Pros
Some colleagues although the slow paced nature of the business seems to suck the energy and motivation out of most.
Cons
Management communication and consistency were a major issue during my time at the company. Agreements and assurances made verbally were later reversed without reasonable justification, creating unnecessary stress and uncertainty. Processes around employee departures and handovers felt inconsistent, with different standards seemingly applied across employees. The company promotes itself as caring about its people, but the reality often felt very different. Within the small D2C team, multiple employees have left for similar reasons relating to poor leadership and lack of trust, yet these concerns appear to go unaddressed. Leadership within the performance function was particularly disappointing, with a lack of accountability and recognition for the work delivered by team members. Credit was frequently taken for the contributions and successes of others, which negatively impacted morale and trust within the team. Collaboration with certain senior members of the D2C team was also a common frustration across wider areas of the business, but these issues seemed to go unnoticed or ignored by senior leadership. The business presents itself as being at the forefront of the industry, but decision-making and execution often failed to reflect that ambition. Commercial agreements and strategic partnerships moved at an incredibly slow pace, including lengthy delays securing agreements with major global platforms despite the business expecting those companies to work entirely on Haier’s terms. Situations like this became almost laughable internally given the scale of the UK business versus the expectations placed on global partners. There are talented people within the organisation and recognised brands to work on, but if the business genuinely wants to grow its D2C function, it needs stronger leadership from people with real expertise, the ability to trust and develop staff, and a more modern, accountable management culture.