incompetent Managers - Software Engineer Arqiva Employee Review

People at the DC office were great. The people from the UK that I engaged with were good to deal with. I immensely enjoyed planning the office Christmas party and researching and selecting the new office space after the restructure of the DC office.

Aspects of communication from the corporate office in the UK. During the restructure of the US operations in 2012, they wasted a lot of money on retaining employees and not having them produce.

Some genuinely talented and committed colleagues who try to make the best of a difficult environment. Hybrid working is a positive, though it doesn’t compensate for the wider issues.

Pump and dump mentality with personnel. Leadership at L2 and L3 levels is consistently weak, with decisions often driven by personal relationships rather than capability. This creates an environment where nepotism is hard to ignore and undermines trust across teams. Lack of ownership is a recurring theme. Problems and risks are frequently passed around rather than addressed, leading to slow progress and repeated failures. The “Have Your Say” programme has delivered very little, despite repeated promises of change. Feedback is collected but rarely acted upon, which has eroded confidence in the process. Internal development is almost non‑existent. Training budgets are minimal, career pathways are unclear, and the default approach is to hire externally rather than develop internal talent. This leaves teams feeling undervalued and limits progression opportunities. Management communication is inconsistent, and strategic direction often changes without explanation, creating confusion and frustration.