BIS Reviews

Pros

Bis have been great for me and have found me many jobs. Harriet who looks after the temps department is always lovely and helpful and fast to respond to any queries or problems I might have. Would definitely recommend.

Cons

No cons I can think of.

Pros

Support flexible and home working Interesting and challenging work Good Senior Leadership Team

Cons

Wages are low with little chance of progression Can still be a bit of an old boys network

Advice to Management

give realistic expectations of salary (i.e. don't advertise salary as a range)

Pros

Some great colleagues on my team OK lunches which were subsidised Great location Diverse in terms of workload Easy to progress by box ticking

Cons

Very haphazard since merger, with two systems in operation. Not so flexible in reality HR is always a long and complicated process No strategy for workload balance in place

Advice to Management

HR system needs to be changed, very difficult to get information after you have left. Not enough chance to progress in some roles whilst staying within the same team which means team knowledge is often lost.

Pros

Cannot think of any positives from being employed by this department.

Cons

Incompetent senior managers Cannot manage with objectives and treat colleagues as friends when work quality is poor. Turn a blind eye to poor performance Bullying from some members of senior management towards less senior staff Very little resources. No dynamic energy Unequal treatment to staff on other contracts Not a very motivating environment Dull work

Advice to Management

Address the bullying Tackle bad management Address weak senior managers Create a more inclusive environment

Pros

Variety and interest of work Dedicated colleagues

Cons

Limited opportunities for progression. Pay stagnant as elsewhere in the Civil Service

Advice to Management

Recognise the talent of all staff, not just those who came through DTI/BERR

Pros

I really enjoyed working at BEIS. The staff are really friendly and the team I worked in was really warm and friendly. My manager was really good and made me feel welcome. I joined BEIS from the Ex DECC side as was the only person in my team from that side of the organisation. The rest of my team were recruited from the Ex BIS side.

Cons

One of the downsides I would say is Salary. Turnover within the organisation is very high and I do not believe anything has yet be done to measure exactly why this is the case.

Advice to Management

Management need to start researching and benchmarking salaries across Civil Service!

Pros

Varied roles, frequent changes. Great social life amongst graduates Would definitely recommend.

Cons

Work can be scraped/irrelevant at times. Politics can sometimes get in the eayb

Pros

For seven years I had a fantastic time. The work was hard but fair and the methodology behind the organisation was spot on. Fellow staff and senior management were supportive, challenging and prepared to listen and guide.

Cons

After the introduction of austerity the culture and values disappeared overnight. Bullying and discrimination by senior management (even as far as the minister and permanent secretary) became rife and in its attempts to get rid of percieved troublemakers / whistle blowers, breaking employment laws and procedures was not a hurdle (proven).

Advice to Management

You will easily recognise who I am and I have not forgotten my treatment by you. At the moment the employment laws will not support my challenge due to the changes made by the coalitition but a watching brief is continuing. You're policies were illegal and boarded on ageist and I can only hope to prove this eventually.

Pros

Interesting learning how policy gets made, lots of formal Learning and Development opportunities and the work-life balance is fantastic, with flexible work hours.

Cons

HR department is rubbish so joining processes took a long time. People switch roles a lot which isn't ideal for continuity of the projects

Advice to Management

Try to improve the quality of people in HR, make sure young dynamic people have incentives to stay

Pros

Good promotion opportunities, salary and employee benefits

Cons

Regular restructuring and downsizing of civil service departments led to frequent redundancies