good scientist do the job they were hired for, i.e. good research.