An Organisation Well Behind the Times - Head Office Southern Co-op Employee Review

1.0
16 Aug 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Colleague Discount is a good benefit, on site facilities at head office are good, free parking. Employee relations team are professional and supportive, and there are no shortage of great people who have an unwavering dedication to the company. Many internal training opportunities.

Cons

Poor Leadership - many leaders within the business are personally motivated to an extreme extent, and this limits the opportunities and respect that you can achieve. Middle management lack the confidence to challenge the status quo, and as a result many people with great ideas and potential are overlooked. Package - The package offered was way below the market rate for my role and performance based increases were non existent - there was no framework to allow this. Workplace pension is very poor and contributions are small. Attitude/Culture - Pressure from senior management to deliver on short term goals, mixed with a lack of structure and development leads to a stressful environment, even for people who don't usually suffer from stress in the workplace. Personal Development - Development is talked about in leadership and is mentioned often globally, but the company very much reflects the fact that a large percentage of the workforce is part time, in that development lacks structure and investment, and cannot compete with larger corporate organisations. One-to-one meetings were essentially a 'to-do list' for the next couple of weeks, and there was very little focus on long term development. This may stifle ambitious employees. Work/Life Balance - Being available on a mobile basis 24/7 was an expectation for my role, however this was informal, non-contractual and not compensated. Failure to answer the phone was looked upon harshly. Unlike other similar roles at other organisations, hours flexibility/working from home was frowned upon.

Explore other reviews about Southern Co-op

5.0
1 May 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

good teamwork, great place to work

Cons

some abuse from customers, not great pay

4.0
14 Oct 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Friendly environment Great team building skills learnt Relatively easy work

Cons

Security is poor, many cases of shoplifting and threats of assault to staff members with the upper management doing the bare minimum to rectify this.

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