Long hours as a result of a few aspects: over-promising at point of sale and headcount. Being the conscientious person and "go-to safe hands" I was, things often fell to me to keep moving. Being driven by perfection in service and quality of output- I regularly maintained an unimaginable workload. In addition, I found myself having to decipher what was worse; the impact on my personal life (getting home at 10pm was a regular occurrence) or feeling the wrath of the MD for not getting everything done that needed doing- there was never a good enough reason for not doing. I always opted for the former, which in hindsight was foolish. The bandwidth issue might have resolved today, but in the 4 years I experienced at Venn, it never really sorted itself out.
Lack of professionalism: professionalism isn't mutually exclusive to a SME/family vibe organisation. Reflecting on personal experiences, I never had a sense of job security there. The most poignant example lacking professionalism was when I was driven to tears in the MDs glass office because he was infuriated that I had taken advice from another senior colleague re support and not when he'd suggested it 3 months earlier! As I tried to explain that circumstances were different/needs must, he began a tirade of swearing and pointing at me, which was relentless even when I was crying my eyes out. Not only hurtful but embarrassing when you know your colleagues can see and hear it all. I consider myself a very resilient and strong character, so despite this episode and a few weeks of being ignored by the MD, I bounced back and he bounced back and nothing more was said- we were back to normal as if nothing had happened.
Pride: this is a difficult one to tackle as I in a lot of ways have admiration for the MD and the all he puts into the business, but I simply cannot forgive or overlook the way I was treated when I handed my notice in. To be crystal clear- irrespective of the above, almost unbelievably, my primary reason for leaving was to try something new - I'm in cyber security now, so not left to a competitor. Upon handing my notice in to my manager, I respectfully advised that it was an unmatchable salary increase with many benefits, a different challenge and pace (corporate). Being mindful that i'd recently been introduced to the next big client, I also made it clear that the reason I was unable to say anything sooner is because I was awaiting passing all checks and if it fell through, I wouldn't be leaving (sector change opportunities are very hard to come by, the next might have been 6-12 months away). The day after this the MD had instructed my manager and another senior manager to pull me into a private walled room and present me two options: 1. Leave immediately 2. Leave that day and work my notice from home. That stung a bit as there were other colleagues serving notice in the office- why was I being victimised? No justification other than 'he thinks it'd be for the best'. After all I had put into that business to help it grow and - sometimes - keep it stable; I don't think it's too much to expect a thank you and good luck! There are very few people who were as personally invested in Venn as I was and the fact that I risked my relationship at times, makes it all the more bitter for me. Following that, this could be hearsay but he was heard saying in the open plan office that he wanted my reference request, which was interpreted as malicious. Either way, it leaves me feeling very dissatisfied with my time there as I'd hoped it would not end that way!
