1 Aug 2018
SBS Reviews
3.1
44% would recommend to a friend
Eric Bierry
54% approve of CEO
32% positive business outlook
SBS has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 568 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The SBS employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).
Reviews by job title
568 reviews
3.0
28 Feb 2021
Great starting job, not much else
Former employee, more than 1 year
Yate, England
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook
Pros
* Office facilities are superb * IT facilities are very good * General office atmosphere is friendly and warm * Generous Christmas bonus awarded annually * Not too much pressure to actually get things done (also a negative) * Out of Town location means relatively easy commute * Great breakout area with games room
Cons
* Pay and benefits are significantly below industry standards * The products are very dated and riddled with the same bugs you will be coming across again and again because they never get fixed * Training is very poor * No route for meaningful progression unless you are prepared to wait several years * No personal development / training opportunities are provided to staff * Inflexible working - WFH is not allowed, all staff must work a rigid pre-ordained shift pattern * With the exception of 10-15 people who have been working there since the 1980's, no one actually fully understands the products - you will be asking for help a lot * Bespoke software means no possibility of knowledge transfer to other jobs * Distinct lack of diversity & inclusion, ~80% of workforce is male, 98% are white
2.0
23 Oct 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook
Pros
It is a great job for the first IT job you ever take, it’s stressful but at least you’ll learn skills for the future. If they can delay an increase in wage then they will regardless if you provide evidence supporting why you deserve an increase. So make sure when you go for the job you request a decent starting amount otherwise, it will take you years to get to a respectable wage for that job role. If you do join, all I can say is good luck to you.
Cons
Scrapped Christmas bonuses forever (The bonus was part of general policy for many years). Amending/reducing pension percentage contributions (We used to contribute 3%, company used to be 6%…not anymore, even that isn’t amazing but at least it was something) regardless of opinion of employees when officially transitioning from Apak to sopra. The board clearly do not care about people below them of the company. They don’t even pretend to hide it. Apak is bleeding staff over the years from every department, it’s only now after the pandemic where it got really bad as an influx of people left for better pastures due to the variety of jobs now available after pandemic. If you take a job at Apak be prepared to get underpaid from the standards of every department, I’ve known Business Analysts, Client analysts, Client relationship managers, developers, architect engineers, project managers all complain and leave due to pay or stress of the job.
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