Cliques organization, a surviving place (not thriving), Weak leadership - Senior Marketing Director Illumina Employee Review

The organization built a strong product portfolio and brand reputation in the last decade. It was a place for many A players. However, the recent years, Illumina is not only been struggling to maintain its market-leading position but also struggling to keep talents. Gossip, nepotism, lies, and watercooler conversation drives their talent and business decisions, especially in Marketing. They have loud voices; all they do daily is watch other people's work and bad mouth. Too many chefs in the kitchen, and many don't know how to run a business. At Illumina, you are either in or out. If cliques are a thing of the past and high school time, working at Illumina will change your mind. In a high network and cliques organization, all you do is attend meetings and be present to cover your back. You will do fine if you are a white male or female and can keep your mouth shut. Human Resources is horrific (I know they will write a cliche comment to this review that my experience is not aligned with their policies!!). HR serves VPs only and is non-existent at onboarding people managers, talent development, or organizational behavior supports. Illumina overhires and lets them go. They have the hiring and layoff very frequently because their talent selections are based on "likes and cliques," not performance. Projects move forward very slowly (if at all), in silos, and without fundamentally addressing the root causes of the issues. Global Marketing, Regional, Digital Marketing, Programs, Events, and Corporate Marketing overlap and cannot collaborate. The Sales team runs independently from the Marketing organization and doesn't see value in most marketing activities. Because everyone is trying to survive in this place, long-term talent development or any fundamentally thriving conversation will not happen. Work-life balance could vary depending on your organization. You must watch your back constantly, so even if you deliver your work, you better stay connected. - Lack of career development opportunities - Nepotism and cliques drive business decisions - No onboarding; no clear goals; no talent planning -Internal fighting, gossip, silos, and inability to drive projects -Lacks diversity of thoughts and people - Can't be yourself; you have to play the game; information provided with little reasons