associate director

intern

director

research scientist

manager

Eli Lilly

The Good:

I enjoyed my time at Lilly. There are a lot of good people I worked with Lilly pays well and does have a good work environment overall. 

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Eli Lilly as a company and the legacy of charity work here in Indianapolis and worldwide. In these areas you are awesome!

Most mid level managers are great to work for. Great Company!

The Bad:

Work load is way lower than what it should be and to be candid, I was surprised how little the average Lilly employee does on the average day. I would estimate 30% of the work expected by other profession positions in a medical of pharma business model. I do not let the low expectation of work volume dictate my work ethic.

I believe you can ask for more from your team. Be fair as you evaluate, inspect what you expect.The leadership as a whole is not engaged either in line level nor process. Lead by example and keep looking forward to your shared future and not your share futures! 

Quit managing every decision by your short term stock prices and your self serving Lilly stock options. Long term planning is key and spend less on adverting to influence doctors and more research funding on your future which help people have better live!

The Ugly:

You have an opportunity to work hard, but do not expect to be rewarded or managers to take notice of it. This should be a wake up call, you will fail as a company if you are drowning in mediocrity. 

There is a huge atmosphere of nepotism, I noticed a huge amount of unqualified people working at Lilly in important roles. Lilly employees called it the friends and family program, for getting hired. Some background checks have been politically removed "exceptions", while ignoring SOPs for hiring I base this on employees conversations in which Lilly employees admitted they family members "got them it" despite their criminal records. and some having zero experience or education in a important role, like being connected was a thing to be bragged about. This left me and others with a lot of questions and concerns about core company values and principals, so we left. 

Audit yourself through a third party, take action if true, and hire qualified people. To be clear, I left on great terms, asked back (No Thanks), do not want to work there as I found a great company to work for already. I do hope this cornerstone of the Pharma Industry wakes up and course corrects into a better future. You have an opportunity to help society and everyone living have a better future, what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
.

There is no typical day at Eli Lilly and Company. The organization is in the midst of redefining who and what they will continue to pursuit in the form of pharmaceutical success. The issue with that statement is that the focus continues to be on drug pipeline and growth transformation, but the attention to innovation exhibiting process inefficiency and reduced headcount is not consistent with the focus. A standard day consist of employees are extremely overloaded and approached with additional job responsibilities previously managed by 2 – 3 resources. Days mainly consist of functions that include staying current on email and many meetings, leaving very little time to complete the actual work. I have learned time management, attention to detail, pure account management and navigating bureaucracy. Broader in terms of the organization in general, resources at Eli Lilly and Company have the potential to learn quite a bit in the realm of medicine, laboratory research, clinical trials, sales and marketing and enterprise information technology. There is a wide spectrum in terms of management. Individuals considering this organization will find leaders more concerned with making them look good, yet other leaders truly focus on growth and development for their direct reports. However, the organization has made significant reduction in the areas of structured academic and professional development and certifications. Co-workers are great. There is a true and genuine perception of group success and willingness to bring everyone up to speed. However, there are isolated pockets of departments that are viewed as pure beau racy and progress limitations. These areas tend to have less expertise and a weaker knowledge base. This is by far the hardest part of the job, managing and navigating processes that were put in place to regulate development and implementation but significantly hinder speed to delivery. The most rewarding aspect about Eli Lilly and Company is the ability to work in areas of innovation positioned to empower the tools and medicines leveraged to save patient lives. Conversely, there are very few spaces within the organization that foster and advocate next generation innovation and its high potential for return. These spaces do not tend to have a long life.

As a sales rep at Lilly, I could not have had a better more enjoyable job.I loved and believed in the products I sold, I loved and respected the majority of my colleagues/teammates and I loved my customers/accounts I called on. Promotions were hard to obtain no matter how successful you were in sales, leadership opportunities and local and national recognition due to the revolving door of managers and their focus year to year. The portfolios I carried over the years, the relationships I built and the number of patients I feel I vicariously helped made it all worthwhile!

As an internal employee, I could not have had a worse experience. My training was non-existent. I would attempt to seek out information from experienced colleagues only to find out they had retired or left the company and no one was in a place to provide the answers I was seeking. I often felt like I wasted a copious amount of time seeking answers when had I been trained appropriately,  I would have had the opportunity to be more productive and successful early on in my role.

The culture in the department I worked was toxic. Leadership allowed the toxicity to fester and they hired lower level inexperienced managers who perpetuated the toxicity. At the end of the day, everyone was out for themselves. Diversity and inclusion was crammed down your throat by leadership because that is what society and lots of Harvard MBA's dictated needed to be done...yet after everyone departed the "D & I" events...everyone would go back to their preferred segregated groups. It was quite sad. The company like so many spent more time focusing on the mix of workers at the company (ie. more early career professionals, women, and Black, Asian, and Hispanic candidates) than they did actually trying to find the right candidate. On a positive note,  I did meet some really great people whom I still keep in touch with.

A company with a good reputation and a strong focus on providing its employees with a healthy work-life balance is an ideal place to work. Such companies often invest in their employees' well-being, leading to increased job satisfaction, productivity, and retention.

These companies typically offer flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options, flexible hours, and compressed workweeks, to accommodate employees' diverse needs. They understand that employees have lives outside of work and aim to strike a balance that allows individuals to excel both professionally and personally.

In addition to work-life balance, good companies prioritize employee well-being in other ways. They provide comprehensive health and wellness programs, including mental health support, fitness initiatives, and stress management resources. Employee assistance programs are often available to help with personal challenges that may affect job performance.

Moreover, these companies foster a positive and inclusive work culture, where employees are treated with respect and fairness. They encourage diversity and inclusion and provide opportunities for professional growth and development. This can include mentorship programs, educational assistance, and clear career progression pathways.

A robust benefits package is another hallmark of such organizations, offering competitive salaries, generous vacation time, and a variety of perks like childcare support, paid parental leave, and retirement plans.

Employee feedback is valued, and there are mechanisms in place to address concerns and continuously improve the work environment. Open lines of communication and regular feedback sessions ensure that employees' voices are heard.

Ultimately, in companies that prioritize work-life balance and employee well-being, the result is a happier, more engaged, and more productive workforce. These organizations understand that a healthy and content workforce is key to long-term success, and they invest in creating an environment where employees can thrive both at work and in their personal lives.

First the downsides - promotions are typically unreasonably slow unless you’ve been tapped for advancement, some senior managers lack transparency (Quality org), some senior and middle managers do not support or act on D&I, perks such as remote work and competitive salary are only being offered to new hires, travel budget has been cut & business class eliminated 5 yrs ago for most, decision making is typically slow and largely relegated to senior managers (big-company culture), almost no external training offered, and Indianapolis is a conservative red state, family-centric area without the environmental beauty/culture/things to do of more interesting areas (I’m from here).

And yet! overall still a great company with a young-ish CEO that supports work/life balance, mental health/wellbeing, D&I, and remaining competitive in the pharmaceutical industry in terms of products, employee hires, and benefits. Most of the jobs are challenging, interesting, and continually evolving due to innovation & regulatory requirements. Top benefits include over 60 hrs yearly for family caregiving, week of July 4th and Christmas week shutdown (better than a week of vacation because emails are not piling up in your in box), parental leave and financial adoption assistance, access to a private, company-owned park in Indianapolis (former conservation site), time off for volunteer opportunities, extra week of vacation on 5-year anniversary years, recent bump up in total vacation days by years of service, long term stock incentives for all employees, and a pension. People complaining about the below-industry pay are not factoring in the low cost of living in the Indianapolis area and the pension. Current office jobs are hybrid 3 days onsite/2 days remote work with discretion of which days up to direct managers. Also, the majority of people here are intelligent, respectful, and hardworking and follow Lilly core of ethics. Turnover is less than 10% per year & there are many long-term employees which speaks to employee loyalty.  

My typical day of work would start around 6:00 a.m. I handled the daily inbox for the Training and Development branch of HR at Eli Lilly. I started by prioritizing issues and requests from customers with Eli Lilly. I handled all urgent requests, then moved on to trouble shooting any issues that could have been potentially created by one of my processors. After getting through the emails that had come in overnight (we were global) I moved on to allocating work to all processors for the day and ensured that tasks were completed by the end of the work day. This included pulling raw data from a company specific data base and formatting into a "daily sheet" for each processor. I would then move on to any of my daily complex reporting and formatting in Excel. I also handled all reporting for Six Sigma and ECIA in Metrics that Matter. All research and trouble shooting was handled in SAP and Citrix/Leads. My team and co-workers including the Lilly Global Training Data Stewards always worked above and beyond to ensure compliance for Eli Lilly's employees and specific departments. The hardest part of my job is that I was a single mother and working, on average, 65 hours a week. The least amount of hours I logged was 50 and the most in one week was 98. I worked morning, night, and weekends and my time with my daughter was very limited. I developed an incredible skill set working at Eli Lilly. I also improved my skills and won multiple awards for streamlining business processes, going above and beyond to ensure tasks were completed, contributing to achieving group goals, possessing a positive attitude, remaining open to change, and identifying process improvements.

I would say this is a great place to start your pharmaceutical sales career! With over 5 years of work experience at Lilly I would say I had a good to okay experience. As a company, they are doing great things and have a growing portfolio of industry leading products! 

My first year working I felt that they truly were invested in my career at Lilly and opportunities were endless. I soon realized that this was only the case if you fit their “perfect mold”. Lilly definitely wants you to drink the corporate kool-aid promising amazing benefits, career growth and opportunities. Lilly does offer a great benefits package although the compensation is much lower than other companies. On top of that, raises/promotions are not given based on your hard work, but your years of service and a lot of favoritism. Above and beyond efforts put in year after year with no recognition while others receive preferential treatment can feel very discouraging. 

And as far as any other career opportunities they have besides sales are only possible for you if you move to Indianapolis. 

I will say that throughout my years at Lilly I’ve met so many wonderful people and had a positive experience with the various districts I was a part of. Lilly also does a great job providing excellent sales trainings and tools to adequately equip reps for the field.

Unfortunately, my last 2 years working at Lilly were filled with discontent. For so long I felt that no matter how much I did or how much extra work I would put in, it was never enough to fit the perfect mold anymore. This ultimately left me feeling very unmotivated and not as excited about the job I once loved! 

As the chemist for the environmental lab (staff of 6), the data contributions of the staff are reviewed and verified to be accurate and compliant. The submitted data to the state is additionally checked.

Instrument PMs are maintained and if/when there is malfunction internal maintenance is schedules and diagnosed. If it is a part malfunction, technical service from the vendor is scheduled. Instruments need to be operating 24/7.

If/when there is a sudden pollutant release into the site effluent, immediate action is taken through system monitoring of TOC and pH. If the alarms are beyond the established limits, the effluent is diverted and captured for analysis and remediation. During the capture, the chemist coordinates an action plan to find the source and remediate. 

Aside from managing the activities of site pollutant reduction, I submit three annual regulatory reports, SARA 312, SARA 313 and the IDEM Emission Report.

The diversity of job responsibilities makes the job interesting and many time challenging, as answers cannot be delayed. I enjoy the teamwork of lab associates who have worked alongside me for many years, they are family.

Learning is everyday whether it is process or chemistry or both. This job cannot be performed as every day is the same - it isn't. Every day is different and coordination of the scheduled requirements is one of the hardest parts of the job.

An entry-level to senior administrative assistant at Eli Lilly and Company will be overworked, MAY become under-appreciated, and will definitely be put into a pool of 25 AAs, without the direct, 1:1 relationship with business partners or stability that some AAs crave.  Lilly will reduce their AA workforce by 25% starting Jan. 1, 2018.

Whereas, higher ranked Sr. Executive AAs will be expected to do 5 times their previous workload starting in year 2018, accessible at all hours, in part due to global divisions' time zones... and, when one considers all the work involved in the non-stop choreography of travel, expenses, procurement, and high-profile meetings, etc., Sr. EAs could get very frustrated with people in upper management who do not check or keep to their schedules.  This impacts their quality of work/life balance.

I love the people - very dynamic, intelligent, inspired - but the organizational adjustments that are trying to compensate for unfair political and market forces seem VERY much to be only knee jerks.  Furthermore, they disproportionately burden those at the lowest levels.  25% AAs will be reduced.   Whereas, only 10% reduction of all upper levels of associates-on-up-to-Sr.Management and Sr.VPs.    It's like the executive board decided to cut off their own feet before running a marathon!

A sales rep at Eli Lilly is expected to work from 8-5 P.M. Monday thru Friday. Usually there is about 1-2 hours of work when you get home at night depending on e-mail volume and the products that you promote. The ongoing training that Lilly offers its employees is exceptional and ever changing. Like most companies, upward mobility has become very difficult because Branded drug patent expirations and lack of bringing new innovative medications to the marketplace. Sales forces have limited movement as well as management on a yearly basis. Overall, I think Lilly has excellent management and my co-workers in the 12 years with Lilly have been really honest and good people. The most difficult part of the job is getting face time with your customers on a daily basis. Interactions are often very short and more and more hospital system and offices have completely closed their doors to reps making it very hard to influence or change customers habits when it comes to how they choose which medication they feel is best for their patients. The most enjoyable part of the job is working with teammates that have very similar goals and challenges as you on a daily basis and finding ways to get the job done no matter what or how difficult the challenge may be.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Associate director 19 salaries reported	$151,689 per year
Intern 6 salaries reported	$25.83 per hour
Director 16 salaries reported	$179,444 per year
Research scientist 4 salaries reported	$99,950 per year
Manager 3 salaries reported	$135,667 per year

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