Good Culture - Senior Research Associate Wilbury Stratton Employee Review

The office plants in Brighton are still alive, apparently. But WeWork is history. We did a good job of standing out in a difficult environment, working with companies globally and in Asia, especially India and Singapore in energy, commodities, and apparel. Salaries were competitive, and incentives OK.

Overpaid and underqualified Client Partners. After the UK Sales Director quit, leadership panicked. Enter Singapore-based Temu Marc Andreessen: no talent research experience, but a gold-plated referral parachuted in to fill the leadership void in Brighton. His first move? Shutting down all APAC operations in Malaysia and Singapore. Why? Because it suited him, several weak and costly hires hadn't worked out, and “retaining anyone wouldn’t be fair to those leaving.” Translation: easier to write off the entire team, rely on ChatGPT for client reports, and be unfair to everyone (equality is taken seriously), rather than do the hard work of a proper restructure or have an actual succession plan in place.

The people, a nice team on the whole.

Pure and utter chaos. The departure of a key individual sent shockwaves through the entire organisation, and everything fell apart in the aftermath. With no clear succession plan (comical when you look at what we do) or leadership structure in place, teams were left scrambling to pick up the pieces, resulting in disarray and confusion. The leadership vacuum became increasingly apparent as the CEO, rather than stepping in to stabilise the situation, remained largely absent—often preoccupied with personal matters rather than the urgent needs of the business. As a result, decision-making stalled, and employees found themselves without guidance or direction. Morale plummeted as uncertainty became the norm. Without strong leadership to reassure and guide them, employees have shifted into survival mode, making short-term decisions out of desperation rather than strategic thinking. Panic mode has been the default state for the past year, with no end in sight. The ripple effects of this instability are felt across all levels of the organisation, teams are siloed, communication has always been abysmal, and productivity has taken a hit. If the chaos persists, the business will continue to spiral.