There's something in those trees - Very confused Culture so pick your role carefully... - Director of Operations Starling Employee Review

1.0
24 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Genuinely care about customers, saw too many welfare betterment processes being implement at speed and scale for this not to be true. - Free drinks and food on Fridays etc - Good WFH equipment provision - Pay (but no bonus) - Office location and Office quality - Tremendous place to work if you are in Tech functions

Cons

- Toxicity is allowed to flourish in areas - The civil war between Tech and more traditional banking (Risk, SME, Fin Crime etc,) is more than tedious and incredible destructive. It can be seen all the way up to C-Suite. - Head of Function / senior leadership toxicity is very obvious and sadly in some areas there is a culture of fear driving results. - I saw ALL the cliques whilst working there toxic management, result driven pressure, management wanting more with less, management giving tasks and expecting late working. At the end I hated working there. - Confused culture is it big bank, is it tech, is it SaaS, is it PaaS? They have no idea...yet Basically if you think you are working for a Tech leading start up but you don't work directly in tech, you aren't - Starling is now modelling itself on big corporate banks. Don't believe me? Look at recent senior hires outside of Tech.

Explore other reviews about Starling

5.0
15 Jan 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amaizing people Good benefits Flexible working hours

Cons

There is nothin I can think of at the moment.

1.0
24 Apr 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It is a strong platform and the customer is clearly important to the business. There are also good, hard-working people across the team who care about doing a good job and stay professional despite the environment.

Cons

The problems in finance come from the very top. Too involved in day to day detail, do not give people enough room to do their jobs, and create an environment where people do not feel comfortable speaking openly, questioning decisions or raising concerns. The culture feels controlling and very low trust. Pressure is high, but support often feels very weak. Good and respected people have left, and that says a lot about the current environment. People who work hard and add value do not always feel properly supported. The day to day approach creates uncertainty and stress where it should create clarity and confidence. There is also a gap between what the top tier in finance says and what people actually experience. Talk about empowerment, wellbeing and positive culture does not match the reality. If those things matter, they need to show up in everyday behaviour. Too often, it feels like image over any substance. Overall, trust is very low, morale is poor, and open discussion does not feel encouraged despite employee survey feedback.

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