Actuation Lab Reviews

3.0

21% would recommend to a friend

(4 total reviews)

21% positive business outlook

Reviews by job title

4 reviews
1.0
1 Nov 2022

Avoid.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Not any I can think of.

Cons

Questionable employment tactics. Don't expect this company to follow normal procedure, or to see how they conduct reviews of employees. Very opaque practices. Lots of travel is expected of employees. But expect to have to be guided by what management do, which is often to travel in your own time (weekends/bank holidays) with no time off in lieu given for these days. Management also tell employees 'to manage them' - communication is supposedly key. Although they will then take their own direction or direction of external advisors, which in turn isn't in the best interest of their employees. Communication is poor - apart from the 'scrum' everyday - without fail - which gets in the way of any meaningful work and the refreshments are poor.

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Actuation Lab Response
8mo
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are sorry that your employment with us didn’t work out as we had hoped. At the time of your employment the issues you have cited were not raised with us, however, thank you for citing some examples where you thought improvements could be made. Communication is key for our employees and whilst while you were with us, we felt a daily 10-minute scrum was important to maintain pace and direction. The Engineering team have now adopted a Monday-Wednesday-Friday approach, which we have found keeps everyone on the same page and moving forward quickly, whilst avoiding too many meetings. We have worked extremely hard on implementing processes and procedures appropriate for our company and are pleased to say we now have ISO9001 Quality Management System accreditation, which ensures our processes and systems are of the high standard expected from our employees (including a Time off in Lieu policy), customers and partners. We are firm in our conviction that Actuation Lab can make a significant difference to the flow control industry and reduce unnecessary emissions, and we will continue to work to fulfil that mission. Warm regards, Simon Bates CEO, Actuation Lab
4.0
1 Apr 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Interesting engineering, freedom generally to tackle problems how you like.

Cons

Minimal support from management, poor leadership, funding problems.

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Actuation Lab Response
8mo
Thank you very much for taking the time to leave a review. We are pleased to understand that you felt you were given the freedom to tackle problems without being micro-managed in your approach. We trust our employees, and believe one of the core ways we move fast is to learn from different perspectives and approaches within the team. At the same time, we recognise that balancing autonomy with adequate support is crucial, and we are actively working to ensure everyone feels supported by developing a robust management structure, while retaining the independence that fosters innovation. Ensuring a company is well funded while tackling important technical breakthroughs is one of the biggest challenges a startup will face, and we are continually exploring opportunities to strengthen our financial position and support ongoing innovation. We are pleased to have recently closed and investment round, been awarded a significant R&D grant and have some key contracts on the horizon. Warm regards, Simon Bates CEO, Actuation Lab
2.0
17 July 2025

Cool Concept. Poor Management

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Interesting engineering /mechanical product design

Cons

This is possibly the worst run company I have ever worked for. The management are terrible, CEO is a bully, they give power to the most inexperienced people who have no idea on what they are doing, they accept bullying in the office, and do nothing, and if someone speaks out of turn coincidently they are “made redundant” - they have accepted lots of money and made nothing, laying 8 of us off recently

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Actuation Lab Response
8mo
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I take any concerns about behaviour and culture very seriously, especially when they involve me directly however, I do not recognise the situation you’ve described, and we do not have any internal record relating to these incidents. I do want to be clear that bullying has no place in our organisation and goes against the values we work hard to uphold. We are committed to fostering a respectful and supportive environment for all colleagues. If you ever felt otherwise, I regret that, and I would always encourage you to raise them directly at the time, confidentially with a member of our Leadership Team so they can be properly addressed. If you would like to discuss this further, then please do reach out to a member of the Leadership Team directly. I remain committed to listening and learning, and I wish you the best in your future endeavours. Yours sincerely, Simon Bates CEO, Actuation Lab
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Glassdoor has 5 Actuation Lab reviews submitted anonymously by Actuation Lab employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Actuation Lab is right for you.