Vast Potential Hindered by Cultural Challenges - Anonymous Novanta Employee Review

3.0
Oct 17, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Professional colleagues Commitment to DEI Unlimited PTO Comparable Benefits Resource availability with the opportunity for meaningful transformation

Cons

Toxic leadership in which control outweighs outcomes Ideas are often dismissed, ignored or misappropriated Role expectations misaligned with actual responsibilities Resistance to innovation in which technical modernization is blocked or undermined Poor communication and planning

avatar
Novanta Response
9mo
Thank you for sharing your perspective and for being part of Novanta. We’re glad to hear you’ve experienced strong collaboration among colleagues and have found value in our commitment to inclusion and belonging, flexible time-off policies, and the resources available to support meaningful work. As we continue to grow and evolve, how we work must evolve with us. That’s why we’re focused on strengthening alignment and collaboration across teams through ongoing efforts like deploying the Novanta Growth System (NGS), which brings consistency, structure, and accountability to how we operate and innovate. We’re also continuing to clarify role expectations and communicate more effectively across the business through quarterly all-employee and business unit town hall meetings, daily posts on our Collaboration Hub intranet, and bi-weekly employee news, so employees feel supported and empowered in the work they do. Our annual employee engagement survey and regular pulse surveys give employees an opportunity to share their feedback about how we’re doing and what we can do better and build action plans together to continuously improve our workplace. Thank you again for your feedback. It plays an important role in how we continue to grow.

Explore other reviews about Novanta

5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Onboarding experience, clear company vision and strategy, employee guidance, communication, product catalog & industry diversification, PTO policy, work-life balance

Cons

No WFH hardware setup/checklist, no internal resource showing a product tree of all major product types (by site/BU)

avatar
Novanta Response
2w
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re pleased to hear that your onboarding, work-life balance, communication, and overall introduction to Novanta have made a positive impression during your first year with the company. We also appreciate your thoughtful suggestions. Helping new employees understand the products they support, how they make an impact, and our broader portfolio is an important part of creating a successful onboarding experience. As we continue to enhance our onboarding programs, feedback like yours helps us identify opportunities to provide additional resources and deeper product education to help employees build confidence and connect the work they do to our broader business. Thank you again for your feedback and for being part of the Novanta team. We wish you continued success as you grow your career with us.
4.0
Apr 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It’s rare to find a company where you truly feel like you belong, and while no workplace is perfect, Novanta’s strengths far outweigh its shortcomings. What stood out most was their onboarding and training process — structured, thorough, and genuinely supportive for new employees. Day-to-day operations are well-organized, which makes it easier to do your best work, even though there’s always room for continued improvement. The benefits package is hard to beat — 5% 401K match, 16 PTOs, HSA/FSA, and comprehensive health/vision/dental coverage. The flexibility to work from home, especially at the manager level, shows the company values work-life balance. The company events and volunteer activities are a highlight — keep those coming! They go a long way in building a sense of community and culture. Overall, Novanta is a place where people are set up to succeed. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a stable, organized, and people-focused company.

Cons

One area for improvement would be transparency around organizational changes. There were instances of unexpected layoffs in certain departments without much advance notice, which understandably affected morale and trust. More proactive communication during times of restructuring would go a long way in maintaining employee confidence.

avatar
Novanta Response
3mo
Thank you for taking the time to share such a thoughtful and balanced review. We’re pleased to hear that your experience reflected a strong sense of belonging, effective onboarding, and a well-structured environment that supports people in doing their best work. It’s also great to see recognition of our benefits, flexibility, and the role that team events and volunteer efforts play in building a connected culture – those are all intentional investments we have made in building a great workplace culture. As a growing, global company, we continuously evolve to align with market opportunities and long-term priorities. That includes ensuring we have the right structure, capabilities, and communication approaches in place to support our teams through change. We regularly communicate with employees through daily posts on the Collaboration Hub, our intranet, weekly email newsletter, and quarterly all-employee town halls where employees can ask questions and get answers. We appreciate your suggestions about career development and recognition. Enabling employees to grow and ensuring contributions are visible remain important areas of focus as we continue to scale. Novanta University offers a variety of on-demand courses so employees can continue to learn and grow. We also encourage all employees to create their own individual development plan (IDP) and discuss it with their manager so they can continue to progress in their career. To further promote career development, we have recently made enhancements to our performance management process which strengthens performance goal attainment by having quarterly development meetings with your manager. Some sites have a Values Champion Recognition program that allows peer to peer recognition for those who go above and beyond. We believe in the value of recognition and agree with you that sometimes just a simple “Thank you” or “I appreciate you” can go a long way! Thank you again for your contributions during your time at Novanta, and we wish you continued success.
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All