Pros
I've worked at LifeWatch for nearly fourteen years, which should say something about my opinion right there. We are currently in the middle of a merger, but I believe the pros and cons apply to both LifeWatch and BioTelemetry. * Great people. The overwhelming majority of my coworkers and managers have been rational, reasonable, and personable. * Good compensation. The benefits array is actually really good, as I've learned from watching some of my friends poke away at the job market. And under the latest executive administration, there was a push to align better with market salary rates, so I can honestly say I'm very pleased with my current overall compensation package. * Convenient location. I'm in the Rosemont headquarters office, and our location is right across from the airport, with immediate access to highways and trains. * Sense of purpose. LifeWatch does heart monitoring services, and it's really uplifting to get the occasional story about how our service, or occasionally specifically one of our technicians, saved a life. You don't get that in a lot of jobs. * Mobility within the company. The company has been really good with allowing people to move around within the company - I did this myself. Below the VP level, they're also rather good at promoting from within.
Cons
Most of the cons are just part of the package, but there are some particular items relevant to the ongoing merger. * Schedule. Most departments are a normal 8-5 or a bit flexible, but we're a 24/7/365 facility, which means there are overnight shifts for technicians to keep working those ECGs, and on-call shifts for IT to support them. It's not really bad, it's just how it is. * Terminations. Layoffs and firings aren't usually particularly frequent, but when they do happen, they can be very abrupt. The company needs to protect patient information, so they don't generally risk retaliation by terminated employees; if the company is letting someone go, they will usually be walked out of the building immediately after being notified, and someone else will be cleaning out their desk or office. It's harsh, but it's understandable. That said... * Communication. Communication wasn't really ever a strong point of this company, though that did significantly change under Dr. Rietiker and his team. There were town halls, a clear vision, and honesty about when there might be layoffs. It was very refreshing. However, I can't say it's being maintained during the merger. Officially, we are now part of BioTelemetry. The communication about the details of that process has been hit or miss. There have been several rounds of layoffs, including the sudden loss of high-level managers, with no explanation or even notification from the transition team or C-suite. We've received emails about new organizational changes, but only the positives. In a situation like this, the communication about the negatives should be just as clear. It hasn't been as of yet, and it's been fairly unnerving.