Toxic! - Advisor Activate Learning Employee Review

Great place to work, great benefits

None I can think of.

- Strong benefits package, including a healthcare cash plan - Generous annual leave that increases with length of service - Salaries have improved since the current CEO joined - Many passionate, committed colleagues across the organisation - A very positive place to work if you’re in the right department - Opportunities to gain qualifications and develop (department-dependent) - Excellent staff events and improving enrichment activities - CEO appears genuinely invested in staff wellbeing

- Staff experience varies significantly between departments - Limited progression routes in some areas - Poor behaviour by some staff and managers is tolerated or protected - Pay increments frozen for two years following promotion - Heavy and uneven workloads with little flexibility or redistribution - Flexible and hybrid working policies are inconsistent and manager-dependent - Admin staff frequently face unreasonable demands from faculty - Escalatory and political behaviour (e.g. CC’ing managers) instead of constructive dialogue - Feedback is sometimes escalated rather than addressed directly - Favouritism affects workload, progression, and promotion opportunities - Serious concerns about management: in one department, a manager is in a relationship with someone he directly managed. The manager also influenced friendships and working relationships in ways that created tension within the team. - Resistance to new ideas unless they originate from management - Lower-paid staff often demonstrate higher competency than higher-paid roles - Pay disparities across admin roles are not aligned with workload or responsibility - Staff awards frequently overlook non-teaching and frontline staff - Ongoing budget cuts mean vacancies are not backfilled, increasing pressure on remaining staff - Limited investment in facilities, systems, and frontline teams - Too many senior leadership roles compared to investment at ground level - There have been some concerns around governance, particularly with staff representatives serving beyond their intended term. It can sometimes create confusion around accountability and decision-making.