intern

research scientist

senior research scientist

laboratory technician

information technology intern

Colgate-Palmolive

The company offers good pay and benefits along with above average job security.  It has a wide variety of job opportunities and encourages employees to advance themselves internally.  It also has opportunities to travel and move to different areas in the US and abroad as Colgate-Palmolive has facilities in numerous countries.

In the analytical lab where I was employed, the work load was heavy and the pace was very fast.  I did enjoy the work, but the work load became too much because of some not so work oriented co-workers.  (The job security enjoyed there has the drawback of allowing less desirable employees to keep a position and often make the work load heavier for those who do work so well.)

I tested toothpaste to ensure the ingredients specified by the company/FDA were within the limits set.  I also tested many raw materials to ensure they met specifications as well.  The chemist position was responsible for following all test procedures, using proper protective gear as trained, and rules for the plant and areas in the plant. The chemists mixed many of the reagents used in testing and did trouble shooting/maintenance/repair on equipment as needed.  All testing and paperwork had to meet FDA regulations since (even) toothpaste falls under their jurisdiction.

A typical day consisted of testing paste, entering the data generated, entering data on raw materials, and cleaning the glassware, etc. dirtied on shift.  Common additions to the day were raw material testing, stability testing, assisting receiving technicians with raw material testing, and any other odd chores necessary.

The lab was under constant pressure to meet the time limits set on many of the materials tested.  It also had to cope with an expanding group of materials being tested and the new procedures required for their testing.  It was becoming a position that had the chemists over extended physically and mentally to keep track of all the procedures etc. required.  I would have long since found another job had health conditions not caused me to pulled from work on advice from my doctors.

It was satisfying to ensure products met specifications that were going to be used by the public.  It brought a sense of pride to see those products siting on the shelves in stores for sale that had a high probability of having been tested by myself and know that I had helped a large number of people with staying healthy.  

The work load and some of the other employees made the job a miserable experience for me.  

I did enjoy the company overall although my experiences in the lab were not good.  I had a stable job and good pay/benefits and found the company is committed to making good products at a good price.  Colgate-Palmolive also tries to be environmentally friendly with all its products and offers many organic or mostly organic items.

     Colgate is a great company to work for. The work is fast-paced, depending on what department you’re in, but the work is not difficult. The 2-2-3 schedule with 12 hour shifts are long and can be physically demanding, with little down time and a lot of standing. There is regular, required overtime which is a huge morale-killer. There is daily paperwork and computer software that has a steep learning curve and there is a constant stress of making mistakes and getting written up. The factory is clean and smells like mint, but it can get uncomfortably hot inside, especially in the summer. The company provides yearly shoe vouchers and PPE is provided. The dress code is a blue button-up shirt with khakis, steel-toe shoes, hair net, ear plugs, safety glasses and employee ID. Long-sleeved company t-shirts can be worn on Fridays instead of the blue shirt. 
     This is a good, reliable job, however the plant has gone down hill over the last two years. The management and HR staff are new and I would give them a failing grade compared to the previous teams. There is very little communication between management and employees. We used to have weekly meetings and now months pass without any updates. This is especially true for the night shifts. However, everyone, including management, is friendly and approachable. Management is always available to meet if you go out of your way to contact them. There are a handful of employees who are constantly creating drama and will try to get people in trouble and it is nearly impossible to get anything done about it. There are politics and cliques and if you don’t fit in and learn quickly you won’t last long. This is the case for any factory, but the people are overwhelmingly friendly and diverse. I love working with 99% of my coworkers.
     Overall, Colgate is a great company with great benefits and 401k, and competitive pay with somewhat yearly raises. The people are mostly awesome and the work is fairly easy once you learn it. Since Covid, many of the positives have gone away such as the in-house company store, regular meetings, occasional free meals and holiday gifts, etc. Some of these are slowly coming back, like the gym, and management is genuinely trying to improve conditions to how they used to be, but there is still huge room for improvement. I would definitely recommend this job, but it is not for everybody. 

Typical Day at Work

My typical day at work includes distribution and electronic filing of Global Raw Material Qualification Reports and Global Quality Technical Agreements. I also assign control numbers to the technical agreements.

My responsibilities also include writing/editing Standard Operating Procedures and routing them via SAP's Document Management System. I am also the Global DMS Implementation Coordinator; I manage electronic documentation management system site launches around the world. I am currently working with sites that are located in Asia and Latin America. Previously I assisted sites in Australia and in Vietnam with their launches. The launch project includes training the new system administrators. 

As a training database administrator, I assign GMP and Quality-related courses to users as requested. I also generate usage graphs for managers to evaluate and maximize system optimization. 

What I Learned

I have learned how to manage documentation systems, and I've also learned how to communicate effectively via written and verbal avenues. Learning how to prioritize and work on multiple projects simultaneously has been a significant personal lesson over the years. 

Management can be quite critical of your best efforts. Coworkers are typically understanding and helpful. They are supportive and look out for others. 

The hardest part of the job is electronic filing due to its mundane nature. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is managing the global site launches for DMS, and receiving many accolades from coworkers in other countries on how much support they've received during the project.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I was definitely the best part of working there mainly everyone loved and respected me because of my oar and willing to bless speak blessings encourage and help anyone in any section of the facility and as maintenance and set up I learned the skills I obtained in approximately 3/4 days everyone misses my presence I'm still asked about daily so because I was done absolutely wrong in my resignation I will eventually reep the benefits of my desired job this I know... blessings 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not the job at all which I loved and would love to go back but the Surge staffing agents on site which messed up my paycheck and hours overtime 4 times within 11 months which led to taking out child support and taxes twice each time which they would not reimburse though it was there faults so I was cheated out of hard earned funds why I resigned the afternoon they messed up my check for the last time.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
People and most bosses or supervisors were a pleasure to work for or with and it's multi cultural which I love cause I'm a people person.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I completed many tasks including maintenance and set up of production lines for next days shifts also gave help where it was needed on production lines opening products also dumping palletizing shrink wrapping fixing taper machines and date coders helping move product pallets to line for continuous production fixing jams and breaks cleaning vacuum boxes and replenishing needed accessories and materials also switching out any machines needed to be replaced.

I worked at Hills Pet Nutrition which is owned by Colgate. This is not to be confused with working at Colgate.  Hills is Kansas culture, Colgate is Park Ave NYC.  

I managed two facilities with drivers who delivered pet food to veterinarians clinics.  It was a good job, but long long hours and some travel.  I was brought in at the lower of two salary levels for that position.  The path to the upper level was always nebulous, kinda a wait until next year thing. Although I was training the upper guys on new systems and doing things they were unwilling to do.  They value tenure over what you know and what you do.  Good midwestern values.

My boss was great.  Amazing guy.  Worked his way up in the company.  Now, when his boss retired, he and his teammates were told not to apply, that they had someone in mind.  Want to know how to scare and disillusion a large network of transportation people?  Give that role to an HR person who has absolutely zero experience in transportation.  Then for good measure decide that you cannot hire drivers for full time positions, but rather for a 6 month contract.  Even though there is a huge driver shortage and you are competing for talent and your current drivers are working 55 hours a week.  

Back to that pay ... I have on my desk a wonderful handwritten note from the person picked from HR to lead that organization, saying how great I was for working so far beyond the call.  I was grateful for the sentiment, but it didn't help pay my student loan, and it is sitting on my desk at another job where I get paid more to work way less.

Pay is pretty good considering there isn't much expected other than showing up.  Hourly workers are all paid the same (except warehouse, who are paid a few dollars less, and Tech Techs, who are paid a few dollars more).  So, a new hire, makes exactly the same as someone who has been there 10 years.  Great for the new hire, not so great for the experienced person.  

So, you get paid the same, whether you bust your tail, or do nothing all shift.  So what kind of culture do you think that breeds?  

Management is horrible.  Don't worry, they only stick around for a couple of years, then they move on or quit.  Colgate Morristown is a revolving door for management trainees.  Some come in and try to make a difference, and are promptly shut down.  Others come in and simply do their time and try not to make waves.  

Everything is an illusion at Colgate.  Quality, Safety, Environment, Work-Life balance.  All is made out to be top notch, but in reality it is all just lip service.  This facility is the most unprofessional place I have ever worked.  It is laughable that it continues to run and Colgate still makes million$ from this factory.  

All that being said, if you can stand to be a part of a mediocre workforce with horrendous management,  and do little to no work, for pretty decent pay ($18+/hr) then this is the place for you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The health benefits and pay are above average. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Senior management is in a now two year state of disarray. No one is held accountable, promises are made and then not kept. Favoritism is wide spread. Certain people in leadership have been promoted to positions they have no experience in. Progress has stalled. Mandatory overtime every week with no end in sight. Every couple of years, the plant manager will rotate so establishing a solid culture is impossible because it changes with each new person. Several times supervisors have been caught having affairs with hourly persons. Never held accountable. Its a mess right now. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Terrible. We can not establish a culture as the leadership changes ever few years. Plant manager has no clue what goes on out the floor. New operations manager has no experience in operations. He speaks to people unprofessionally. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
We fight machines to keep them running the entire shift. We are happy when we get 40% run time. That's a good day. There is no training program here. New employees are sent to the floor to sink or swim. The night shifts have no support and no one wants to help them.

In my department, as soon as we log in we have five minutes to get everything pulled up on our computers.  I use three different monitors due to the multitasking we have to do continuously.  I key vet orders as fast as possible with as few mistakes as possible.  These are checked on a weekly basis.  I also switch from keying faxes to taking vet calls and taking orders over the phone or helping resolve order issues.  When I am in queue to take calls and I am waiting for a call, I am keying returns on my other screen.  I have learned to be very efficient.  The coworkers around me right now all seem to be easy to work with.  We have moved at least four times in the last few months.  We pack up our desks and move and set back up, and then a few weeks later, we move again.It is hard to really get to know people around you, since you aren't around them long.  The hardest part of the job is the constant changing.  The most enjoyable part of the job is when things settle down a bit and I can get into a rythm, which helps me to relax, which causes me to work much better.  There is a management team, so basically, we all have 5 or 6 supervisors.  I prefer having one.  It gives it more of a personal feel.  This is all new, and is difficult to grasp all of the changes.

Colgate is a great company to work for, it offers great work life balance.Colgate allowed me to grow within my role. Management styles differed by Department. Some colleagues had great managers that aided in their development, some Managers like the ones I reported to were very hands off, which hindered growth. Colgate offered exercise classes 4 days per week which was great, they also had a Nurse Practitioner on staff, which was extremely helpful at times, since it was easy to get a prescription if needed.
The only problem I have with Colgate is its constant restructuring and or outsourcing of jobs. I believe this is counteractive in its believes in that they really don't care about their employees. I believe Colgate could have tried harder to save jobs, by reducing other spending such as company match for annual giving campaign. They could have also saved money with constant floor renovation. Floors were remodeled then decided they were no longer going to use it. This wasted money could have been used to save someone's job. I believe Colgate should become more conscientious with its decision to cut jobs, especially in a time we live in, where people are committing suicide for various reasons.

Currently employed here and while the company itself is great, this facility in particular is an absolute disaater.

An entire culture of not caring has been established and it starts with the cowards in management that are playing a charade of acting like they care about the safety of their employees and the quality of their product when their actions reflect differently. There is a sign here that reads "Safety > Quality > Quantity" this is a huge lie. Practices that improve quantity are what is encouraged here because as long as they can keep sending cases out the door no matter how poor the quality is or unsafe measures one takes to make them, they can make it pass as if they are holding it together.

Another lie is that this place is "state of the art." There is nothing state of the art in here. And there is basically no maintenance either. What passes for "maintenance" is using large amounts of tape, glue, ties and machinery bypassing.

Wouldn't expect this place to be here much longer unless there are drastic radical changes. Until then, I'll keep getting the decent pay and good insurance coverages while watching the people who are in charge slowly and humorously run it into the ground.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Intern 7 salaries reported	$26.11 per hour
Research scientist 8 salaries reported	$102,000 per year
Senior research scientist 1 salary reported	$132,300 per year
Laboratory technician 5 salaries reported	$15.80 per hour
Information technology intern 3 salaries reported	$22.00 per hour

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