Skipton Building Society Reviews

Working for The Skipton building society used to mean something. There was pride, trust, and a sense of integrity. Unfortunately, the culture has shifted so dramatically that it’s barely recognisable now. Progression & Favouritism Unless you have friends in ExCo, progression is extremely limited. It’s very much a “your face has to fit” environment. Hard work and capability don’t seem to matter as much as who you know. Poor Use of Members’ Money Over £50,000,000 has been poured into new systems that simply don’t work. They add no value for customers and create more frustration for colleagues. It’s hard to watch that level of waste while being told to “do more with less”. Toxic Competition Between Departments There’s an odd, unprofessional competition between Homes and Money over which celebrity they can secure. Homes is clearly the favourite child, while Money is treated like the poor relation. It’s divisive and does nothing to improve service. Workload & Expectations Workloads keep increasing with no additional support. Colleagues are expected to work beyond their contracted hours for free, under the guise of “goodwill”. At the same time, ExCo make veiled threats about AI replacing jobs. It’s demoralising and completely tone‑deaf. Lack of Transparency & Poor Leadership The business has become secretive. ExCo openly state they won’t answer questions. Recent redundancies were handled appallingly—people were told to leave or accept downgraded roles with no explanation. It felt cold and disrespectful. Office Conditions Head office conditions are poor. There aren’t enough desks despite repeated assurances. It already feels like a battery farm, especially for telephony colleagues packed in row after row. It’s not a healthy or productive environment. Lack of Support for Colleagues With Additional Needs Colleagues with caring responsibilities or additional needs have been asked to disclose deeply personal information just to justify why working in the office three days a week is difficult. It’s intrusive and shows a lack of empathy. Overall This company once stood for trust, pride, and integrity. Sadly, it has become the opposite. The culture is deteriorating, leadership feels disconnected from reality, and colleagues are left feeling undervalued, unheard, and exhausted.

Well, where to begin. The current regime led by Stuart Haire are a collection of career ladder climbing yes people, there to add Skipton to their CV as a stepping stone to what’s next. As a colleague, they appear to distain the people doing the work and reward the people who are willing to step on others. You can tell the CEO has worked in the corporate banking culture of America, as the place now feels like a bank with that competitive succeed at all costs, while cutting costs, under paying staff, rewarding themselves and just being generally very hostile, which comes with a consistent message of obey, masked by well rehearsed PR friendly speak. They say be brave, but when you voice anything that goes against the messages coming from the executives it is met with hostility. I haven’t been at Skipton for long and I’m already looking for the exit, I’ve never joined a culture so broken and divided, something that is not being recognised by the people at the top, instead they celebrate any minor win, but just look at the lack of engagement in the internal comms and you will see very quickly that their propaganda machine is being seen straight through by an under appreciated workforce crying out for change. I’m kicking myself for joining this business, I’ve never worked anywhere so toxic and that toxicity comes from the top. When you hold a leaders event at an expensive hotel and the egotistical CEO uses the phrase “only the strongest will survive” it’s time to do decide whether it’s worth even competing in whatever game he thinks he’s playing. I mean seriously, I thought I had fallen through a wormhole to the 80s. Heed this warning, think carefully about joining this business.