Is there anyone monitoring how the budget is used and the management works? - Anonymous employee WHSmith Employee Review

1.0
27 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Colleagues are friendly and helpful. Office location is good. Work life balance.

Cons

In this company, a top management could travel every month to Asia for meaningless meetings so many years which could be simply fulfilled by Teams meeting. Can anyone imagine how big the travel budget could be ? Wondered how big the budget should be used in this era or if this is just a selfish action? The serious bias view from the top management will also make offshore sourcing outside China never happen.

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WHSmith Response
1w
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for the many years you spent with the business. We're pleased to hear that you valued your colleagues, our office location, and the work-life balance you experienced during your time with us. Creating a supportive working environment is important to us, and it's encouraging to know these aspects had a positive impact on your experience. We also appreciate your candid comments regarding management, communication, and the allocation of resources. We recognise the importance of ensuring that business decisions, including travel, staffing, and sourcing strategies, are regularly reviewed to support both our colleagues and the long-term success of the business. Feedback from current and former employees plays an important role in helping us identify opportunities for improvement. We are committed to fostering open communication and ensuring colleagues have channels through which they can share ideas, concerns, and feedback. Thank you again for taking the time to provide your perspective, and we wish you every success in the future.

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5.0
30 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Management and communication skills and training

Cons

Hours no set schedule last minute changes

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WHSmith Response
1y
Thank you for your review. We are glad to hear that you enjoy working for your manager and that they are effective in communicating and issuing training. As for your comments around hours, we always try to make sure that these are scheduled in plenty of time for our employees. If you have any feedback around your rota we'd love for you to feedback to us and reach out.
1.0
7 Mar 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Chance to develop prioritization, problem-solving, and “get it done” execution skills. Some team members are hardworking and collaborative, and have experience working with multiple departments and external partners. Note for Candidates Interviewing. Ask detailed questions about role scope, workload expectations, resourcing, and how priorities are set and changed. Pay attention to how communication and feedback are handled, red flags tend to surface early.

Cons

The company is going through changes, but day-to-day support and resourcing have not kept pace. Expectations are very high, while goals and priorities are often unclear or shift frequently. The role may require covering multiple functions, such as project management, people management, and vendor coordination, without the structure or support needed to succeed. Work-life balance is a significant challenge, the workload regularly extends beyond a normal workday, making it difficult to recover and sustain performance over time. There are frequent fire drills that could be reduced with clearer planning and realistic capacity management. When issues arise, feedback can sometimes be delivered publicly, discouraging open communication and making it harder for teams to raise risks early. Professional standards can be inconsistent, and unprofessional team behaviors may be normalized, which is not acceptable in a respectful workplace.

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WHSmith Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback following your experience with WHSmith. We’re sorry to hear that your experience did not consistently meet your expectations, particularly around workload, clarity of priorities, and support. As an organisation undergoing ongoing change, we recognise how important it is that teams feel well - resourced, clear on expectations, and supported in their day-to-day work. Feedback like yours helps highlight where we need to improve. We take your comments on planning, role clarity, and workload management seriously. Ensuring priorities are clearly communicated and aligned with realistic capacity is a key focus area, and we continue to work on strengthening how we plan, resource, and support delivery across teams. We also appreciate your observations regarding communication and feedback culture. Creating an environment where concerns can be raised openly, constructively, and without hesitation is essential, and we are committed to reinforcing respectful and consistent management practices across the business. On the positives you highlighted, such as the opportunity to develop problem - solving skills and the dedication of colleagues, we’re pleased that aspects of teamwork and exposure to varied responsibilities were valuable during your time here. We genuinely appreciate your perspective and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
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