Macildowie Reviews
68% would recommend to a friend
(124 total reviews)
James Taylor
83% approve of CEO
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Great people, inspiring leadership, who know the business and truly want you to do the best you can." (in 9 reviews)
- "Long hours and can be frustrating not getting through to the right people but just keep going and it will be worth it" (in 5 reviews)
Found 124 of over 131 reviews
Updated 13 Nov 2023
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- 5.013 Nov 2023Chief Operating OfficerCurrent Employee, more than 10 yearsNottingham, England
Pros
We're really proud of the culture at Macildowie. It's values driven: Commit To Excellence, Find A Way, Be Accountable, One Team, Show Passion. People who want to do well for themselves AND their colleagues have an opportunity to be the CEO of their own desk in a forward thinking business with a unique offering to the market.
Cons
I've worked here 28 years so none that made me want to leave...We're not perfect but everyone in the management team cares about making this the best place to work in recruitment. We were 8th in the Best Companies SME category last time we entered and that was based on what people here thought so we're doing something right and we continue to try and be the best we can be.
- 1.013 Nov 2023Senior ConsultantCurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsNottingham, England
Pros
There was 4 parking spaces in Nottingham for the 40 staff. Already allocated for the top billers/long servers so good luck. Other pros include free water and tea and coffee but probably no milk.
Cons
Negative vibes everywhere. Half the company is dominated by 2 or 3 consultants, the rest are scratching around for a salary. Very poor commission scheme. Industry minimum as mentioned in other reviews and base salaries not great. Sold me the dream and I fell for it.
- 5.02 Oct 2023Senior ConsultantCurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsNottingham, England
Pros
There have been some bad reviews of late saying this business is a KPI culture / or the culture is toxic. I've been in recruitment a long time now and I've never worked for a business that cares more about employees - provided they also care. If you care about your reputation, are conscientious about the quality of your work and put your customers at the heart of your decision-making - the leaders in this business will bend over backwards for you. By the way, by leaders, I don't just mean the directors or managers, I mean the colleagues who role model for you. It's teamwork at it's best. But you have to give your best. You are the CEO of your own desk here. KPIs form a part of that, but it's your attitude and effort that really matters.
Cons
None - we even have lots of forks in the kitchen - they are like gold dust in all the other businesses I've worked at.
- 2.06 Nov 2023Recruitment ConsultantFormer Employee
Pros
Majority of colleagues were good to work with Bonus scheme was good
Cons
Some members of staff could get away with behaviours that are not acceptable in any walk of life, let alone a work place. But because they have been there longer or make the business money they can do what they want. How they think they can treat others and behave is poor but they get away with it. This needs managing as it’s not acceptable.
- 5.030 Sept 2023ManagerFormer Employee, more than 5 yearsNottingham, England
Pros
The people and culture are amazing. The senior management team all the way up the CEO have a lot of time for individuals. They focus on on-going development and challenge when it's needed (some managers in the company didn't appreciate being challenged and their egos resulted in them leaving). My experience as a manager was incredibly positive though. I was given the freedom to work on my skills and develop a solid commercial toolkit. The level of flexibility and trust was incredible, especially with a focus on supporting families. If it wasn't for me leaving the country, I'd still be working there :)
Cons
I can't think of any major cons. If you're driven, self-aware, team orientated and looking to develop a career whilst leaving your ego at the door this is a great opportunity to learn a lot of valuable business skills.
- 5.05 Oct 2023ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsLeicester, England
Pros
The people!! The opportunity!! The progression!! The money!! The flexibility!! The understanding!! The challenge!!
Cons
The industry is volatile, that does attract different/some difficult characters, so expect natural turnover, however this does always make the business stronger as a result
- 5.010 Oct 2023ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsNottingham, England
Pros
- Flexibility and work life balance is excellent, you are really trusted to deliver in your role. - Long term progression, clearly defined paths to management roles. - Macildowie has a great reputation in the market which comes from a very strong team delivering a high level of service. - Enjoyable environment to work in with regular social events.
Cons
- Nothing Macildowie specific, any role in recruitment has plenty of cons!
- 1.028 Sept 2023ManagerFormer Employee, more than 3 yearsNottingham, England
Pros
None. Not a single positive.
Cons
-KPI culture replaces of any sort of professional development or accessible coaching. The fall back is "just do more" dressed up in any new buzzword. - The lack of example setting from Directors relating to actually recruiting is like no other recruitment agency I have ever worked in. -The constant change of personnel, change in business direction and constant introduction of "new" doesn't allow any chance of letting a consultant or team build a desk. -For a smaller business, the amount of internal politics is unbelievable.
2 - 5.07 Mar 2023Business DirectorCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearLeicester, England
Pros
People and culture define a workplace.... and Macildowie defines all that is great about both of those things. Within a 'psychologically safe' environment you can continually learn and grow, however experienced you may be. I re-joined the business 2 years ago and can see the huge journey the CEO, James Taylor, has taken the business has on- culturally, from an infrastructure perspective and the value proposition it can now offer to our clients. It blew me away and still continues to. The Operations Board Team are a group of talent second to none, a team of highly motivated, knowledgeable, bright, driven, high EQ'd individuals that all bring something unique to the whole. Crucially they also care enormously and are as passionate about promoting self care and supporting their teams as they are about taking our offering to the market. I have recently had some time out of the business due to my daughter being very ill and they couldn't have been more supportive. It wasn't a couple of weeks... it was a significant amount of time. At no point did I feel pressured or anything other than cared for and supported. If you are looking for a place to flourish, with a huge amount of talent around you to learn from and in a place that celebrates the individual as much as the whole, then this could be the work home for you.
Cons
When you cannot fill this box at all but have to use a 5 word minimum to get past it, you know you're working for a great employer!
Macildowie Response9moThank you for your comments and review. We agree… we are lucky to have a brilliantly talented and supportive team here at Macs and we're glad that you feel the way you do given the situation with your daughter. Family will and always should, come first.
- 2.018 Apr 2023Recruitment ConsultantFormer Employee
Pros
Very flexible. Most managers were good. Taught you good processes, always there to help and made sure you were doing the rights things to help you develop your desk. Area manager was good, wanted to help you progress and made sure you always did the basics. If new to recruitment I’d recommend as the training is very thorough. Admin team were really good at helping with CVS etc.
Cons
Teams were clicky between each other. People outside your team didn’t get to know you properly until a few months in. Data on systems is very out dated. Technology compared other agencies were a bit out dated. The one team motto felt very forced. Had to pay for parking in Nottingham city centre. They don’t use job boards as much anymore due to costs (which isn’t a problem) but it means they want to use their social media team to post 3/4 posts a day to get traffic to website. The posts are automated and don’t look very personalised. This is obviously personal preference.
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Macildowie Reviews FAQs
Macildowie has an overall rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on over 131 reviews left anonymously by employees. 68% of employees would recommend working at Macildowie to a friend and 68% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -18% over the last 12 months.
68% of Macildowie employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Macildowie 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 4.0 for career opportunities.
