OVO Energy FAQ

If you can stand to spend another minute on-site, the gym is handy.

Company seems to spend all its money on flashy furniture, slides and treehouses, and on-site cafe, gym etc. and 'chillout zones' to hide a horrible atmosphere. Teams are constantly changing, job roles not correctly described in the interview and a serious lack of communication - i.e. I spent a lot of time following procedures that some colleagues advised me were protocol and others said things like 'don't let your line manager find out'. Team leaders were unwilling to help with problems and seemed happy to have risen up through the ranks and to be off the phones with customers (understandably). Company often sending poor communication to customers which gave us double work load having to apologise and explain. All style, but substance was lacking.

Quite well paid for the roles compared to other suppliers Employee assistance program is good should you need it

Suggestions on ways to improve performance appear to fall on deaf ears. General feeling among managers is that its always the staff that are at fault, never the system

Listen to the staff on the ground and their first line managers, whilst some may have behavioural issues it isn't the whole field force

Friendly and informal culture. I liked all my managers, including senior managers, on a personal basis and almost all my co-workers were lovely. Opportunity to go part-time was always there. Opportunity to take an unpaid sabbatical. Well paid overtime was always available. Good bonuses, though they're not always there. This is a good place to be if you want a non-demanding 9-5 working in a nice, informal environment but are not too concerned about learning new skills or earning much money.

The work itself is generally very repetitive, quite dull and has very little value outside it's niche in the energy industry. You can get shunted about into different teams or your duties can be changed drastically without any consultation. It is very difficult to move around the business and you have to fight tooth and nail to get any training. For example, I tried multiple times to get training to become a BA but was told each time "Oh we already have too many BAs blah blah..." The few people held up as examples of progression were often family or good mates of senior management. For example, we were sent around a story about some guy who went from Ops to become a software engineer - however they conveniently left out that he was the son of the Head of Tech!

Providing opportunities for progression for ambitious people will do wonders for you.

-Fantastic working environment with approachable and friendly manager's - lots of benefits, including pension, bike to work and gym onsite

- lack of training when starting

Pay people more so they stay longer!