BrewDog Reviews

Pros

Free beer Chance to work on some diverse projects which looks good on the CV There are a few decent colleagues who are knowledgeable

Cons

Extremely poor senior leadership. Insistence on wasting a lot of time and money on bizarre publicity stunts. We never hear about how well they do weirdly enough (no guys, retweets don't count). Updates from senior leadership are awful. The internal marketing is somehow more embarrassing than the external marketing. Sometimes I wonder if they think David Brent is a role model. The internal updates and all hands are shocking. Bullying and blame culture throughout business. It's not uncommon for people to be here one day and gone the next. We don't get updated about changes either. Teammates are then expected to pick up the workload, with no recompense, training etc. No structure to anything. Everyone runs around not knowing what's going on most of the time and doing everything last minute. No career development, training or progression. If you're a yes man, if your face fits, that's where you'll get ahead. Doesn't matter that you're not actually any good at your job. Good luck if you've got a complaint for HR - they're not interested. Unicorn fund and general compensation is so far below average and what other companies offer - you should 'feel privileged' to work at BrewDog. Quality of beer steadily declining over the years Culture hasn't progressed beyond a punchy startup, despite boasting of success and improvements. Lots of cutting corners and last minute projects and major changes. All of the problems arise from one person and one person only. An absolutely toxic leader who lacks business insight, but for some reason micro manages every aspect of the company. Trusted senior leadership are those that have been around a while, and don't know any better to push back (and lacking in basic business knowledge as well, so they always just say yes). All the new senior hires that we brag about stealing from other big companies go within a few months anyway because their face doesn't fit. There's a proper old guard here resting on their laurels. If EFPs (or TSG for that matter) saw the numbers behind some of the stuff that went on, they'd probably reconsider their investment. This business is so weirdly inefficient but nobody admits it. Good exposure from the PR though.

Pros

All staff members / company passioniate about Brewdog produced craft beer/spirits. Chance to learn and work with some experienced professionals. Free beer allowance. Exposure to working with multiple business departments internal/external. Personal development as exposure to multiple projects in differing job aspects.

Cons

Lack of business investment in systems or It support in critical business area's. Excel is overused and making your day to day tasks more difficult. No structure or process for career development which links to pay rises. Brewdog burns vast amounts on large marketing or international expansion projects, but do not provide staff with pay rises. You can receive pay rises but depends on if your face fits. No annual pay rises to match inflation. In some cases job descriptions are not followed, they can be changed without being documented. If this happens there is no link to pay progression or career development. Longer serving staff members are treated different to shorter staff members. Meaning you can be treated unfairly based on time served. High expectations on improvements, projects and solutions, however workload not taken into consideration or additional resource acquired to achieve this. Reactive last minute scrappy mentality approach to projects/process which link to your individual tasks is company culture. Meaning there is no or lack of basic process, this makes managing your workload difficult and more stressful. High level projects or actions come from the top & are spread by weak management who entertain the owners requests and spread the grey actions throughout the business. Company does not work to IS9001 throughout the business meaning there is no strong QMS which encompasses and drives process and continual improvement in all business areas. Long working hours with no overtime. You can end up with a large workload which can't be completed in your standard working hours, meaning you have to stay late. You will not be payed overtime for your hard work which for office staff is written in your contact. If your concerns are escalated to management you may be ignored. Poor leadership and high turnover of staff in senior management positions. This is also for staff in lower level positions. Whenever this happens senior management/management say 'They wasn't the right fit for Brewdog'. This is a ridiculous statement everyone can be wrong. It would make it a better company to address the issues rather than use this excuse. If someone leaves in most cases the jobs are not back filled, the extra workload is pushed on to other members of staff. This has a knock on effect, will make you want to look for a new job. The way the business operates may not get the best out of your experience. It can also hinder your development due to the poor working environment. Unfair pay between different departments. HR non-existent they only appear at the end for your exit interview, I didn't find them approachable. They will look external for staff rather than develop and promote from within.

Pros

Benefits are good and pay is reasonable. Good family vibe with colleagues. Very good learning and progression opportunities for hard working individuals.

Cons

Some departments at head office are overloaded with work, with some teams consisting of one person at a given time. BrewDog could do with some training to managers and above on how to deal with mental health and moral among staff. Made some silly decisions that impacted front line staff.