Dont even consider working there - Deputy Editor Samedan Employee Review

1.0
28 June 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The office is in covent garden in central london, which is nice, and the editorial team are all amazing

Cons

Management will hire someone and use and abuse them for their 6 month probation period, until telling them they will not be renewing their contract, all whilst underpaying them by at least £5,000, providing no training or support, and constantly moving goalposts, and will give all feedback verbally so that there is nothing in writing to prove that they have changed instructions after the fact. Also, they entirely prioritise sales, expecting editorial staff to do multiple roles, whilst also supporting an entitled sales team who demand extra help whilst giving no support in return. Some members of the sales are also regularly racist and sexist but management does nothing to address this

Explore other reviews about Samedan

1.0
7 May 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

the young editors were very helpful and encouraging and their resilience in this company is admirable.

Cons

The managers are absolutely unqualified for their positions and it shows by the ever-changing rules and complete absence from the office and absolute lack of communication, responsibility and integrity in dealing with both work related issues and personal issues. They support having a toxic and stressful work environment by playing favoritisms to the employees in the sales team and blaming all issues and mistakes on the editorial team that is undertaking the majority of the company's work by delivering a ridiculous amount of work that goes way beyond the job description and the salary. The editorial manager is petty and passive aggressive and possibly misogynistic too. There is zero flexibility to work from home (note that the managers never come into the office but the editors are expected to be there even when they are sick). This company preys on young graduates looking for a stable position only to fire them before the end of their probations (after press days) or withholding promised benefits and promotions and lengthening the probation period without valuable reason. The managers will blame the bad Glassdoor reviews on old management but trust that the situation is as bad as it looks in these reviews, if not worse. It's a shameful company that embodies every possible cliché of what a toxic work environment is. The managers never step in to try and resolve conflict and they will punish the editorial department for the lack of sales, which is the sales department's responsibility. The have little to no respect for their employees, especially the younger ones in the editorial team. I can't wait to see this company run itself to the ground.

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Samedan Response
2y
Thank you for the feedback – we have addressed some of your comments below. It’s a shame things didn’t work out but we hope you learned a lot during your brief stay with us - and we wish you the best of luck in your future career. It is nice to hear you enjoyed working with the other editors and editorial staff. They are a friendly and welcoming group, most of whom started as recent graduates like yourself and I’m sure they will be pleased with your comment. We believe our senior managers are well qualified for their roles as they have a combined experience of over 100 years in the publishing industry. Despite having a small team, we have multiple brands and operate across several offices. The senior management divide their time between these locations and are often out at external meetings. It’s simply not possible to be in all places at once – but as you know we do have various chat / virtual meeting systems which we use to communicate when we are not in the office. We are a friendly bunch and anyone can get in contact with us at any time. 75% of our employees are female (including the editorial manager) and three of the four director level positions are held by women. We have a diverse range of staff across the business, all of whom are valued members of the team. When we hire recent graduates, we give them the opportunity to learn and develop their skills in a publishing role. Unfortunately, despite training and support a small number, such as yourself, do not complete their probationary period and move on to a permanent role. The majority of staff are hybrid working but we do like graduates to come in to the office full time to begin with, as it is essential they integrate with the various team members and learn how the business works and what is expected of them. This was made clear to you during the interview process as was the hybrid working arrangement. We never ask anyone to come and work in the office when they are ill. As we explained to you several times – if you are too ill to come in to the office we would prefer you took the time to rest and fully recover rather than working remotely and potentially prolonging your illness. We prefer not to work in departmental silos, instead working in teams across publishing brands with editorial, sales, production and events working together to produce great products that drive our business forward resulting in success for everyone. It is difficult to ask someone to leave after a short period of time and we understand you would rather have passed your probation and moved on to a permanent role with us. We know it’s not the outcome you wanted and it’s not the outcome we wanted when we hired you - but as we felt we had exhausted the remedial actions open to us, we could no longer see any viable alternative. We do wish you well and we’re sure you will find another role that suits you in the future.
2.0
12 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you want to work in magazine publishing it’s a good start as you get to work on a whole magazine independently.

Cons

Very little support offered. Low pay and long hours.

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