Doesn't see the worth of its employees - Marketing Houseful Employee Review

1.0
28 Apr 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Overall the business has a genuine opportunity to disrupt the market, I believe in the overarching direction of the business and really enjoyed what we were trying to achieve there for our clients. There were some very passionate and talented people there that shared the vision and wanted to build something better.

Cons

There has been a very clear campaign by senior staff members to dispose of staff that existed prior to the acquisition through undermining employees' knowledge, experience and credentials. Rather than nurture and educate existing employees, the leadership made it very clear they wanted them gone, in any way possible. Many faced varying forms of bullying, discrimination and unprofessional 360 reviews that read more as character assassinations than constructive feedback. As such, many with real talent have left, either of their own accord because they realised they deserved better from an employer, or because they were shown the door. There was never really any career progression or recognition for good work. All businesses inherently should have values that employees live and breathe by, but when Zoopla unveiled the new ones it became very apparent that they could be twisted by management as they saw fit to get rid of people that didn't fit the corporate mould. Employees with knowledge, passion for the business and who were able to deliver great results (Even in periods of difficult transition) were swapped out for those able to 'talk the talk', without having little substance to what they say. Those who might be nice to your face would happily step over you if it enabled them to further their own career. Zoopla was once a business that championed people who were able to bring something different to the table, but it is now just an echo chamber for those speaking the same pointless marketing language, void of any real meaning or depth. Management in the business is now style over substance - those outside of the inner clique of department heads can see that the style isn't all that great either. Gone are the days when entrepreneurialism within teams was actively encouraged - this is now replaced with endless strategy planning that kills good ideas before they can even come to fruition. If you want to be disruptive and innovative you need to support those who can look at things differently. When it came to supporting mental health, the HR team did a great job in promoting initiatives across the business, but this was not reflected in management who consistently lacked empathy, emotion and humanity. If you want to join a business where you want to be treated like school children and have to stay in your lane, then Zoopla could be for you. But if you want to be valued as an individual, you should look elsewhere.

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Houseful Response
6y
We’re pleased that you saw some positives about the direction the company is taking and in some of your colleagues. That said it’s a shame you have so many bad memories of your time here. I hope you raised the negative experiences you highlighted with your line manager or the HR team as this is far from the experience we want people to have at Zoopla and such feedback is always useful to ensure we are keeping on the right track. Your former team’s recent Peakon scores showed strong results for engagement, opportunities to grow and the ability of the management team to communicate well with employees, so it's disappointing that your experience with the company didn’t match that. We hope in your new role you have found a workplace more suited to you and wish you every success for the future.

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