Journals publisher that knows nothing about books publishing, and values it even less. - Development Editor Elsevier Employee Review

1.0
May 20, 2011
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Great colleagues at lower levels, pride in the quality of the content produced, people take personal responsibility for maintaining high standards in the face of these being eroded by falling production values and the deep rift between Editorial and Operations silos.

Cons

The (obviously essential) rush towards eReader and online books is not being properly resourced. Staff without requisite training being dumped with the workload, despite deep staff cuts and without any reduction in their existing work. Management make sudden and unplanned demands for information and analysis from commissioning staff but don't reduce commissioning expectations, while seeming to make no progress towards effective solutions to the IT challenges of the move to e-pub. Operations cut service levels to editorial groups, state that there is no loss of quality, and noone in management calls them on it.

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5.0
May 11, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

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
3w
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 9, 2026
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Every direct manager I've had has been excellent: supportive, positive, and trusting me to deliver good work instead of micromanaging. Employees tend to stay, which suggests stability even if not everyone gets promotions or significant raises.

Cons

The pressure to outsource as much as possible, which is common at every publisher, leads to frustration. Because promotions or significant raises seem to be rare, you may be stuck in neutral unless you're very openly ambitious.

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