Foundations of a good place to work though toxic culture must be addressed - Anonymous employee RVU Employee Review

2.0
4 Feb 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Modern designed office with gym in lovely Shad Thames area by the river Some events, whilst being largely attached to company meetings Varied workload driven by desire to stay at forefront of price comparison market Good pension scheme

Cons

Culture driven by ex-financial services leadership not reflective of modern tech company ethos. Don't expect agile/retros/trial & error frameworks here - instead the CEO's 'Rigour v Urgency' language sits at the heart of RVU life, breeding toxic expectations, a culture of fear and feeling of being a cog in the mill. Some employees are doing great things (e.g. tech teams) and some proposing cultural progression in (e.g. HR) process reviews which are rejected by leadership. Throwing eachother under the bus embraced from top down e.g. in large group Slacks and emails froms HoDs tagged to individuals with their managers, teams and other teams and managers copied in. Hidden subjective criteria applied to promotion process - informed by manager the CEO must 'feel every promotion in their bones' - deterring and limiting those with social or other differences, or neurodiversity who may not fit the 'RVU' mould from progression opportunities. Individuals with mental health challenges managed out without reasonable support, placing workload pressures on remaining team. Very little emphasis on training and development. Received next to no training investment during 2 years. Colleagues were not given the titles representing their skillset and experience because the company didn't want to pay them properly or because they're 'replaceable' (quote from manager), inhibiting their progression internally and externally. The first placed I've worked where expected to pay for working lunches and coffees with team/team-on-team, which felt unecessarily stingy. Full company events generally included some form of Dragons Den idea generating with presentations - genuine social downtime/fun not embraced.

Explore other reviews about RVU

2.0
24 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The office is nice, my team is pleasant.

Cons

They don't trust their employees - you're treated like a child with a million rules to follow and you need approval for absolutely everything. Office aircon doesn't work but they still want everyone to go to the office. Absolutely no company culture. The office is deathly silent and nobody bothers to get to know colleagues. Leadership don't bother to get to know the people who work for them and love the sound of their own voices. No chance of promotion even if you do the same work as people senior to you. Work is very very boring and repetitive. The HR team are useless and insert themselves into anything and everything unnecessarily.

2.0
19 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They're are a lot of great hard working people, who are friendly and easy to get a long with. Cardiff office does have a good atmosphere and is quite welcoming for. most people. London office is similar but doesn't quite match Cardiff's ideals of work/life balance. Lots of great benefits, especially for mental, physical wellbeing.

Cons

During my time at RVU, there were several instances of bullying among staff, particularly within the Cardiff marketing and data department. This contributed to a negative office environment, which was especially difficult for more introverted employees who may have struggled to speak up. Upper management often came across as cold, aggressive, and uncoordinated, with little sense of a clear or consistent direction for the company. Rather than investing time in creating work that was genuinely functional or forward-thinking, there was a strong emphasis on speed. Staff were frequently pressured to deliver high-quality work within unrealistic timeframes, often while workloads were poorly distributed and corners were being cut. This approach created a consistently stressful working environment. I observed a pattern in which employees were placed on Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), roles were not replaced when staff left, and responsibilities were redistributed among existing team members, effectively increasing workloads whilst expecting polished work.

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