Battelle reviews

3.6

60% would recommend to a friend

(996 total reviews)
avatar

Lou Von Thaer

60% approve of CEO

52% positive business outlook

Battelle has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 996 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Battelle employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

996 reviews
2.0
Apr 2, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are some very talented and motivated people at the local level. It's great to work with peers who inspire you to improve.

Cons

Battelle is clearly in financial trouble. But rather than trimming the fat at the top, they prefer to reduce and deny benefits for front line employees. Every year brings cuts to the point that salary and benefits are nowhere near competitive. It makes it worse when managers won't be candid about the situation. Getting graduate tuition assistance approved only to have support redacted after one semester is pretty shameful.

4.0
Mar 30, 2016

Solving what matters most

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Battelle is an amazing place filled with top notch scientists and problem solvers from a myriad of disciplines. Working here gives the opportunity to solve problems that impact the real world and might not be solvable anywhere else.

Cons

Battelle does a significant amount of government contract work. This means demand for services from Battelle are significantly impacted by government budgets and focus. In addition, the business practices and processes are very different from those at a primarily commercial firm.

4.0
Mar 28, 2016

Implementing a New Strategy

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

As a non-profit, Battelle has a vision and mission that separates it from a traditional for-profit entity. At the end of each year, profits are re-invested in facilities as well as distributed to charities, specifically STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. The cause is noble and for the past several years, two of the 3 "legs" have been performing well. The division that oversees the national lab contracts remains profitable and well-run. The investment portion of the business has seen some recent improvements with a major course correction implemented in just the last few years. The contract research division has struggled the last several years. Within the last year, Battelle's contract research division underwent a major strategy overhaul which resulted in a focusing of resources. Many individuals were impacted and some have expressed concern that the cuts were too deep, but only time will tell if the "back to the roots" strategy will help right that part of the business. The people who work at Battelle are highly motivated and very attuned to government customers. Battelle has built a "machine" that can service government contracts very well. Some new leadership at the executive level has provided much-needed fresh perspective. Specifically, the CFO and the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications are strong additions.

Cons

The most dramatic impact of the recent strategy implementation has been the loss of a strong commercial team. Many of the people with the most commercial experience, including but not limited to those in senior roles, lost their jobs as part of the changes. There are some exceptions to this rule, but there appears to be a lack of commitment to grow the commercial business. As there is a strong focus on government business, many of the internal processes are geared toward government, not commercial clients. Admittedly, some very arcane processes were improved in the last few years, but opportunity remains for more improvement. At the most senior levels, CEO and President of the Contract Research business, there is an overdue need for change and inspiration. Generally speaking, most employees do not know why they should follow these leaders. From an employee's perspective, the Board of Directors is also weaker than it should be.

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