Worst place I've ever worked. - Anonymous employee SmileyWorld Employee Review

As CEO, I must make arbitrary choices daily and my opinion on those choices might evolve with time which is required in an industry based on novelty and IP's having big ups and downs in a matter of years. In a highly competitive environment, we need to come up with "brilliant ideas" to survive. Our company vision isn't merely articulated but extensively discussed with team leaders and the wider team, fostering an environment of open communication. We care about our team. We've instituted mechanisms such as surveys, an anonymous mailbox, an employee handbook, and an HR hotline, team leaders meetings, all designed to provide avenues for team members to voice their concerns. I can happily confirm that every single request from Team Leaders for more staff or resource allocations to meet their needs has been met. Our HR partner, which is Peninsula, has an employee assistance program for staff to discuss their concerns, available 24/7, unlike any other HR team. Their number is in our employee handbook and is regularly reiterated by our HR point of contact, Charlene, or our head of HR, Christoph until recently and now Tygoli. We offer yoga and meditation sessions to staff both in the office and online. From monthly office lunch events, to organic fruits delivered each week or a variety of free esperessos and teas and more, we do our best to provide the right amenities in a very nice office loft in a prime London location. We just sponsored a team of 12 to do the 3 peaks challenge at their request and liike to support everyone's ideas to feel better. We offer Flexitime, TOIL (When staff, mostly the sales team do attend weekend tradeshows) and have a hybrid work format, working 2 days from home and 3 days in the office. It is fair to say that 95% of our workforce do leave the office by 6pm. Over the past 12 months, we've continued to pursue positive changes. These include salary increases despite a tough business climate, a flat contribution toward energy cost increases, and bonuses for employees with more than one year's presence. Our commitment to competitive salaries extends beyond industry standards for companies our size, and flexi-time is offered to all staff. Moreover, we prioritize professional development, offering paid training opportunities to enhance the skill sets of team members who request them. A sterling example of this is amongst our current workforce, we proudly count four returning members of staff. And we have supported 5 changes of roles or teams. It's good for a company under 50 staff. We invest 3.3% of our overhead in technology to have the best possible systems for each team (Flowaheven, Salesforce, Monday.com, WGSN, Slack, to name a few) and try to improve them or look for new ones. We not only have much more staff than any IP licensor our size, but we also offer salaries in line with the biggest of our competitors and way above companies our size. And as a consequence our profit margins are in the double digits below the industry standards, all of this being easy to check. In conclusion, while acknowledging the inherent imperfections, there's a resolute commitment to ethical leadership, positive business results, and the nurturing of a startup mentality within the company. Feedback is not just welcomed but considered vital for fostering a culture of continuous improvement. However, it's underscored that public criticism on platforms, impedes constructive dialogue and resolution.