The Open University Reviews
Updated 8 Apr 2020
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Recommend to a Friend
Approve of CEO
Peter Horrocks
69 Ratings
Pros
"Relaxed work culture and excellent work-life balance" (in 16 reviews)
"Nice working environment, beautifully kept campus and good on-site cafeteria" (in 14 reviews)
Cons
"Senior management disconnected from main body of staff" (in 11 reviews)
"Lack of career progression (in academic related posts)" (in 10 reviews)
"Brilliant company to work for"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookNo Opinion of CEOI have been working at The Open University
Pros
Very supportive and excellent training. If you show motivation and drive they will support you and encourage you to grow. Direct managers work closely as do senior - everyone is present in the office so great for networking. Being a large organisation there are opportunities everywhere - I stated in student recruitment with no goals - they have helped shape a career and in just over 3 years have moved up 3 grades! Brilliant holidays (45 day I think), and great office attitude (no blame only train!), they hold lots of office events like BBQs , bake sales, PIZZA, even trip abroad! I love working here so much I bought a house up here! Also AMAZING pension contribution at 19% ! I could go on!
Cons
Whilst we have excellent gender equality with many women in senior management roles, this goes down once you get to more senior roles The east campus canteen (run by an external company) is hilariously frustrating! If you want to buy something expect to wait about 5 minutes whilst the staff unpack milk and have a catch up in the kitchen!
Continue readingThe Open University2020-03-11"Good"
StarStarStarStarStarI have been working at The Open University full-time
Pros
Flexibility regarding working patterns and Independence for research (It is really Open...)
Cons
Location (Milton Keynes is not the most vibrant of cities...)
The Open University2020-04-08"Great facilities and staff but several frustrations"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendPositive OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at The Open University full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Great people, great facilities, really nice campus to work
Cons
slow progress due to fragmented departments
Continue readingThe Open University2020-04-06"Great for those with commitments/health issues"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNeutral OutlookNo Opinion of CEOI have been working at The Open University full-time for more than a year
Pros
flexible, funded, interesting, supportive, exciting
Cons
lonely like all PhD programmes can be
The Open University2020-03-04"Excellent benefits & professional development"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
I have been working at The Open University full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Lovely campus, generally nice people and good development opportunities.
Cons
Good transferable experience for internal opportunities, but not that great if you want to move outside of HE in the future.
The Open University2020-02-27"Good benefits but very static and slow to change. New ideas take a long time to be put into practice"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at The Open University
Pros
Manageable work load and no micromanagement. Mostly nice colleagues and there are some good benefits including the pension scheme. Colleagues and management are very open.
Cons
Very slow to change, some colleagues whine a lot and there is an old/new staff divide. Some departments should be restructured and streamlined sooner. Lack of investment in technology and there is a lot of buck passing rather than problem solving. For that reason, it can feel really boring working here and like - as another review put it - that time stands still.
Continue readingThe Open University2020-03-10"Good environment and flexibility"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNeutral OutlookI have been working at The Open University
Pros
Flexible work and good environment with a high level of professionalism
Cons
Salary below the average, no benefits or family support
Continue readingThe Open University2020-02-18"Overall positive"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookNo Opinion of CEOI have been working at The Open University full-time for more than a year
Pros
Relaxed work culture and excellent work-life balance
Cons
Departments are too fractured at times.
The Open University2020-02-09"Not sure what it’s like now"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookNo Opinion of CEOI worked at The Open University full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Good hardworking staff.
Cons
Internal politics. New / old staff divide.
Continue readingThe Open University2020-02-08- Helpful (1)
"Time stands still"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at The Open University full-time for more than a year
Pros
Holidays, location, flower beds, library, canteen
Cons
Toxic work culture, poor management, unprogressive, boring
Continue readingThe Open University2020-02-27
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