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Equator Reviews
Updated 4 Nov 2023
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Found 73 of over 77 reviews
63% Recommend to a Friend
73% Approve of CEO
Found 73 of over 77 reviews
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John McLeish
44 Ratings
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
Pros
- "Have been part of some fantastic company growth, amazing projects, brilliant brands and worked with incredible people." (in 3 reviews)
Cons
- "Bully culture, if you speak up about any higher ups nothing will get done about it." (in 5 reviews)
- 5.05 Apr 2023Group Account DirectorCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsGlasgow, Scotland
Pros
I have been at Equator for almost 6 years after having worked at many high profile Scottish agencies. Equator is the first place where I have felt like I can build a career, rather than just a job. Compared with other organisations I’ve worked at, the standard of clients and types of projects you get to work on at Equator are amazing. Clients with an appetite to trust you and work together to get results - and they have the budget to support these kind of relationships. In my six years at Equator I have had two big promotions (based on merit and not having to ask for them) and have always felt recognised for working hard. Management and policies have always had a supportive and common sense attitude - doctors appts, flexible working etc. I got married last year and was allowed to take over a month of leave. The added benefits for private healthcare, enhanced pension and mat leave are also significant. I had a 1-2-1 chat with the MD on one of my first weeks in Equator. He told me his ambition is for employees to work and stay at Equator, build their careers there, have families etc. That has certainly been my experience.
Cons
Equator is a fast paced environment and you definitely get out what you put in, this means it sometimes can be stressful. Changes that the company want to make can sometimes take longer than anticipated.
1
Equator Response3moThank you for taking the time to leave a review, it is great to hear your time at Equator has been a positive one. We agree that we have some truly amazing clients but we also know that is testament to all the hard work put in and the quality our team can produce that has allowed us to attract them. When it comes to life events from doctors visits to honeymoons we know how important these are to our team and want to work with you and allow the flexibility you need to attend or do the things you want to do. Congratulations on the wedding! I am sure the time off was enjoyed. 'The door is always open' is something that is sometimes said but not always meant but its something we have strived to achieve here at Equator and it is great to hear that it is your experience at every level as well as up to the MD. It is a fast paced environment and having the right people to talk to around you is really important. With the introduction of some new roles hopefully we will see the dreaded admin decrease. Thanks again for your review and please do reach out to people@eqtr.com if there is anything else you would like to discuss.
- 1.017 Mar 2023ManagerFormer Employee, less than 1 yearGlasgow, Scotland
Pros
Office is modern and in a decent part of Glasgow for transport, food places etc apart from that it's full of toxicity.
Cons
Culture, its a bully boy mentality and stems from the top. I've noticed recently that the good leaders or tribe leaders as they are known here are now departing which speaks volumes. Everything goes in one ear and out the other. The so called people team talk a good game but they cannot change the culture as its driven from the founders. I sensed the people team are purely there to protect the founders and when they need an onsite legal representive I should have spotted this red flag. Even the legal rep has left recently! One of the founders is an enigma and no idea what he does, another one is just pure ego who loves his own voice and the other hides in an office playing with her PowerPoint obsession. Zero leadership, zero values, and I found it to be the most awful experience in my career to date.
9 - 5.015 Mar 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 3 years
Pros
My previous jobs have been just that - a job. I've always wondered how long I'll work there or wonder where I'll go next. This is the first time I've felt truly content with a job & the company I work for. Equator has great perks; private healthcare, great pension scheme, referral bonus, mental health first aiders... but that's not what keeps me here. In my years of working, I've never felt as valued in a workplace as I do here - that's the biggest benefit for me. The talent within the company is unmatched. The work that is produced is incredible, across all departments. Management are extremely approachable. I've spoken with multiple colleagues & even the MD about personal matters, and I know that everything is treated confidentially and taken seriously. There's opportunity to progress within the company & hard work is always rewarded. The offices are great. The business is growing quickly. Big clients with big budgets leading to big & exciting projects. I could go on...
Cons
COVID & the 47 lockdowns definitely slowed down the social aspect of the company. That being said, whether it's the Summer, Halloween or Christmas party, we sure make up for lost time.
Equator Response3mothank you for taking the time to leave a review, it really is great to hear such positive feedback about your time at Equator. Firstly, we agree that our benefits are a great addition and we do review these regularly to make sure they fit our team and what they want and need. We are also always open to any changes we can make. It is also fantastic to hear about the great relationships you have formed and the degree of trust you clearly have for those you work with. We want to be able to support our team and we know that life events can have impact on your day to day so having people to chat to that you trust and who can offer that advice and support is vitally important to us. We agree that Covid definitely had an impact on our ability to do the fun things but they have been back up and running again this year with excellent summer, Halloween and Christmas parties all planned in as well as a few other ones along the way!
- 5.011 Nov 2022Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee, more than 8 yearsGlasgow, Scotland
Pros
Personalised progression - you're always encouraged to be your best self in a way that allows you to progress in your own way, at your own pace Client opportunities - Equator work with some big names, and are always on the forefront in trying new things and wanting to push boundaries and thinking It's run by real people - it's not a faceless management structure, from line managers to C Suite, you work with these people, they aren't just names that pop up in emails A great working environment - there's some great characters at Equator, and that was the case my entire time there The employees matter - while, at the end of the day the company wants to grow, make money, expand portfolios etc. the people that work there matter - they're the ones that make it all happen, and this isn't overlooked. You get out what you put in - as with any workplace, the work can be hard at times, but, if you show the willingness and initiative to want to grow along with the company, it doesn't go unnoticed
Cons
Overall, none. I could take the stance others have and focus in on details, individuals or points in time that might've been a negative, but that would be unfair and untrue of the overall Equator experience. My near-decade-long stint at Equator was a positive one.
1Equator Response2yThank you for taking the time to leave such a positive review, it is great to hear that you enjoyed your time at Equator. We agree that we have some amazing clients where your ability to think outside of the box is vital as we push the boundaries to hopefully delight and excite our clients. Most of all we agree that our team are what make Equator. We work hard to make sure our people know important they are by recognising their hard work and finding new ways to celebrate their successes. We don't always get it right and so we have tried to create a space to allow our team to speak up and put forward their ideas to help shape the future of Equator. Thank you for being part of the team and if you would like to leave any further comments then please feel free to contact us at people@eqtr.com.
- 4.03 Mar 2023ManagerCurrent EmployeeGlasgow, Scotland
Pros
The work is always diverse, and ever evolving. Some interesting clients and some interesting brands. The team vibe is generally good and works well in person and virtually too. Nice parties and some nice touches make things feel good.
Cons
It can be a bit chaotic at times so if you've come from client side it can be a bit daunting at first. Still figuring out the hybrid working thing and some parts need work but there is an open conversation about it at least.
2Equator Response3moThank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We value the feedback we receive through various channels and it gives us an opportunity to shout about what we are doing well but also focus on areas that could be improved. We are so glad to hear that you enjoy working on some really interesting clients, as well as enjoy the social aspect of working for Equator. It has taken some adjustment post Covid to find a social scene that works for the new Equator as well as working through what hybrid means to us but we think we are getting there and we know we have very supportive team around us.
- 1.026 Mar 2023Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee
Pros
The equipment provided for remote work. The Chilly water bottle they give you when you start.
Cons
At first, the experience at Equator looked very promising and exciting. As months went by, it revealed itself to be more and more disappointing. One of the main reasons is the company culture fostered by its three founders and the various teams. Despite what they constantly promote online, at Equator, you're not a valued person, you're a disposable tissue. And when you are no longer needed - or if you don't fit in - they don't think twice before they throw you away. Sadly, I must confirm what many reviews say. There is a strong cliquey attitude, and it does stem from the management and the founders. So many people you are supposed to collaborate with think to be so important that they either ignore you or look down on you and what you do. On countless occasions, one of the founders demanded I'd chase people I had never worked with. It was not even remotely part of my job, to begin with, but I did it anyway, and my approach was always professional and polite towards said people. In response, they'd either flat-out ignore my messages/emails or answer rudely, saying they were always so busy they didn't have the time for me and my requests. And when I didn't receive the answers I needed from them, I was heavily blamed by the aforementioned founder in front of other team members, which was humiliating. My anxiety increased so much that I couldn't sleep the night before every weekly meeting. If you work from the office, probably there's a small chance things are a bit better, but if you work remotely, forget about being respected and integrated as a part of the team - any team. You're just the outcast sitting alone in the corner of the classroom whilst everybody else pretends you don't exist or picks on you. Because of this attitude, the briefing is disastrous, and a smooth workflow doesn't exist. Two of the founders often sent me "briefs" (if we want to call them that) that consisted of a bunch of forwarded emails or short sentences like "make it happen" when I had no idea what they were talking about. I had to ask around, but I often got the treatment described above. There's a lot of confusion and very little cooperation, and in this context, everybody expects you to know exactly what to do, how to do it, and with whom you should work, even if you're new and know nothing. And if you make mistakes because nobody provides you with a proper brief (or any information, for that matter), you either get the blame or some passive-aggressive responses where you get belittled in group chats or calls. Finally, I decided the only solution was to leave, despite not being able to afford the luxury of becoming unemployed. However, before making my decision, I talked through the situation with one of the founders, who assured me a solution was possible because "I was talented"; it just needed to be discussed with the CEO. I was keen on that and thought the company really listened and could recognise talents. That talk did happen. The CEO listened to my points, said he understood where I was coming from, and promised he'd come up with a new proposal to improve things after a couple of days, which he did. The proposal was "you have to leave". Before the meeting where they "offered" this proposal happened, they had already logged me out from all services and removed me from all my tasks.
3 - 1.06 Mar 2023Front End DeveloperFormer Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
The folk that actually do the work (devs, pm's, etc) are nice, thats about it. Can do some self-learning while on the job (as no-one will train you).
Cons
Higher up team completely out of the loop, have no idea what their staff want (or care) and make decisions for them behind closed doors. When people ask detailed thought out questions about their decisions they either get a childish response like 'this question is a joke, im not even going to answer it' or outright terminated for asking questions. Extremely disorganised scoping procedure, where one team will scope a project and another entirely different team will come in to do the work, making the scoping completely irrelevent, and its all done on a messy excel sheet so not many people actually keep track of it / there are multiple different versions floating about. This leads into the next point that projects are always scoped wrong so over-run and this is where developers are blamed. If projects do well client services team take the credit and you hear nothing about it. Design team is hit or miss, one project good designs, the next completely disorganised making it very difficult as a dev to use. When suggesting what to do to make it easier for dev team, or to have some standardized procedures, was met with anger and designers reporting you to the higher ups for making suggestions (which is a bad thing here). They promise you a yearly promotion/salary review, never received mine despite smashing all my goals and performing far beyond my role as many other colleagues had mentioned. Was told to keep waiting until next 6 months etc etc. You will be thrown straight onto a project and expect to know exactly how everyone is working and if you dont you will be blamed, very little planning procedures in place etc, no training or instructions are supplied, you very much have to learn on your own time and when you start to produce good work from your own effort they dont give you any praise or credit. Cliquey culture of those who visit the office / social events, and if you are a remote worker or just dont like those events you are shunned or dismissed at the drop of a hat. Company has no loyalty to its developers (the people actually doing the work producing what the client is buying) and get new people in and out all the time when they dont fall in line and agree with the practices (or lack-there-of), or aren't keeping up with rediculous scoping standards (seriously like 10 contracters were hired over the space of one project). Terminated for after the CEO posted the company Q&A answers for simply saying that I was disappointed by his answers as most of the well thought out questions submitted by others (I didn't even submit one) were met with "this cant be a serious question, i'm not even going to answer that rant" and other extremely unprofessional things you wouldn't expect a CEO to reply with in a Q&A section. I had tons of people messaging me saying 'thanks for saying what everyone is thinking', and 'oh you should be worried saying things like that, they dont like people questioning them'. I didn't think such a small comment could lead to being temrinated. Beware. Dont get invested in this company, as they are not invested in you.
8Equator Response3moThank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are sorry to hear that you feel that your time hear was not a positive one. We do take questions and feedback seriously and have introduced several different methods to allows employees to feedback. These include surveys, sessions with the board, our Managing Directors Quarterly Catch up, 1-2-1 sessions, drop in sessions, buddies, appraisals etc. All of these open up dialogue and allow our team to find a way to feedback that works for them. In relation to scoping we have introduced a Head of Delivery whose sole role is to ensure accurate processes, scoping, timelines as well as kick off and retro meetings are in place to ensure a collaborative joined up approach is in place. This makes sure we are delivery high quality to our client but also that the team work in a cohesive manner. It also means there is a single point of contact to provide feedback and discuss improvements to ways of working. We do conduct appraisals twice yearly and at each of these meetings your objectives are set, reviewed and discussed with you to make sure you are meeting your objectives as well as to identify any areas of growth that you might want or need as part of your role. We also make sure that we conduct salary bandings to match the market at appraisal time so we know our team are being fairly compensated. I am sorry you feel this was not conducted in the correct manner for you. We have provided further training to our managers and all appraisals, objectives and feedback are reviewed by our People and culture team. I am afraid as the feedback is anonymous I am unable to comment on your specific experience however, in terms of any performance issues we follow a strict process that adheres to the ACAS code of conduct and if you would like to discuss this further then please do reach out to people@eqtr.com who will be able to listen to your feedback and provide answers to any questions you have. Again, thank you for leaving us your feedback.
- 5.028 Feb 2022Innovation & Data DirectorCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsGlasgow, Scotland
Pros
Worked here for a long time. Seen it grow, change, make mistakes, change again, try new things, make a few more mistakes, learn from them and continue to grow. It's not perfect but thinking the grass is greener elsewhere could be a mistake. I've enjoyed Equator because of the constant evolution, the trying new things and the people. Other agencies make mistakes, grow under pressure and can be relentless pots of change. I think that, overall, Equator does right by its people and does give flexibility for individual growth. it can be crazy sometimes, but i think it's what makes an agency interesting and fun. It's also what encourages people to be independent thinkers and bring new ideas. I know I've made mistakes and bad ideas and I know Equator have still supported me as I'd like to think I've done great things too along the way.
Cons
If the above still doesnt sound good, then it's perhaps less about Equator and more about agency life in general. Having come from a career in client-side, I know I'd never go back. But I recognise this kind of job is not for everyone and being honest about that is fair enough. Beyond that, I will say I rarely find major fault with Equator that I know is not common elsewhere.
1 - 5.09 Feb 2023Software EngineerFormer Employee
Pros
Interesting work. They really care about building great things for their customers
Cons
The office can be loud due to the about of collaboration. (This may or may not be a con).
1Equator Response10moThanks so much for taking the time to leave a review, it is great to hear that you had such a positive time during your tenure with us. We really do care that we produce some great work for our Clients but we also want to make sure our team enjoy doing it. We want our team to be proud of what they achieved and continue grow and learn along with us. We also do like to get our team together, collaboration is important for helping us deliver quality work and also learn what tomorrows focus will be and how we can innovate and keep at the forefront of the industry. While technology is so useful for the day to day meetings sometimes the best way is just to get everyone together, plus we have some really cool office space!
- 4.013 May 2022Senior ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 10 yearsGlasgow, Scotland
Pros
Having worked for Equator for more than 10 years, I have had the opportunity to grow with the business and contribute to that growth in the work that I do. It's always been a very busy place with lots of projects on the go and lots of varied clients to support and actively work with. In my experience, in return for hard work, dedication and commitment, you are rewarded with trust throughout the business - and that is invaluable. In addition, one of the biggest pros of working within the business is the ability to work closely with individuals in other disciplines and to strengthen your knowledge base by learning from them. That, in turn, gives the opportunity to expand your skillset and grow your career in the direction you want.
Cons
It's not so much a con as it is something to be mindful of. With it being such a busy business with substantial clients, the work is demanding, fast paced and calls for a high standard to be delivered at all times - so that doesn't necessarily suit everyone.
2
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Equator Reviews FAQs
Equator has an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5, based on over 77 reviews left anonymously by employees. 63% of employees would recommend working at Equator to a friend and 66% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -7% over the last 12 months.
63% of Equator employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Equator 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.
