Pros
I have encountered a lot of good people at Smiths. The people in Operations are hardworking and knowledgeable in their tasks, friendly and helpful, too. The Research and Development people are creative, good problem solvers who are well versed in their field. Health, education and other benefits, which the company provides, I would also rate favorably.
Kontras
However, most of what is good has been squandered by management. Their narrow vision of the company has prevented diversification and limited growth potential. The focus on the accounting numbers and on automation is reductionist. It reflects a lazy, withdrawn, negatively elitist, attitude by management and has cost the company more than it can recover. And as mentioned before by others, the rate of pay is, to put it mildly, disappointing and does not measure up to the value of the efforts involved.