Pros
Novartis’ company name enjoys a great notoriety that adds value to the profile. Basel HQ campus is generally a comfortable place to work, with for its majority modern amenities and a wide number of services available on site to allow focus on work and help connect with stakeholders and peers.
Cons
Reorganization is omni-permanent for the last 5 years, however only a portion of associates embrace it, whereas the majority that is used to almost 20 years without being challenged is resisting to it. Incrementally, there is a leaping gap between values promoted by the CEO (employees first, bottom-up leadership, « unbossing »), and the way the reorganization is effectively executed, whereby the focus is on reducing the headcount number especially in costly countries. The rapid offshoring of non-Senior Management positons to Eastern Europe, South Asia or Central America does not allow for a proper knowledge transfer, creating serious disruptions in daily operations and causing extra work and frustration for those whose position are left. Plus the newly created Centers of Excellence quickly grow into bulky entities that lose efficiency and increase in bureaucracy, eventually undermining the ultimate benefits they were anticipated to bring. Under this pressure the atmosphere becomes unfavorable for employees, and a large portion focuses on deliver the strict minimum, awaiting for right opportunities outside and sometimes hoping to fall under the highly interesting social plan.
