When I joined Homeserve I immediately sensed a warm working atmosphere with people leading in the right way. There were targets to meet like any organization has but now the workload has become nothing short of outrageous. I am no longer rewarded for the extra effort I give having had my bonus taken away from me permanently. However, I am expected to run assessment centres without being awarded overtime or time off in lieu. There is an overwhelming sense of victimization here with popular, timeserved and professional people not being given essential support. If you happen to be away from work due to long term sickness, the return to work is regarded as something to be looked down upon. The answer to this? Recruit and employ more robust staff. In an age of technology, the various processes aren't built into the IT systems and there is a heavy reliance on spreadsheets. Despite experience and talent, there is a trend from senior management to treat team managers and advisers as inept, unqualified and almost like this is the first job since coming out of school. Core people values have taken a back seat and Preston has definitely become a unit without any care - probably because there is no courage. It is impossible to submit good ideas to a point of contact as these will be dismissed - an inept system of review stops the implementation of some good ideas that would help both advisers and customers. Scheduling rotas has become dire with many rotas being rehashed at short notice. There is no work/life balance anymore
