Pros
* The peers you work with are so hardworking and well meaning. Everyone I directly worked alongside genuinely was friendly, wanted to do their best and look out for each other. * The office is pretty nice - not an immediate benefit during the pandemic, but good if you are able to work in the building. * Client brand recognition is pretty good, the most notable/popular brand possibly being HMV as a client. * I've found no issues with company remuneration or benefits. * If you enjoy working at a very fast pace and being a "workaholic" (always on the go and always being available day or night) then this company will fit with your workstyle. * For all the cons I mention below, the senior management have just started to use a contracted HR company to review all issues found within the company.
Cons
* While your peers are enjoyable to work with, I'm afraid to say the senior management are not. Ridgeway is a very small company so the SMT will be involved in your day to day work more than you would think, to the point of telling you exactly what to do and when. There seems to be a level of distrust with the SMT meaning you will not be able to work under your own autonomy, and your work will be tracked rigorously. * It is a very process driven company. This can certainly help in some regards - such as to try and streamline project work as much as possible - but in reality it just seems to cause bureaucracy and delays, especially due to a lack of internal communication. You will also not be able to suggest improvements to the processes, the senior management will not accept suggestions - if you do not agree with the company's way or working, you will not be a good fit. * There is an extremely high employee turnover, which I've seen in two key areas. Firstly, a large proportion of new hires do not complete their probation, some may be for perfectly legitimate reasons but many are also because they cannot or will not fit into the workflow as described above. The second are project managers, who seem to eventually give up due to high stress and/or burnout. * With the combination of lack of trust, collaboration, and autonomy plus working to extremely tight budgets/deadlines, it is a stressful environment to work in. Some people may thrive on that but for others there is an unnecessary level of pressure which does not need to be. * You will be expected to work beyond your contracted hours on a regular basis. This expectation seems to come from the top down, with the senior management constantly (happily) referring to the fact they work all hours including weekends and during sickness. This unhealthy expectation filters down to all employee levels, causing more stress. This behaviour is also unfortunately rewarded - the people who are visibly working into the evenings/weekends are the ones most praised for their "dedication".
