Contentive Reviews

Cold, sterile, quiet, Orwellian, passive-aggressive working atmosphere. No clear identity/ethos/mission statement - doesn't give employees faith in what they're doing. Hundreds of different job titles - no continuity. Feel like you can't talk privately w/ senior staff. No Pension! - Illegal for a company of its size - shows poor development of mandatory staff benefits. Felt like if you left the company no one would care. When people left they rarely got replaced. Kitchen facilities/ air-conditioning sub-par - was always freezing cold there! Staff fob off their duties to other, already overworked staff. Privately funded company. When orders/issues/ideas came in from investors, it was taken as gospel and acted upon, despite it often being brought up previously by less senior staff. Mandatory to go to poorly organised (usually Friday afternoon :/ ) employee mixers - dull and soul-draining. Parent Company forced their other interests & investments/company news onto staff. HR department? You're having an absolute laugh. Incredibly high employee turnover, might as well have a revolving door in office. Corporate events/awards that are put on by company are often rushed and under-invested in time wise, despite some great efforts by some staff members. Company thinks that it's this big, 'leading' brand but its not at all - sense of cockiness engulfs it. Staff who just clearly weren't doing enough work. Employee suggestions are very rarely taken seriously. No discussions of pay rises, would often have to force the issue, which would then be shelved by management. Acquisition after acquisition, but they don't treat new purchases with respect, or have the capabilities to get the best of them - why even buy them in the first place? No targets for staff - how can you have staff operating without targets?!?! Hiring of staff - really poor process, some promising employees destined for one role would be poached and placed in another role. Company split into 3 'verticals' in 2015 - had no real clue as to why this happened and what purpose they all serve. Some employees were constantly over-stressed and working to obscene hours in a job they most likely hate. Cycle-to-work benefit, but you can't store bikes in office!! (only fold-up bikes can be stored). Company apprentices overworked, underpaid, and were loaded with menial tasks instead of nurturing them and allowing them to do coursework.

CEO. The leadership team. Office in the middle of nowhere with sweeping views of the A40 and Grenfell. Technology provided is really bad with slow support. You're expected to use you own mobile for company use. They expect you to use an app on your phone for company calls. It never works so you will foot the bill. Surprised they don't ask you to pay a share of the electricity and water also. You're expected to bankroll expenses and wait weeks for reimbursement whilst senior members of the staff have the luxury of company cards. If you can't afford to pay for company expenses, you need to beg for use of company card. They make an art of trying to demotivate you. Middle managers and their bosses spend time in endless meetings about how they can create more processes to stop you selling. Condescending and boring sales training. Rate cards that have no basis in reality, which is normal in media, however they will get angry when you generate money that hasn't ripped off your clients. Delusional sales targets. Under resourced teams. Owners don't have a clue. Questionable sales practices. Manipulation of sales revenue to suit senior managers and make them look good to the board. Priority given to creating a corporate image and culture over individual brands. Commission plans not the best around and they keep on reducing your earning potential with each new FD. Salary dependent on relationship with leadership team. Paranoid management constantly surveying staff. Flexible working often only available to those with depression or stress related illnesses. Consistent revolving door of over paid consultants or temporary contract staff. Very political management team with open revolt against CEO. Laughable sales materials. You are expected to be on the phone all the time whilst some on your team will openly manipulate their call times. Good staff leaving all the time. Really high turnover. No investment in training or career development.