Penna Reviews

3.5

63% would recommend to a friend

(156 total reviews)

Julie Towers

73% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

Penna has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 156 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Penna employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

156 reviews
1.0
8 Apr 2018

Where careers go to die - WORST place I have ever worked

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

*Flexibility (depending on department) - * The creative department is the only department that has any semblance of talent and strong work ethic.

Cons

*Negative atmosphere *Management plays by own rules - too much management "works from home " - when clearly not working from home as work piles up for junior staff or blamed for missed deadlines. Other roles are afforded the same flexibility. Was never picked up or resolved by the Directors * Lots of EGO - slows down workplace, lots of nitpicking and personal playground-type issues staff not focusing on own job roles. Gossiping and lots of personal relationships crossing over into the office *Feels like 3 different businesses. I worked in a position to see all three areas and get to know lots of the staff in each department. *Interim by far the worst - lots of ego, lazy workers, like to talk down to others but don't want to put in any effort, Half of them can't operate PowerPoint presentations yet want to tell you how to do your job what actually requires skills and creativity and knowledge of tech and current applications. They belong in an 80s Council department. *The other half of the room where Digital, Creative etc sit, feels more like agency, but still has issues of non-communication, no collaboration. Again management don't fulfil their jobs effectively. Less ego - but can be incredibly slow with decision making. Projects sit on the desk for months with no movement and gets incredibly boring. * Downstairs - Aldi - The Aldi team are treated like a call centre. That is the only way to describe the atmosphere - jobs are contracted so no job security. They seem the most unhappy. * Lots of talk about WE ARE FAMILY - literally everyone talks badly behind each others backs. I have never heard anything positive come out of anyone's mouth whilst there. *Directors especially Julie have head in the clouds. As much as they are visible and approachable anything brought up with them was always shrugged off. They need to be more strict with the head managers and middle managers as new talent will not stick around for long - especially with the rise of agencies who offer better pay and better treatment of staff. *Low pay for lucrative industry

1.0
23 Sept 2016

Dreadful Place to Work

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you are one of the favourites' you can stay there a long time.

Cons

Poor management - autocratic - topdown. No real Leadership - top management should have been replaced a long time ago. No real resources for support. Lack of vision, and they do not have structures in place for developing ALL staff. Old-fashioned and out of date organisation whose management style is more akin to a company run in the 1970s.

2.0
7 Oct 2017

Legacy destroyed. Now cheap and low end.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You do have some autonomy depending on who your manager is. Relaxed and creative. Unlike Penna LHH we are still able to work from home since the acquisition (unbelievable that a company that sells 'people products' would be so backwards!). Tea/coffee/drinks free. Friday drinks and pizza. Some truly awesome genuine people still surviving here. Innovative and a really good media/creative team. Loads to learn about recruitment. Client focused.

Cons

Well where do we start? The old CEO (Gary Browning), built this business with great values and recognised that you have to treat your staff right (permanent and contractors/freelancers) in order to succeed. Since he sold up, the sitting MD has done her best to keep the business going, and financially - it's in great shape, but it's now a hard and cold place to work. Bullying and poor behaviour is not dealt with - it actually has just been promoted to head of a whole team/dept! Everyone is maxed out and under-resourced. We are delivering massive innovative projects at personal cost. Departments don't talk to each other, they hugely complete. There's no one to take these issues to as senior management don't care as long as the cash keeps coming in, and they're a bit too cosy anyway. We are reliant on associates to deliver but even they are now being treated like cattle - so many have stopped giving availability. They get intimidated to do more than they get paid for, and if they don't, the answer they get is "we expect a high level of professionalism from you". Penna LHH has at least one resignation a month. Penna will go that way too.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 156 Reviews

Glassdoor has 175 Penna reviews submitted anonymously by Penna employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Penna is right for you.