Lexmark: A Company Review
The decision to leave Lexmark will remain to be a pivotal part of my working life. Was I able to establish a career in there? No. Had I imagined myself establishing a career in there? In one way or another, yes. Lexmark has set the bar high so much that where ever I will go, it will serve as a benchmark on my future choice of companies. Leaving the company was a suicidal decision because I was saying goodbye to a good employer with nowhere to go and no company to transfer to.
What makes Lexmark stand out from the rest? Here are my reasons:
I did have difficulties on my first months/year in the company. The first time I was on-board, there was no formal training -- more on just a job turn-over. BUT I was thankful for new teammates who were really patient and taught me how to go about with my work until I was able to stand on my own. Years after their SAP roll-off, Lexmark stabilized its processes and work gradually became less stressful. My morale was high in Lexmark. I was never the popular one among stakeholders and local management but I believe I left a good mark with the people I have worked with across APAC (planners, some Order Management Specialists, account coordinators stationed in Hong Kong, Korea, China, etc.) This is the kind of work where you need not worry or fuss about on the weekends. Work-Life balance in its realest sense. Flexible working hours too.
Lexmark's HMO is by far the best. This is one reason why employees are hesitant to leave the company. The highlight of which is their very attractive maternity insurance coverage. To add, there is no hassle getting the flu or being sick, the company has scheduled in-house doctors conducting 3-4 clinic hours on every shift. Consultation process is smooth, they have their own queuing system. You will have your initial consultation with the company nurse before the doctor's consultation. At this point, I want to shout out that it is really a good thing the company has their in-house nurses. It makes the service personalized. It is different when you hire nurses from third party service providers. They do work sans the human touch. So once you get your prescription, LOA will then be issued to present to Rose Pharmacy. This is to pay only a small percentage of the total cost of medicines (part of the insurance package). What I appreciate the most is how they religiously keep your consultation records. A few days before my last day in the company, I politely asked the company nurse if I can obtain copies of all my consultation records which they willingly granted. So with me is eight years' worth of medical records (how often I have asthma attacks in a year, medical findings, laboratory results and etc.) safely filed in my cabinet.
The triggering point of my decision was the fact that I was growing old in a company that I have devoted almost a decade of my life and lately was doubtful if I would ever go somewhere what with the frequent reorganizations and changes of leadership. At the latter part of my tenure, I lost confidence on the present management of APCO OTC. Demotivated, I thought it was heading to a downfall.
Do not get me wrong -- I would love to retire in Lexmark, but the idea that there was a vast ocean beyond the four walls of the company appealed to me more than the idea of what I will be getting if I remained in the next three years or so.
My only wish was that I should have never gone back to Lexmark that soon because I would have loved to go back after 2-3 years and apply the things I have learned from outside.
Would I recommend Lexmark to others?
YES.
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What makes Lexmark stand out from the rest? Here are my reasons:
A Convenient Hiring and On-boarding Process.
Once you get identified for the position, a background investigation is conducted. After passing such, the company makes the job offer and at the same time provide you a list of items required to prepare you for the on-boarding process. My second on-boarding process took faster than the first. I guess this depends on how urgent you are needed by the hiring manager. The second time I joined the company was the first time I was able to join the New Job Orientation. The highlight of this stage: they do the processing for payroll ATM and other Pag-ibig, SSS and BIR-related matters for you. Some companies do not do that.
Work.
I did have difficulties on my first months/year in the company. The first time I was on-board, there was no formal training -- more on just a job turn-over. BUT I was thankful for new teammates who were really patient and taught me how to go about with my work until I was able to stand on my own. Years after their SAP roll-off, Lexmark stabilized its processes and work gradually became less stressful. My morale was high in Lexmark. I was never the popular one among stakeholders and local management but I believe I left a good mark with the people I have worked with across APAC (planners, some Order Management Specialists, account coordinators stationed in Hong Kong, Korea, China, etc.) This is the kind of work where you need not worry or fuss about on the weekends. Work-Life balance in its realest sense. Flexible working hours too.
Good Pay.
I believe Lexmark does pay good especially when you are just starting your career as a fresh grad. There are also allowances apart from the basic pay. Salary increases? Yes, but this is still subject to individual and company performance. Bonuses, yes -- also subject to company performance.
Religious to Government-mandated Requirements and Accreditation.
Be it EHS, income tax compliance and so on. With regards to income taxes, they require their employees to declare their real salaries when getting Cedulas. So what do they do to mitigate mis-declaration of income? They invite BIR over to mass issue Cedulas to Lexmark employees. A smart company initiative. No cedula issuance sans the form 2316 released by the company on that same day. It is up to the employee though if he/she opts to get his/her CTC outside and elsewhere so long as they submit their CTCs on the deadline.
Great HMO.
Lexmark's HMO is by far the best. This is one reason why employees are hesitant to leave the company. The highlight of which is their very attractive maternity insurance coverage. To add, there is no hassle getting the flu or being sick, the company has scheduled in-house doctors conducting 3-4 clinic hours on every shift. Consultation process is smooth, they have their own queuing system. You will have your initial consultation with the company nurse before the doctor's consultation. At this point, I want to shout out that it is really a good thing the company has their in-house nurses. It makes the service personalized. It is different when you hire nurses from third party service providers. They do work sans the human touch. So once you get your prescription, LOA will then be issued to present to Rose Pharmacy. This is to pay only a small percentage of the total cost of medicines (part of the insurance package). What I appreciate the most is how they religiously keep your consultation records. A few days before my last day in the company, I politely asked the company nurse if I can obtain copies of all my consultation records which they willingly granted. So with me is eight years' worth of medical records (how often I have asthma attacks in a year, medical findings, laboratory results and etc.) safely filed in my cabinet.
.
Lexmark Acknowledges It's Responsibility Towards the Environment and Society
Lexmark participates in environmental clean-ups and also sponsors local schools. Lexmark practices CLAYGO. It is remarkable to note that it has sustained its drive to ban plastics on Fridays. It started its no-plastic-on-Fridays practice a few years back and is still being complied by their employees up until now. The company has totally banned disposal of Styrofoam in its premises. It is strict in its waste segregation that they have Blue, Green and Yellow trash bins on every floor. They make each individual accountable and responsible in disposing their own waste. As a product of Lexmark, I have brought this practice with me wherever I go.
Others.
Dress-down Fridays and during Holidays. Free parking. Near Ayala Center Cebu. Cebu Business Park is not crowded. Own personal cubicles and pedestals. They also invite farmers to sell fresh harvests every Thursday.
Why leave?
The triggering point of my decision was the fact that I was growing old in a company that I have devoted almost a decade of my life and lately was doubtful if I would ever go somewhere what with the frequent reorganizations and changes of leadership. At the latter part of my tenure, I lost confidence on the present management of APCO OTC. Demotivated, I thought it was heading to a downfall.
Do not get me wrong -- I would love to retire in Lexmark, but the idea that there was a vast ocean beyond the four walls of the company appealed to me more than the idea of what I will be getting if I remained in the next three years or so.
My only wish was that I should have never gone back to Lexmark that soon because I would have loved to go back after 2-3 years and apply the things I have learned from outside.
Would I recommend Lexmark to others?
YES.
Post Script:
I started with the company last May 2010 and served as an Order Management Specialist for 6 years in the Asia Pacific Region. As an Order Management Specialist, I handled and catered to orders from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and China. I became a PAD Specialist for 2 years (Product Availability Specialist) where I closely coordinated with planners and order management team for product availability. I resigned and tried applying for work outside of Cebu. I was then re-hired as a Business Systems Analyst after 5 months. The Business Systems Analyst Team was responsible for providing first level support to OTC operation on data maintenance, issue resolution, application to application data integration. I resigned 2 months after for an opportunity I decided to grab.
Disclaimer:
The write-up based on my own experience only.
Disclaimer:
The write-up based on my own experience only.
>>> The End <<<
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