Great to save some money, terrible to develop a professional career - Procurement Novartis Employee Review

2.0
28 Oct 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Excellent benefit package - Above average salary - Company pays for trainings and certifications - Positive experience with the other colleagues working in the SSC. Good team spirit and cooperation.

Cons

- Job positions were oversold duringthe interview stage: some experienced people in procurement were tricked to join roles that were supposed to be mid-senior, just to find out that they were instead basically administrative assistant / operational positions. - In procurement, it was chosen to have 1 "jolly" role that is meant to cover basically every activity, from buyer to helpdesk going through compliance officer and many more. Employees hired with a specific role were also forced to sign a contract amendment to have every possible activity in scope included in the job description. - People with no experienced at all were hired for the very same position of other emploeeys with significant previous experiences, without any distinction between junior and seniors (also in terms of salary). - With very few exceptions, the SSC is used by the people in the supported countries just to get rid of the worst tasks they do not want to do themselves. The employees in the SSC are usually not threated like colleagues by those in the countries, but like nameless agents that must simply obey to every request and shut up. Working in the SSC felt like being an outsourced contractor, not a part of the company. - At the time of this review, there are no opportunity to grow within the SSC and potential opportunities in the countries are also precluded. On the other hand, the insourcing of more and more low-profile tasks gives the impression that the direction they want to go with the SSC in Prague is that of a cheaper operative hub. - Overtime are not paid by company policy, although the enormous workload forces people to work longer hours on a constant basis. People having to work unpaid during the weekend in order to meet deadlines is not uncommon. - Although salaries are definitely good, there are enormous unjustified discrepancies between people in the same roles. - Higher management seems to refuse to really listening to feedback coming from below.

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5.0
24 May 2026
Anonymous employee
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CEO approval
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Pros

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Cons

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2.0
25 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pays pretty well in comparison to similar jobs in the market

Cons

Unstable schedule where you are often asked to come in overnight (1-2 am) regardless of if you have worked the previous day or are off. Basically feels like you're permanently on-call to conduct environmental monitoring. Training is slow. The Micro dept in general is currently understaffed. The job also involves lab work once you are done with your daily environmental monitoring tasks. The work never ceases and the Technicians as a whole has several responsibilities. Promotions seem to come very slowly here.

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