Incompetent Product Management - Senior Product Manager Elsevier Employee Review

1.0
Feb 12, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Global company; offices everywhere - Opportunities to attend academic conferences - Access to useful tools, such as DataSearch - Flexible working - Excellent IT contractors in India

Cons

- I had the most abusive micro manager, who was based in Amsterdam. I dreaded Monday morning 1-2-1s and any calls with him because he would spend 95% criticising everything I did. He once said that the reason he did that was because he believed that negative feedback was the only way to make someone improve. During product / design meetings in Oxford or London, he would be disruptive and instigate disagreement amongst the developers and designers, and it eventually created a toxic atmosphere. This was allowed to go on for years unchecked. - There are many 'open' initiatives at Elsevier, but, ultimately, they publish in order to make an obscene amount of money. They don't call it the 'evil empire' for nothing.

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Elsevier Response
6y
We are disappointed to hear that you did not enjoy your relationship with your product manager and that you did not find their feedback to be constructive when you were with us. Creating an inclusive and agile working environment for all our employees is a key operating principle of how we work at Elsevier. Delivering effective feedback, not negative feedback, is a critical foundation stone as it is only through effective feedback can we continue to evolve and grow our products to meet the needs of our customers. The Technology and Product Management teams are aligned in their ambition to create an environment where everyone can succeed. We have shared this review with the appropriate managers to ensure that we effectively support and develop our people to continue to hone their practice and skills.

Explore other reviews about Elsevier

5.0
May 11, 2026
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Pros

Industry leader Great benefits Incentive trips Invests heavily in its employees

Cons

Processes can be burdensome and clunky at times

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Elsevier Response
1mo
Thank you for this balanced and thoughtful review. We're glad to hear that our benefits and investment in people are making a positive impact, those are commitments we take seriously. On the process feedback: Leadership is actively reviewing operational workflows, and the advice to listen more closely to employee feedback is something we're holding ourselves accountable to. If you're open to it, we'd encourage you to bring specific examples forward through your team or people and culture contacts. Change is most effective when it's grounded in the real experiences of the people doing the work, and that means you. Feel free to reach out to us at elseviergdrev@elsevier.com to provide more information Thank you for staying engaged and for caring enough to share this. It matters.
4.0
Jun 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Great company -Team has talented, experienced account managers and product experts who know the territory well

Cons

West team management is heavy on micromanagement and sets unrealistic territory targets without rep input — high turnover, and long tenure in company seems to shield this manager from accountability and growth

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