Not the company for motivated machinists trying to build a career.
Pros
Summary Notes - Standard benefits expected of a large company. Parental Leave, and Adoption Assistance are +++ - Affordable coverage for spouses/dependents. - 6% matching on 401k - Discounted Stock Purchase Program - Culture is very employee driven, with many things to participate in. - Machine Shop runs 3 shifts, so there is flexibility. - Production Floor overtime is often available, and usually never mandatory. - Shop floor is clean and organized, work-flow is quick, and 6S & Lean are followed. - On average, a Machinist can expect around 90 days of training. Let me preface this by saying that Zimmer Biomet is a very large company with locations around the globe. This review is solely based on my experience as a Production Machinist, and may not be reflective of other departments, or even other manufacturing locations. This also applies to the new spinoff company ZimVie, since they kept everything the same with the move. Health insurance is very good, and affordable for spouses/dependents. They offer standard core benefits you'd expect from a company this size, paid time off*, health, dental, vision, life, 401k (6% match), tuition reimbursement, discounted stock purchasing, and health savings account. I like that they recognize same sex partnerships, provide parental leave regardless of gender or childbirthing status, and offer adoption assistance. One of the things that I really enjoy participating in are the Employee-Led Resource Groups, or ERG’s, (Women-Inspired Network, African/Black Leadership, LGBTQ, and Hispanic/Latino). Covid has kept departments from interacting with one another, since everything is zoned off and break times are spaced out. The people I know at work are really limited, but I can still get a sense of that company culture through the ERG’s and newsletters. As a machinist, some of the benefits at Zimmer Biomet include having 3 different shifts to choose from (morning, evening, and overnight). All tools and supplies are provided for you. Company will pay a certain amount for your prescription safety glasses. Shop floor is kept fairly clean and organized, and air quality is pretty good for a machine shop. The job is not hard nor is it demanding. You work a standard work week, 8 hour day with a paid lunch and breaks. Overtime is usually available on Saturday with the occasional Sunday based on business needs. You can expect to run 2 machines, production volume and times vary depending on your machining department. Things are stream lined for you, so there is no searching for paperwork, material or programs. Tools all have a place, and most of everything is scanned out with an ID badge. The company is very big on 5S/6S and Lean which I see as a Pro, but a machinist set in their ways might not like it as much. Zimmer Biomet is very big on safety & quality, and I never felt pressured to increase production or cut corners. On the shop floor, there is a training metric that must be completed before being able to run a machine on your own. On average you get about 3 months of training. Training was primarily done by the Lead, and then with a mentor on a machine. Half the day was spent on a computer reading documents, the other half on a machine. There is usually some company event going on every few months, be it a BBQ, Chili Cook Off, or Ice-cream party, and they make sure all 3 shifts are included during their scheduled time. They have an Employee Recognition program that awards you a certain amount of points for various things, which in turn can be traded in for goods ordered online. So far I’ve decorated half my kitchen! I love the people I get to interact with, whether it is in my department, my neighbors, or the next shift coming in. I feel like everyone gets along really well, and those that don’t, typically move on. Unfortunately if it wasn’t for the absolute lack of financial and professional growth, Zimmer Biomet would be a 5 star company. Overall, I feel like if I was at a different point in my life, Zimmer Biomet would be a great place to retire from. It's easy, repetitive work, with little micromanaging, and a consistent work week. Go in, keep your head down, your mouth closed, take care of your machines, and other people can take care of theirs. *See Cons for a note about Paid Time Off.
Cons
Zimmer Biomet is not the company for motivated machinists trying to build a career. I say this primarily because there is nowhere to build to. Summary Notes - Company holds onto PTO days to cover Shop Shut Downs. - 3rd shift differential is only 2.5% more than the 2nd shift. - Very difficult to get cross training, or move around the company. - Outsource more than move within the company. - Bonuses are 1 time a year after the New Year, and are low average unless you work extra overtime. - Raises are on average 2-2.5% once a year (less than cost of living pre-covid), with a max of 3%. - Raises do not reflect employee contribution, experience or skills gained in training. - Professional growth is geared to Office Personnel, there is no metric for a Machinist. - No reason to work hard on the Shop floor, it doesn't get rewarded. - Getting access to information needed for the job, benefits, or policy is harder than it needs to be. - Aspects of the training/on-boarding process are repetitive, and not always related to the task you perform. - Training is not ESL or Neurodivergent supportive. - Very strict and harsh attendance policy. - Strong anti-harassment policy, but needs more awareness of microaggressions toward women, LGBTQ and other minorities. Paid Time Off My location advertises 3 weeks PTO. But it wasn’t until after I started working for Zimmer Biomet, that I found out they were closing the shop at the end of the year, and would be holding on to some of your PTO to cover for those days. This became a problem later because of the attendance policy (see below). Depending on how Christmas and New Years fall, you may use more of your PTO or less. They try to use a combination of floating holidays and PTO to cover Plant Closures. I would rather have PTO available to use as a benefit, and have the choice to use my days. Machinist Pay As a machinist entering Zimmer Biomet, you will most likely have to take a 3rd shift position, where you will be required to work for a year before being allowed to apply for a chance to move shifts. You will receive a base pay, that is on the low side of competitive and not based on years of experience. 2nd shift is 10% more than 1st shift, and 3rd shift is 12.5% more than 1st shift. The difference between 2nd and 3rd is 2.5%. For my area, the 3rd shift differential is considerably lower than other machine shops, and not considered competitive. Opportunities to cross train are rare, and do not come with a pay adjustment, nor are they reflected in your annual raise. Each department has their own budget and hours. In order to learn a machine not in your department, a position has to become available and then you may have a chance to apply. I say may, because they are obligated to post the listing internally first, but sometimes it’s only up for a day before outsourcing. Bonus, Raises, & Professional Growth Bonuses are based on your eligible earnings for that year. This year we exceeded our target % by over 2%. To give you an idea of the size, my bonus came out to just over 3 weeks gross pay. Unfortunately you will not earn more than a 3% raise (average 2-2.5%), regardless of your contribution, performance, productivity percentile, or quality. The company may offer a higher starting pay, but every year you earn less than the cost of living increase. Zimmer Biomet has had a maximum raise of 3% since at least 2017. They currently do not have a plan in place to allow people on the production floor to grow and earn with the company. They advertise professional growth in all their marketing materials, but it targets office personnel, and it is definitely not represented on the shop floor. We do have quarterly check ins, and career planning with our direct supervisor. In my experience, I felt like there was a disconnect between my quarterly check-ins, and my annual review. The feedback I received in the quarterly check-ins was not represented in the annual review. Together with my supervisor I discussed the goals I had for my professional development, but when it came time for my annual review the idea of future opportunity was denied. Training & Access to Information Training faces the same kind of challenges as any other machine shop. The computer learning was excessive, some of it repetitive, and much of the training wasn’t related to the job you actually perform as a machinist. Once you hit the shop floor, all the information you need to access is uploaded to a central network, and finding what you need in a timely manner is often a test of patience. Every document has a 10+ digit code, and searching for it doesn’t always produce results. It took an excessive amount of time to find the Employee Handbook (since a hard copy wasn’t provided). In searching for it I had to shuffle through employee resources from all over the world. Attendance Policy The attendance policy was why I was searching for the Employee Handbook. We were never given a document that clearly stated the attendance policy. From what I can gather, the attendance policy is not universal, and is different for each location or division. Additionally it is up to the supervisors if they want to enforce it or not. As an hourly employee for my location, you have 8 points against you and then you are fired. It takes a full 12 months from the time you gain a point, for that point to fall off. An unapproved absence is 1 point, if you leave 1 minute early, or are late 1 minute, it is .5 a point. If you no longer have PTO to use, and you need to schedule unpaid time off, your request is denied regardless of how much notice you have given. Your options are to show up, or call out and get a point. There’s no 3 minute grace period for clocking in. The policy is so broken, that if you are going to be 1 minute late, you’re better off calling out and taking a PTO day. Microagressions I would be doing women and minorities a disservice if I didn’t mention this here. A microaggression is a subtle, usually unintentional, form of prejudice. And it is present on the shop floor. I’ve had it done to myself, and I’ve seen it done to others. While often unintentional, sometimes it can feel like you’re drawing in it. It has influenced who I approach if I need something, and has been a contributing factor in deciding whether or not I would do well applying to that area of the Company. In sum I really do love this company, and I wish I could see a future with it, but I can’t stick around for 2.5% every year regardless of performance. Pre-covid the average inflation was 2.58% every year. That means Zimmer Biomet is literally giving people less to live on each year. It’s not like this hasn’t been going on for years, the company is well aware of all these points. And they’ve chosen not to do anything about it. We had a spinoff of a new company called ZimVie, but it’s just a mini-clone of Zimmer Biomet. All communication about the spinoff has been about how this will be better for the stockholders and customers, but what about the employees?