Lacking diverse and inclusive culture - Analyst Costello Medical Employee Review

2.0
31 Mar 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

"Good for CV", varied project work, and big clients

Cons

Unless you fit the Costello mould (middle class Oxbridge graduate, signs off internal emails with "Best wishes") , you will struggle to fit in and enjoy working at Costello. Although the company has a great external reputation, I suspect that the Best Companies awards which the company has received for a number of years is not truly deserved - I rated the company really highly on this survey only so that it would look good for my future employers, not because I actually enjoyed working there. I know that many of my colleagues did the same thing. The company culture feels horribly insincere. As for salary (a faux pas topic of discussion in the company), I was unhappy with my reward package given that I worked very hard. As an analyst you can expect to be taken advantage of. Analysts receive very, very little reward for their hard work (ie no bonus) - they only get an occasional (50-100 GBP) gift voucher despite doing most of the work. Salary progression is also not great. Analyst starting salary is 30,000 and it increases by roughly 1,000 each year (no bonus). Senior analyst salary is 38,000 and you can get up to two bonuses each year (roughly 3,000 each). Consultant salary is 45,000 and, although I do not know the size of the consultant bonus, I assume it is also two bonuses annually of at least 3,000. Finally, regarding the senior management team, this team are all members of staff who are very friendly with one another as they have built the company together. Although I admire how much they have grown the company, because they are such a tight-knit management team, they do talk behind everyone's back - this potentially intensifies the uncomfortable culture of insincerity.

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Costello Medical Response
5y
Thank you for your review, though naturally we are disappointed to read about your less than positive experience at the company. Particularly saddening are your comments about individuals struggling to fit in. We have a strong company culture and ethos which is supportive, friendly, and hardworking, and we strive to ensure that it is inclusive of all staff who chose to work for us. Our Equality and Inclusion Taskforce, made up of colleagues from all areas and levels of our company, is evidence of our commitment to this. In terms of our reputation as a good place to work, every year we run an internal, anonymous company survey the sole purpose of which is to help us understand how we can continue to improve as a workplace and the results we see here are aligned with the Best Companies award. Your review is recent; however, you are not aware of the changes that we have made to rewards during the past 12 months, the most recent coming into effect at the start of April this year. The starting salary for Analysts/Medical Writers, Health Economists and Statisticians is now £33,000, increasing to £34,000 after the 6-month probation period, which we know to be competitive for our field. All current employees in these roles have had their salaries uplifted to reflect their experience level. The Senior Analyst and Consultant salaries have also been increased to offer a higher level of reward, reflective of the company’s continued success and the contributions that our colleagues have made to this. We feel it is important to point out that your assumptions around bonuses are incorrect.

Explore other reviews about Costello Medical

5.0
10 May 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

ALL good, great colleagues, managers

Cons

I DON'T have any cons thank you

3.0
4 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice people, and a very clean and open environment. Work from home and a great office.

Cons

Pay was very low and benefits not the best.

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