Excellent experience for starting out, not so much for growing
Pros
Short Version: * Ability to change jobs/departments very easily * "Flat" organization - everyone is in the trenches together (in IT, at least) * Good camaraderie (up to a point) * Nice headquarters facility * Clear focus - save $$$ * Good bonuses Longer version: Express Scripts was a great place to learn how large company IT can work. I had the opportunity to work with a multitude of departments and people and got a lot out of that. It really makes a difference whether you are in a good organization or one that is struggling - in the former, you get the resources you need to succeed while in the latter it is a sisyphean effort. Colleagues tend to look out for each other, despite being ranked against each other for raises, bonuses and promotions. Every day could be a new challenge so if you like moving quickly this is a great fit, for a while...
Cons
Short Version: * Very limited promotion ability. It is highly unlikely to get more than one in your career at ESI. * Always oncall - the only times I did not receive calls, emails, and text messages was when I was flying. Though it is not required to always be available, that is the general expectation. * Good people "disappear" while poor performers linger for years (and harm the culture) * Saving money leads to poor outcomes (but everyone acts like this is unexpected) * Force-ranking of all employees * Bonuses can be and are canceled entirely due to factors outside of your control (i.e. you can perform excellently but, due factors entirely out of your control, you receive nothing). Longer Version: At some point most employees notice that the problems we have today have the same root cause as those we had the year before, and the year before that. Chronic rushing and underfunding of IT projects has led to a situation where IT has little credibility with the business and individual employees do not have much to be proud of. As managers, you are expected to promote the strategies and decisions made by senior leadership, despite the fact that "in the trenches" we and our teams have to deal with the fallout. The force-ranking is a real problem. Why ESI still does it while many other companies quietly eliminate these systems is baffling, but with the rapid turnover in our HR department my only conclusion is that the CEO likes the system. Expect to be hung out to dry if you have a public mistake in the last three months of the year and, if you want to do something that will make you a top ("stretch") performer make sure that it is public and, again, in the last three months of the year (earlier than that and it will likely be forgotten).
