Dear all,

After 4 years working in each of these companies, I am finally leaving CH. I enjoyed a lot working for those 2 big corps. I met many amazing people from very diverse countries.

Please see this basic comparison as a reflection of my own experience in IT and data mining fields. Of course, economy is a cycle and someday Novartis will become 1st again.
But for now the low cost strategy is killing the innovation and the best people are the first to cross the Rhine. Which is not a bad idea, Roche is known to develop (all) their people and despite the fact that the culture is changing as well at Roche, the company is currently the best to work for.

I wish all the best to the new generation arriving in Basel, maybe this post will help someone to make the best choice for himself.

G.

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A generous post, thanks for compiling & sharing.
Good luck with the move.
H.

Great post- this is insightful. Best wishes for your move.

"American management is bad."

Very honest report, indeed.

Why is that dishonest? It's an opinion, sure, but I see it as an honest one.

Novartis does definitely have a reputation for not caring for their employees.

Because it's hardly an American thing, even if we seem to get the most publicity for it, I'd guess.

I see it as a plus.

Hardcore capitalism is considered "American" in most of Europe. (and to be fair - you guys did invent most of it...)

Switzerland is one of the few countries around here where the big companies legally can behave the way they do in the US.

Sure, it's true that it isn't just an American thing, but it's also true that Novartis has American management while Roche does not.

Don't forget the Genentech mafia

Sounds like a real shit hole



Awards and recognitions[edit]

• Fortune Magazine named Genentech number one on its 2006 list of the "100 Best Companies To Work For." This was the first number one ranking for the company, which has now been on the list for 18 consecutive years. In 2007, it dropped to second place, behind Google. The company ranked 5th in 2008, 7th in 2009, 19th in 2010, 35th in 2011, 68th in 2012, 36th in 2013, 6th in 2014, 9th in 2015, and 11th in 2016. The ranking is based on anonymous employee responses to a survey as well as an evaluation of the company's policies and culture.
• Genentech was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004, 2006-8 and 2010-11 by Working Mother Magazine.[26]
• It was named as one of the 100 best corporate citizens 2006 by the Business Ethics Magazine. The company participates in various policy and civic leadership groups, such as TechNet,[27] and sponsors independent third-party research and publications, such as the journal Nature.[28]
• Genentech was named Top Employer by Science Magazine on October 7, 2010, where it has been recognized for nine consecutive years.[29]
• In March 2008, Genentech was named Most Admired Pharmaceutical Company by Fortune for the second consecutive year.
• In July 2010, Genentech was named on the "Top 100 Best Places to Work in IT" list by ComputerWorld magazine.[30]
• In December 2008, Glassdoor.com rated the Genentech CEO Arthur D. Levinson as the "nicest" CEO of 2008 with a 93% approval rating.[31]
• Genentech was featured in the documentary film Something Ventured which premiered in 2011.
• The Economist rated Genentech as the Most Innovative Corporation of 2013.[32]

well, if you look long enough you'll find such "best place to work" crap for every major company Novartis sure has their share of accolades as well, though having worked there, OP's assessment is really not that far off. Novartis undeniably has a few fundamental problems on the leadership/management side which has now taken a toll on their ability to perform as well as they used to. Countless reorganizations, permanent chaos, the introduction of hire-and-fire politics and utterly ridiculous cost-cutting exercises - well, it's no wonder many people are fed up, pack their bags and cross the Rhine to join the competition.

I would agree that Genentech in San Francisco is a great place to work, very inspiring with first class facilities. I always enjoyed my visits there, not to mention the vastly superior canteen

However sitting in Basel and being managed by a Genentech person was a very different story. The 9 hour time difference to one side (which is your problem, not theirs), it felt to many of us that this was a reverse take-over. All the jobs post-acquisition were lost in Roche (Basel, New Jersey, UK etc..) and a great many of Roche PD top brass relocated to San Fran because that was where the power was.

The pendulum may have swung back to Basel, I don't know because I left 5 years ago feeling pretty disheartened that the 'old Roche' was over.

Full disclosure: I've got no skin in the game at either prison corporation.

Just because its Monday and I'm unmotivated here at my own evil MNC.


I'll go mess with the homeopaths for a while.

Roche is more than just Genentech.

I can't forgive Roche for the Basel tower. We were promised a stunning spiral of glass but got a grubby 1970s Bangkok hotel. Sad...

I thought Roche was the one with the Swiss-style management

Thanks for the post, Gerhart! Useful info and nicely compiled.

Best of luck with your move!

Someone should tell the Genentech folks...

It is dishonest to say that "American management is bad". Novartis management, that happens to be American, is bad, but not all American managers, in general, are bad.

Well, just compare it with the other European countries and it's clear that "hardcore american capitalism" choice of Switzerland was the right one. (disclosure: I am not American)