VSO

Short sighted decisions from senior management - Communications Specialist VSO Employee Review

3.0

17 May 2024

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

VSO has interesting projects. Colleagues are generally supportive. Pay is probably average across the sector. Good holidays.

Cons

The senior management made huge cuts during Covid. Some of the cuts were necessary, but there didn't seem to be much rhyme nor reason to some of the decisions. We were all told that we should be doing 1.5 jobs rather than the jobs we were contracted to do, but with no extra renumeration nor TOIL. I was asked to take on huge amounts of extra responsibility but received very little thanks, and wasn't given a better job title despite the extra responsibility. By the end it just felt like I was constantly swimming upstream, so I decided to leave. They are also looking to actively hire outside the UK, so if you want to hire anyone in the UK you have to provide justification for doing so. They also have a very stringent environmental policy, including trying to cut flights by 90%, which is not really feasible for an international NGO. The policy of asking for 3 quotes for any outside contractors is totally unwieldy and means that everything takes three times as long.

VSO Response

Thanks very much for your feedback. It is great to hear you felt the VSO environment was supportive. We had to shift and adapt during the COVID pandemic, given that some projects ended abruptly; we also furloughed roles where work had diminished during the pandemic to adjust to an ever-evolving situation. We design roles that are fulfilling but not overloaded and that employees can discuss their workloads with their managers to ensure they are manageable. As a global organisation, we aim to ensure roles are globally dispersed, where possible, closer to where the work is taking place and where we can find the skills for this role. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint but also recognise there will always be a need for international travel, ensuring that it is purposeful and well-planned. We are committed to following our procurement policy to ensure fair and transparent processes for engaging contractors, so we are accountable.

Short sighted decisions from senior management - Communications Specialist VSO Employee Review

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