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PPD reviews

3.9

79% would recommend to a friend

(3,828 total reviews)
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Marc Casper

82% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

PPD has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 3,828 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The PPD employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Farmacéutica y biotecnología industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews
1.0
Apr 19, 2018

Not the place for long-term career

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Have worked with some very nice people. Some are very dedicated and helpful. Unfortunately, that is not the norm. Most "long timers" have been there so long that they are unwilling to accept that things have changed and they are unwilling to adapt to new ideas.

Cons

No room for advancement. No real raises or bonuses. Raises, bonuses and flexible work hours are misrepresented in the interview. You are expected to work long and unreasonable hours just to prove that you are dedicated to "meet expectations". No positive feedback. Everything is negative and the attitude is that if you don't like it, then leave. They will say they value talent but they don't act that way. Management thinks that they are training you to be highly efficient, but as I interview with other CROs, I am finding that the other CROs don't think much of PPD or the training you receive there. My advice is to get out early. If you wait too long you are not attractive to other CROs as a potential employee.

2.0
May 23, 2018

Lacking Sustainable Growth

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent coworkers, great place to build your resume, best paid time off policies anywhere, unique work experience, great location just outside Madison.

Cons

Extremely crowded, management continues to add head count instead of addressing issues, saw unqualified people promoted many times while people who do the work are left behind at upper levels. More important to be “in” with management than to do the right thing. Lacks cohesive leadership.

3.0
Nov 18, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent salary. Easy to move from one department to another - lots of opportunities within the company overall, with varied career paths. Overall line management tries to be friendly, supportive and appears interested in your well being.

Cons

Large CRO means you are one of many and your voice and experience and contributions are not as important; you easily get lost in the milieu of everyone trying to get ahead and trying to have their voice heard. In the process, there is significant 'throwing others under the bus' and climbing over others/taking others work as your own, etc........this is how many are able to move ahead in this environment. You have to fight for yourself, but do it with political prowess. If you are not politically savvy and are not good and tooting your own horn, then you will not go as far in this company as others who *are* good at tooting their own horn (those who are good at fighting for themselves and making themselves seen). Backstabbing is viral at PPD. Their mantra is "One PPD" but in some departments, behind the management curtain, they do not follow their own mission statement. There is a "herd" mentality. Very inflexible with respect to conducting clinical research. There is talk of supporting critical thinking and creative initiative, but the actions speak louder than the words - and in reality they are very much *inside* the box rather than being creative or creating a creative-mind environment. For example: the SOPs are way too stringent and do not fit all situations, but the administrative burden PPD creates having to follow, document deviations and training, etc, etc for SOPs that don't make sense to begin with, is ludicrous. The company is very silo'd and in the process the departments don't have the robust experiences and knowledge on how to do things differently, how to "think outside the box". If you are a critical thinker, with a creative mind and like to be inventive and take initiative for change, this is NOT the place to work.

Viewing 13 - 15 of 3,828 Reviews

Glassdoor has 4,388 PPD reviews submitted anonymously by PPD employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if PPD is right for you.