Xcelience/Capsugel (Tampa) can be summed up quite simply: absolute refusal to change and grow. They hire people with years of experience but mindlessly continue to do things the way they have been done since the company’s inception. If management would step up and say that it is time to make this the premier CDMO in the area, they could do it in a flash. They hire people with the knowledge and experience to bring their ideas to the table, and the willingness to work hard to see those ideas implemented. However, the company is too scared to step away from the norm and work smarter instead of harder.
If this isn’t frustrating enough, you are made to feel stupid for thinking that something could possibly be done better than the way they do it now. Anything you know from working somewhere else is excused and repressed to the point that you feel like what thought you knew was wrong. It messes with your head and is completely unhealthy.
There are times when you are expected to stay late and work weekends without any compensation. I don’t even mind doing that to help get out of a hole, but management has an outright aversion to making things more efficient. If you are going to be expected to give up your free time without any reward, you would at least think that they could try to help alleviate the issues by updating archaic systems.
There are people who have been working there for several years who have a significantly lower salary than the people they are hiring in with less experience. They have no plan to retain their current employees, so you may be able to get a decent pay coming in but I guarantee that is where you will stay for the duration of your employment there. Promotion from within is extremely rare, and when they do, hiring decisions are made solely based on requested pay. Any experience you have is irrelevant; it is completely dead end. The company is constantly changing hands so there is no stability. Morale is extremely low and management continues to make decisions that put more pressure on the employees and make them feel less appreciated. New employees coming in are treated as though they were the best out there and finally found their home, while no respect, thanks, or praise is given to employees who have been working hard there for years.
This may sound like a harsh review, but I have never felt so strongly about an employer. My experience there wasn’t even that terrible, but the problems there are huge. Problems can be overcome, if you are willing to make changes and grow as a company. That unwillingness is completely inexcusable in my opinion, and the reason that I felt it necessary to excuse myself from the situation.
