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canfield scientific

Engaged Employer

canfield scientific reviews

3.0

53% would recommend to a friend

(73 total reviews)

Doug Canfield

64% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

canfield scientific has an employee rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, based on 73 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The canfield scientific employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

73 reviews
2.0
Feb 15, 2019

Wow...what planet was I on?!?!

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- I've met some amazing people at this company who I now call friends. - You do learn at the job...especially when little to no training is provided. - You get to make a little extra $$$ on the side doing their validations (makes up for the inability to negotiate your salary when you’re first hired). - You do get to play with some pretty neat tech. - Did I mention the amazing people you'll meet?!?!

Cons

Before you read my CONS...make sure you read the rest of the reviews. You'll notice a certain pattern going on. MANAGEMENT (or lack thereof) For some, when you think of a manager, you think of someone who is innovative, a person who empowers, a person who doesn’t need to get involved in every aspect of the day-to-day tasks because they have...well...you know..a good team. Well...that’s not the case here. There is a level of micromanagement at Canfield that I’ve never experienced in my career. Management doesn’t know how to delegate and on top of that they micromanage every aspect of what you’re doing. On top of that...when you ask for documentation on the main product that you support so that you can better prepare yourself you’re laughed at. When you approach management with an idea that could bring some kind of convenience to users within the company you are micromanaged at every level from beginning to end only to have the idea just poo-pooed on. I mean...you can't even send a fax from the CEO without management being all over a fax. A FAX! At the same time, management at this company could actually use some management training themselves. Mainly on how to deal with managing their own teams effectively and how to be on time when providing constructive criticism while not making their team members wait almost half a year only to tell them they need to improve on many things when most of the time the individual had to figure stuff out completely on their own. There also seems to be a tight circle between the CEO and those who have been with the company since forever. Unless you’re camping out with the CEO or went to high school with the CEO or know the CEO at some personal level you can only go so far. Don’t get me wrong...there have been a few who have been dealt a lucky hand that have been able to rise up in the ranks and good for them (they deserve it) but unless you’re in ‘The Circle’ you’re going to have a tough time. HUMAN RESOURCES (or lack thereof) “We’d like to make you an offer at a non-negotiable salary of…” This should have been my FIRST indicator of things to come with this company before I even started working for them. After digesting the reality that there is no wiggle room you pretty much accept your fate. Your acceptance doesn’t come with new hire orientation on your first day, week, month, or year. It’s just a quick tour of the facility, they walk you to your desk, have you log on, and that’s pretty much it. It’s all on you! The company doesn’t offer any type of employee discounts to anything. They don’t organize any kind of services for the community. Nothing is organized that helps strengthen the bond or promotes team building (which the company desperately needs). All you get is a picnic, that’s quite boring but people still attend because they’d get docked a half day if they don’t go, and a holiday party, that’s also quite boring. I mean...why would a good amount of people leave the holiday party after cocktail hour? For that just give each department a small budget so that they can hold their own happy hour...and they’ll have a great time. Don’t get me wrong...they will answer your questions regarding your benefits (which I do have to say are not bad at all) or paid time off. They also buy bagels every Friday, they’ll buy lunch for clients who visit the company, walk the boss’s dog, keep tabs of who actually goes to the company picnic, and they’re fantastic when it comes to reviewing video footage of their employees and who they interact with during the day. Heaven forbid you try to have fun at a place you spend only 8-10 hours of your day at because if you do...watch out! They’ll pick you out in those video footages faster than they can find a caterer to cook breakfast for their clients on such short notice. WORK / LIFE BALANCE There is none! You walk into certain departments and you can just see the soul being sucked out of some of these people. In one department in particular I’ve spoken to many how have had to fly cross-country for a 2 hour get together with a client only to then fly back the same day and then expected come to work the very next morning. That’s not fair and it is insane. Yet when HR was informed that they’re being told that they need to come to work following an adventure like that HR replies that they aren’t aware of people coming in after long business travel (really.get off the video feeds). Could this be the reason why there is such a high turnover rate at the company? No wonder they’re hiring so much...they can’t keep the ones they’ve hired! ONCE YOU'RE ON THEIR BAD SIDE...IT'S A WRAP This is probably one of the more annoying aspects of working at Canfield. The problem that happened with me was that I wanted to enjoy my time while I did my job and THAT was extremely frowned upon by many. Once you’re on the wrong person’s bad side...you’ll be forever digging yourself out of an endless hole. Yet, it’s quite alright to those who frown upon you to have their fun while dropping f-bombs in their office...with their doors wide open or others laughing extremely loud while the rest of us in the trenches just look at each other with that “REALLY!?!?” face.

1.0
Aug 13, 2018

Great Potential - Horrible Management

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting products and services, great collaboration among non-management employees, talented technical employees

Cons

Respect for an employee, his/her knowledge, or any sort of life-work balance is completely non-existent. It is unfortunate, as the business niche is fascinating, but anyone who offers input based on experience or simple observation is considered arrogant and conceited. Instead, upper management of this very horizontal company considers itself to be knowledgeable on everything, even if they have had zero experience in a given area. In addition, they are rude, condescending and unappreciative of the efforts put in by hardworking employees. There are so many management issues that filter down from a narcissistic president who believes that no one in the company could possibly know something that he doesn't know to his promising and selling products that have not been designed or tested. People should be hired because they either complement the compamy's knowledge and be respected for what they bring to the table, or be brought in as new employees with little experience who will be groomed into the type of employee any company would be glad to have on their team. In addition, travel is completely ridiculous, from having to share rooms with other employees, to taking red-eye flights back and being told to work until you can't last any longer (how safe of a ride home is that?), to working 60 to 80-hour work weeks without so much as a thank you. If you are looking to work here, do it only to get some experience under your belt and then get out. This is not a place that any self-respecting person should work.

1.0
Jan 15, 2017

An absolutely horrible place to work

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The work itself is interesting and exposes you to clinical trials and the greater pharma/CRO industry.

Cons

I find it very hard to believe that Canfield Scientific all of a sudden has positive reviews...hmmmmm. I smell dishonestly from miles away. It appears like the owner and management noticed all of the awful reviews for their company and decided they better counteract with writing fraudulent positive ones! Outrageous!!!!! This place is an absolutely awful place to work. The management is non-existent and training/growth opportunities are something you will never be given at Canfield. Good, hard-working employees are fired on a whim and very frequently. Development plans and performance reviews do not exist so there is no way to measure your success. Hearsay is the way of the world at this company and employees are put last. Those who are in charge are longtime friends of the owner, Doug Canfield, and are not qualified as leadership. When you join the company you will feel welcomed by an elaborate holiday party or a seemingly lovely volunteer cancer walk that the company partakes in - but do not be fooled by what may seem like a nice environment to be in. This company has great ideas with their products but puts their people dead last on their agenda. If you have integrity, stand clear of working at this company. Look for a company without a glass ceiling and without a revolving door. Look for a company with leadership and that puts their people first. I now work on the client side at a major pharmaceutical company. I would not hire Canfield as my vendor as they do not care about their people so how could they possibly value me as their client?!????

Viewing 1 - 3 of 73 Reviews

Glassdoor has 80 canfield scientific reviews submitted anonymously by canfield scientific employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if canfield scientific is right for you.