Colgate-Palmolive reviews

4.1

81% would recommend to a friend

(2,481 total reviews)
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Noel Wallace

86% approve of CEO

72% positive business outlook

Colgate-Palmolive has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,481 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Colgate-Palmolive employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Produktion industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
3.0
Nov 28, 2013

Tired of waiting to be promoted

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great values and culture Collaboration, teamwork Good salary Great shares performance Stable brand success

Cons

Succession planning is not transparent. Waiting time for promotion can be exhausting, with no specific feedback received on why there is no promotion. Some people are promoted fast but it is not clear how to get on that fast track

2.0
Oct 25, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Colgate is a very efficiently and well-managed, very stable company. There are lots of opportunities to grow and stay with the company for a long time if you so choose to. The benefits are above average, not as good as some other companies but definitely competitive and more than sufficient for most people. The people are smart and quite capable. If you absolutely need to work in NYC then location is ideal. If you are doing relatively well then international assignments are a big possibility. It's a good place to come in as an early hire as it is a family environment for those who fit into the culture, and for these people you can develop your career there as a lifer.

Cons

Colgate in general is very stiff and bureaucratic and extremely hierarchical, especially if you work in the NYC office. There are too many layers of management, especially in Marketing which is the decision-making function in the company. Colgate is also very formal environment where you need to wear suits every day, which creates a lot of good "corporate soldiers" and people unwilling to push the status quo or play beyond the party line. Senior management can be very into the details and there too many demands on employees to analyze everything to the minutest details. Also, there is general lack of risk-taking or letting employees make decisions, for marketing people it is not an entrepreneurial environment at all. It is very difficult for people who did not grow up in the culture to integrate, and there are some employees that really should be let go due to performance issues or inability to manage others who continue to stay in the organization.

2.0
Apr 27, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Remote roles available, decent benefits, opportunity to learn new skills because your team will become leaner and leaner.

Cons

Probably some of the worst I have experienced in leadership. Managers are toxic, disorganized and will eventually transfer their responsibilities onto you with no pay bump. I'm convinced most of the director level employees do no real work outside of attending meetings, leaving the actual work to individual contributors. Raising concerns are met with resistance and retaliation in some cases. Problematic behavior is often overlooked or disregarded, even if it is detrimental to the team and company. Leaders seem to lack a backbone and will not stand up to or for anything. Feedback is often invalidated, leading to a confusing or undermining environment. There is also disconnect between the leadership’s capabilities and the demands of their roles, with some leaders seeming to have advanced based on seniority rather than demonstrated talent. Budget decisions appear to be made without full consideration of long-term financial implications. Priorities are often misaligned, with cuts to essential resources while discretionary spending remains high. Opportunities for growth are limited, and discussions with management about career development often feel unproductive. Compensation is within industry standards but the workload often grows substantially, meaning you end up doing more work for the same pay. The is also a tendency to find ways to reduce or withhold bonuses, despite meeting performance expectations. You are also required to take on tasks outside the scope of your official job responsibilities, with no recognition. Frequent last-minute changes and shifting priorities create a chaotic work environment, with little adherence to aligned processes. There is also a noticeable difference in how men and women are held accountable, with men sometimes being afforded more latitude. There seems to be a lack of transparency regarding staffing decisions, with employees often learning about layoffs or terminations at the last minute, creating uncertainty within the team.

Viewing 55 - 57 of 2,481 Reviews

Glassdoor has 4,706 Colgate-Palmolive reviews submitted anonymously by Colgate-Palmolive employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Colgate-Palmolive is right for you.