Terrible Culture - Anonymous employee Bared Footwear Employee Review

Staff discount big perk, award rate pay, good sustainability initiatives, big focus on making customers happy with freedoms to do so. KPI's play a minimised role & not constantly monitored and micro-managed.

Toxic & Clique-y Culture: The shop floor sales team has a noticeable toxic and judgmental atmosphere. Inclusion isn't based on your work ethic or performance, but rather your ability to "play the social game" and endure a highly superficial environment. Passive-Aggressive Dynamics: Everyone (Staff and management) frequently engage in two-faced behaviour, performing friendliness and helpfulness in front of others & in front of customers while being dismissive, ignoring, avoiding, and gossiping in cliques and behind backs. Hyper-Critical Atmosphere: There is more attention on personal presentation and rigid, unwritten social cues. Asking for help the wrong 'way' from the wrong person, or volunteering personal information to connect with a 'more senior sales assistant' is punished with condescension. Roster Discrepancies: Promised ample hours during the interview process, but actual roster allocations were significantly lower.

Seems like a great workplace at the start!

The company promotes itself as highly supportive and people-focused, however my experience did not reflect this culture or the core values presented online. Training felt inconsistent and lacked structure. I was hired alongside another employee and observed a noticeable difference in the level of support and training provided, while my own training was limited mainly to emails and only a small number of trainers. Feedback was often contradictory, with one trainer praising work that another would later criticise, making expectations unclear and the learning process confusing. I was never formally spoken to about my progress or given an opportunity to address any concerns regarding my performance. Instead, I often felt expected to simply “learn as I go” after being placed into the retail environment with minimal guidance. Despite this, I was later told I was not progressing adequately, whilst being terminated. The experience ultimately ended with a phone call on my day off informing me that I was “not a good fit” and that my employment was being terminated, which felt impersonal and unprofessional.