Disappointing employer that has lost its way.
Pros
The People PBS4 support (Service users) are great to work with. There is good training overall for Enablement Assistants (Care Workers) and improving for other roles in the company with training now being better tailored to other individuals in the company. There is a great desire within the company from the staff to provide the very best of care and this aligns with what the company aims to achieve and their values.
Cons
Although the SLT are genuinely wonderful people and I have no doubt are trying their best, there is awful management from the Senior Leadership Team in this company. This is most likely due to the companies size outgrowing these peoples abilities to lead effectively. The company is victim to it's own success. Once a small, caring, growing organisation with a family feel and a view to make a real change in the care sector they have peaked and are now struggling under their own weight. There appears to be no vision or company strategy to rectify this too, or this is poorly communicated to employees to manifest. The company day to day running has devolved into chaos and feels destructive and lost. Safeguarding referrals and negative investigation outcomes from governing bodies like CQC and local authorities are becoming more frequent and staff complain frequently of dangerous working conditions and putting the people they support of significant risk, usually down to poor organisation. Departments have grown exponentially in the last 3 years and the processes are now too complex to keep doing things the same way. Departments don't talk to each but still expect everyone to know how their role operates around their own. This way of working leads to disjointed and disgruntled employees who can't understand why people aren't doing their jobs properly. Individuals are fire-fighting rather than thriving. Sadly, bullying and unprofessional working is now commonplace due to the decline in company culture and moral. People are malicious about one another openly. It's always the weakest links' fault for not pulling their weight rather than the strongest links fault for not directing the team and orchestrating better. This backbiting is particularly true of some of the SLT too, who don't seem to hide their distain of staff that have sampled and then quickly left the company for the same reasons as described here. This negative and detrimental attitude is particularly true for neurodivergent or sexual minority staff, which is surprising for a company with an aim to provide such bespoke and inclusive support to vulnerable people. This is now a very 'clicky' and difficult workplace to fit in and those who do, probably need to check their attitudes for professionalism and tolerance. There is poor support, training and development for management and senior staff. Very bad systems and IT infostructure. No clear home working policies or expectations during hiring/interview but an expectation to be available at all hours from your home location too. Vey poor work/life balance. A constant drive from the SLT to take on new business in some regions despite barely coping in these areas at present. This has a significant negative affect on the ability of the staff in these regions to provide good quality support. Diversification to support individuals without learning disabilities means PBS4 have lost their niche role and are less able to offer something great to a specific group of service users. The company is driven by monetary values rather than doing the right thing for the right reasons with the right people.
