Pros
I worked with an incredible group of people there - not that they were treated as such. They offered quite flexible working arrangements but are hardly alone in that aspect.
Cons
Where to begin.... When I joined Avado it could be forgiven for having a "start-up" mentality as it was a relatively young company. However, many years on it hasn't remotely matured and continues to lurch from one incoherent "strategy" to the next. The company has always marketed itself as being "fast-paced" and "exciting" - which is true if those things mean constantly having to change direction and never being sure how long your job will be safe for. Invariably, these "strategic realignments" involve constant rounds of restructurings and redundancies. While the leadership team that was in place to start with made a lot of strategic missteps, they at least made sure that the restructurings were handled with a modicum of decency and empathy. However, since 2022 when the leadership team was taken over by Avado's parent company, all that changed. People were told their jobs may or may not be at risk and were left waiting for weeks on end with no communication, before being told. There was a complete lack of compassion, respect and empathy shown through the entire process, to a group of hard-working, supremely talented and dedicated people. I am well aware that this has continued since I left the company. In fact, it seems that no one at the top even pretends that the mental well-being of staff is a priority, that a "dog eat dog" environment is the way forward, and that you should get out if you don't like it. Add to this that the salaries have always been woefully behind market rates, and I couldn't in good conscience recommend for anyone to go and work there.
