Culture Problems - Product Manager Simply Business Employee Review

2.0
31 Mar 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Still a few good people left. Community feel amongst peers outside of work.

Cons

Toxic culture created by management. Company states it has a focus on improving the culture but it can't be fixed until management sort / see themselves out as the new management & management style is the problem. Working on the assumption that management aren't going to put their hands up and address that they are the issue, the culture will never be what it used to be which was when managers actually cared about their teams. The management style is now more akin to bullying in the workplace and blame (under the guise of accountability) than it is trying to develop your team. People speak up (multiple against one manager in some instances) and are told it's just the managers "management style". This seems to be a growing, common phrase now. High staff turnover in certain pockets of the business where management is particularly bad, never questioned or addressed. Engagement surveys from employees expressing dissatisfaction in the workplace swept under the carpet every year with no action or consequence off the back of them, instead focusing on trivial side questions or any positive available. Average / below average pay Downsized office size just before doubling the quota for people having to come into the office, result is not enough parking so have to park off site if you don't get in early enough and thats if you can actually get a seat in the office when teams are having team days (frequent). Redundancies happening on the quiet after what appeared to be open transparency that no more would be coming, as if no one in the office talks and will learn about them or notice people disappearing around them.

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Simply Business Response
1y
Thanks for your detailed feedback. We appreciate the complexity of the issues you've raised and have addressed the key points below. We welcome further discussion on any of these topics and encourage you to contact our People team. We're always looking to improve, and open, honest conversations are a great place to start. We understand that our culture is shaped by the interactions of our employees and the People Team is available to support healthy dialogs. Fostering positive relationships within our community is important to us, and we believe that our strong employee engagement scores reflect the positive aspects of our culture. However, we also recognise that there is always room for improvement, and we welcome feedback on how we can make our workplace better. We're committed to continuously investing in our culture and maintaining a positive work environment. Market changes and opportunities sometimes require us to be agile and adapt our strategies as a fast-growing company. We strive to keep our employees informed and encourage you to reach out to your manager or People Partner with any questions about changes in our strategic direction. Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, and please do consider reaching out for a further conversation – we’d love to explore this in more depth via an open conversation.

Explore other reviews about Simply Business

5.0
18 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great company to work for

Cons

none, generally a very good company to work for

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Simply Business Response
1mo
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us! Thank you for being a part of our journey for over five years, and we wish you nothing but the absolute best in your next chapter.
2.0
13 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great work life balance and vacation time....

Cons

Many internal issues and felt like this last round of layoffs was to protect inadequate leaders vs hardworking employees. I understand companies do layoffs but this just felt like Senior management trying to protect themselves because they aren't doing an effective job. I really think there are some issues with the leadership team and it probably needs an overhaul. There was never any strategy from product outside of one small area. The rest of the business was left without any guidance or support. I really think the US/UK shared services model does not work. The UK and US just are entirely different markets and the UK at the end of the day doesn't really care about the US nor move as quickly.

3
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Simply Business Response
1mo
Thank you for sharing your feedback and perspective on your experience. We understand that organizational changes and layoffs can create frustration and uncertainty, and we appreciate you taking the time to share with us the areas where you feel we can improve. Transparency, communication, and supporting our teams continue to be important areas of focus for us.
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