Shout Digital Reviews

While the team are great the work is not, difficult clients and little to no protection from them. Commercial success is paramount and that leads to unrealistic expectations and deadlines that just get agreed to, this is at the expense of quality or work-life balance (for example have been asked to work overtime to finish a sprint but without pay because a client had forced 4 weeks of work into 2 and wasn't prepared to pay OT). You are often at the mercy of their bigger clients and Shout are perfectly happy to watch you struggle. On a particular project I have watched 7 members of staff (and then myself) leave, despite constantly receiving feedback and knowing the reasons, and I heard recently they have renewed this contract. Commercial pressure seems to give project managers a rough time and have seem them leaving quite often - without them as a barrier this then leads to pressure directly applied to the delivery team. There's little to no progression at Shout unless somebody above you in the hierarchy leaves. I asked frequently for a progression/feedback framework to be introduced only to finally receive a half baked implementation introduced, which also did not resolve any of the problems I had raised and seemed to have been a glorified copy & paste exercise from senior leadership to set everybody the same goals and had no bearing on the individual. All targets and goals I was set were clearly for the business' benefit and not for my own, Such as certifications for software I didn't use, but knew the business was trying to gain business partnership with. The concept of a salary review is at best enigmatic. Some staff we're told these happen in November company wide, some were told it was at the anniversary of your start date - after asking my line manager I was told they do not happen because they don't wish to upset anybody who doesn't deserve one by not awarding anything. The new goals framework they introduced did not outline or mention anything relating to this either. Company pushed for flexible workplace accreditations then immediately doubled back on themselves making hybrid working more strict. I raised that not much was done to include remote workers and was told that was by design as they want to discourage WFH as much as possible. Other compensations/perks/benefits apply mostly to on-site workers too.

- Workload and Utilisation Lack of Workload Management: When employees have no assigned tasks, there is no provision for training or a system in place to allocate them to other projects (no bench concept). This leads to periods of inactivity and frustration. Inefficient Office Requirements: Being required to come into the office three days a week without any work to do is unproductive and demoralising. Unjust Criticism: Employees are unfairly reprimanded for being seen on non-work-related websites, like YouTube, when they have no tasks or training opportunities. This is counterproductive and creates an unhealthy work environment. Inability to Contribute: There is no structure allowing employees to assist other departments during downtime, leading to wasted potential and disengagement. - Issues with Pay Reviews and Business Practices Unfulfilled Pay Reviews: Although pay reviews are scheduled for November, employees are often told by HR that they have missed the review. This is done by design of the CEO/SLT to avoid giving pay rises. This is mentioned in other reviews of this company. - Inconsistent Work From Home Policies Resistance to Remote Work: The CEO is strongly opposed to remote working, and a hybrid model was only adopted post-COVID because most businesses had already moved to full remote work. Selective Remote Work: Some employees were allowed to work fully remotely, primarily because the required skill sets were not available locally, inconsistent policy application that is again designed to benefit the business when it suits them. Lack of Flexibility: Requests for temporary or situational flexibility in the Work From Home policy were routinely denied, causing massive inconvenience and dissatisfaction. This is all due to the CEOs mindset and Heads of departments not willing to push back on this. - Misaligned Leadership Priorities CEO-Centric Decision Making: Department heads prioritise pleasing the CEO over addressing the real needs of the business and employees, leading to a lack of constructive feedback and necessary pushback. Outdated Leadership Mindset: The CEO's outdated mindset and approach to business management are causing significant harm to the company's growth and overall success.