IT Needs Some Work - Anonymous employee Genentech Employee Review

2.0
Feb 15, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company has an innovative technology focus, and sincerely wants to try new things. The culture is diplomatic and friendly. The organization takes work life balance seriously.

Cons

The underside of all the talk about innovation is that the IT organization doesn't know how to get there. The pace of change is slow, and managers have a hard time resourcing experiments. Gender diversity is a problem; there are entire groups without a single female employee. Men are disproportionately promoted into management positions, even when their peers, regardless of gender, see them as unqualified or semi-competent.

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Pros

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Cons

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Pros

Genentech's origin story and mission are genuinely inspiring — few companies can point to such a meaningful historical arc in medicine. Patient engagement is taken seriously and feels authentic, not performative. The campus is beautiful and the culture has real warmth.

Cons

DDA is operating with significant gaps. First, the foundational data infrastructure is not mature enough to support the ambitions being set for the team. Second, the measurement culture has gotten ahead of the methodology, and no one in a position of authority seems to be asking hard questions about whether the numbers actually mean what they're being presented as meaning. Third, some management feel disconnected from the work itself, lacking the knowledge, hands-on experience, or relevant credentials. Individually any one of these would be manageable. Together these create an environment where it's hard to do rigorous work, rather work is performative, and be recognized for it.

3
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