Elsevier reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(2,188 total reviews)

Kumsal Bayazit

90% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Elsevier has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,188 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Elsevier employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Audiovisual y medios de comunicación industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
4.0
Aug 4, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits. There is a system or method in place for everything, so things are very regimented. Managers are allowed pretty free range to manage their specific team as they see fit. Large infrastructure. Huge company. Lots of freedom given to the employees (at least at my level) for getting work done and planning their own time appropriately, as long as they achieve their goals.

Cons

Hard to get promoted because everything is so regimented. Not always clear what is going on in senior management. Must really play the political game in order to move up and keep favor with the powers that be. No holiday bonus. Must make goal, or you're watched very carefully, if you miss it by a lot, you're usually put on some kind of probation.

5.0
Jul 23, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Ample opportunity for growth, allowed to utilize required skills and allowed for learning of new skills and systems technology.

Cons

Due to changes within the organization, there is a large amount of data and procedures to master and a focus to streamline and organization is necessary.

3.0
Jul 23, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great colleagues and environment in department, great work/life balance. Flexible hours, changing industry and technology means exciting times to work in publishing (if not a little scary). OK perks.

Cons

Unfortunately you will spend a lot of time working below individuals a couple of steps higher up the food chain than you and supporting a tangible lack of skill and ability. Quite often these people would have been promoted into positions they are stuck in with not much hope of advancing further, and you will stay below working for them until they leave of their own accord. It appears that they have been promoted into these positions through being at the company for 10+ years rather than any thorough knowledge or expertise in their role. This is a company where sideways moves into different departments are encouraged which is not necessarily a bad thing, however in this case it is a bad thing due to the fact you will be unable to consider longer terms within your department through lack of roles available (when people have left these roles have been removed completely) and lack of a raise of salary to match your promotion or increase in responsibilities. Demands on workload will remain the same or increase in general. Middle and lower management decisions seem flimsey, ill-informed and knee jerk at best, there is a lack of uptake on training in changing technologys, knowledge of responsibilities of those they manage and deep fear of change pervades this area of management pointedly in the lower areas. Higher management individual roles are constantly changing with no new roles being created lower down. HR focus on a large amount of paperwork regarding reviews and internal moves but do very little to monitor the outcomes of these new procedures.

Viewing 2011 - 2013 of 2,188 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,533 Elsevier reviews submitted anonymously by Elsevier employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Elsevier is right for you.