Spark44 Reviews

Job was sold to me as a creative role I started at Spark44 with extensive creative experience gained from years as a freelancer. I was hired under the impression that my job was going to be a creative role that would put my skills to use and this isn’t the case. I sit in front of a computer from the start of the working day to the end of it inputting data into a CMS system. The role is extremely mundane explaining why no experience is required but yet you need to have a university degree in order to apply. I have no creative input on any level and I do the same tasks day in and day out and I am highly disappointed that I am not exercising my creative muscle as I was told would be the case in my interview. Casual racism and sexism Spark44 boasts an equal split of female to male workers in the company and this is all well and good if the diversity is not just on a surface level but an actual belief of the company. Women within the company are marginalised to menial roles and usually have to apply 3-4 times for a higher role (in the rare event that one becomes available) before being taken seriously. If they demand more and seek progression they are given every excuse under the sun as to why they cannot progress. My personal experience includes being told I had to be with the company for at least a year before applying for a role in a different department. This rule seemed to only apply in my case as I saw a male colleague who had only been with the company for 3 months in role more junior than mine be progressed to campaign project manager. Before him another male colleague was allowed to leave the department and obtain a permanent role in a different department without fulfilling his minimum 1 year requirement on the department. Sexist terms are used to describe females by senior members of staff. A colleague was deceived as “sassy” in a performance review and not only is this highly unprofessional but it is also very sexist and damaging because I know fully well a male colleague would not be addressed as such. The company is a known “boys club” and a few of the men within the office have even coined this as a name for their clique wearing it proudly. Blatant disrespect. I have also seen casual racism within the office and have even experienced it personally with being one of the very very very few people of colour in the company. Insulting and bigoted comments are made on a daily basis about people of colour and are allowed to pass as “banter” or are covered up with the famous line “I’m not racist, my so and so is *insert suitable ethinc background here*”. I am not one to stand by and watch things like this happen and when I gathered up the courage to speak to HR and my seniors about the issues I was facing on my department being perpetrated by a specific individual I was met with “I can’t belive he would do such a thing” and “have you tried talking to him” and was even asked if I wanted to move teams while the perpetrator was not spoken to by HR or any senior members of staff despite them being made aware. As well as this I have noticed that of all the people that were recently let go as their fixed term contracts came to an end not a single person of colour was offered an extension on their contract. A friend who is a person of colour actually saw her contract being reduced from a March finish to a February finish with no appropriate or significant reason. Budget was the claim as to why contracts were not being extended and this would have been believable if they did not reduce her contract to then extend multiple other WHITE colleagues’ contracts who she had been consistent out-performing during her contract - the proof was in her great comments from quarterly reviews before HR tries to think of a reason to dismiss this claim. Office relationships The office is rife with office relationships which are highly inappropriate and which make a lot of people uncomfortable. I witness people come to see their significant others throughout the working day, stroking and petting each other and even discussing their intimate business which has no place in any workplace. This is in line with the general lack of professionalism within the company. The company is more school playground than professional work space and if I were JLR I would be very embarrassed to be represented by a company with such a workplace culture which is not in line with what the brand represents. As well as these office relationships and lack of professionalism there is also a very prevalent pattern of people dating higher ups progressing through the ranks based on what could only be classified as magic. This gives the company a very bad impression and shows favouritism and a lack of progression based on merit. Have to shmooz to progress Touching on the above paragraphs, progression is not based on merit but based on various other factors which have nothing to do with your capabilities on the job such as gender, race, who you’re dating and the most common; who you’re sipping a pint with at the Sunflower lounge with on a Friday night. This is highly detrimental to the company’s progression and is seeing more qualified and experienced members of staff who are more than willing and capable - being surpassed by people who buddy up with seniors. This is especially the case when seniors themselves tell us that if we want to progress all we have to do is clique up with the right people rather than rncouring us to work hard and move up on work. Senior management & HR Senior management is very placid and take no action on issues which have been spoken about time and time again within the office and here on Glassdoor. They do the bare minimum to appear concerned by do not follow through with any action to eradicate these behaviours which have become part of the work culture. They are very defensive and dismissive and even go as far as throwing jabs at the people they should be protecting - the employees. I had high hopes that things would change after having a meeting to address some of the negative Glassdoor reviews particularly the ones calling out the company on racism and discrimination but my hopes were crushed by a lack of action after many people came forward with complaints. The icing on top was our Managing Director making a jab at the comments on Glassdoor and showing complete disregard for the people whose concerns are not only genuine but valid. This attitude is a clear indication of the culture of Spark44 and shows that the company will never change and that employees are better off using this as a small stepping stone and finding alternative employment and taking their talents elsewhere to company that will appreciate and respect them not only as employees but as human beings.