What is working from home like at Starling?

Outstanding place to accelerate your cv early. Employees are trusted with significant responsibility and ownership much sooner than at most traditional banks. I had opportunities to lead major initiatives, work directly with senior stakeholders, and make decisions that genuinely impacted customers and the business. The people are one of the company’s strongest assets. Colleagues are intelligent, supportive, and generally willing to help each other succeed. There are plenty of opportunities to learn across different banking domains. There is also great opportunities to change roles (I’ve seen operations and customer service move into Product management, Data Science and Engineering as well as other functions) Work-life balance is very very good for a fintech, and the culture encourages people to take ownership rather than wait for permission. There is also decent work from home (3 days in office) and great tech (MacBooks, mono repository, work from home tech etc).

Career progression can sometimes feel unclear, particularly for high performers looking to move quickly. There is weak performance review culture, this means there is no bonus (except for execs) and there is no clear route for getting promoted and progressed. Expectations for promotion could be more transparent, and compensation is not always competitive with other leading fintechs or high-growth technology companies. For example, Monzo and Revolut pay more for every single job (Engineering, Product, Data and Information Security) As the company has scaled, some processes and organisational structures have struggled to keep pace. Priorities can shift quickly, and experiences vary significantly between teams. There is strong politics in the business as well. It is an Engineering led business which means the senior most decision makers about the Product and sometimes company direction is Engineering. A good example is that the CTO, Head of Product and Heady of information security report to the CIO (Chief information officer) at Starling and the Head of Product at Engine was a Principal engineer (not even of the senior most engineer in business). Reviews are right to point out the instability between technology and other functions. Engineers are paid 20-30k more than anyone in Product, Data from graduate/junior levels and can get wider at higher levels. There is also a massive politics between Engine business and Starling business due to pay differences and Engine poaching talent as well as being given perks of a new office etc. This has resulted in efficient production building (they split the two codebases and then trying to share the codebases again which creates more headaches than solves). It is almost like a corporate crime to leave Starling Bank to go to Engine. Engine business is also just not growing fast. It is not profitable and the best people keep leaving. New management across the business is unable to unravel the culture mess that has happened over the years. Great if you are an Engineer who wants mid/above mid market pay and a job that lets you wfh and stick to 9-5 with no complaints. Any other functions you can find better pay elsewhere and if you are looking to grow your career fast this is a good brand to have on your cv 1-2 years then find somewhere else. I loved my time here, but got a massive pay bump that I was denied more than twice (even with stellar performer reviews) when I left and won’t look back - so worth the years I gave.

Collaborative Work Environment The team culture at Starling is supportive and inclusive, with a focus on collaboration across departments. There’s a strong sense of teamwork and shared goals, making it a positive place to work. Growth and Development Opportunities Starling offers ample opportunities for career progression. With mentorship programs and a focus on internal promotions, employees are encouraged to develop and advance their skills. Work-Life Balance The bank offers a flexible work environment, allowing for a healthy balance between work and personal life, especially with options for remote work and flexible hours. Innovative and Fast-Paced Being in the fintech industry, Starling is at the forefront of innovation, which makes the work exciting and dynamic. The pace keeps you engaged and constantly learning. Supportive Leadership The leadership team is approachable, and many managers encourage open communication. There’s a genuine effort to foster a positive work culture.

High Workload During Transitions Some teams may face periods of high workload, especially during transitions or when additional tasks are added to their responsibilities without clear timelines for duration. Lack of Cross-Team Support Occasionally, inter-team collaboration and support can be inconsistent, especially when teams face challenges or take on additional work. This can create feelings of imbalance. Frequent Changes in Processes With Starling being a fast-growing company, there are often shifts in processes, which can sometimes feel disorganised or unclear, leading to extra effort in adapting to changes. Limited Tracking and Accountability There is sometimes a lack of effective systems in place to track individual or team performance, which can make it harder to assess productivity and hold teams accountable. Communication Gaps While leadership is generally approachable, at times there can be gaps in communication, particularly when it comes to managing expectations or clarifying important updates across departments.

- Free tea/coffee and soft drinks in office - Can work from home for 2 weeks, then in 1 week - 2 paid Volunteer days a year (if they get organised) - Vitality healthcare - You meet some lovely people on your team - Pay rise opportunities used to be good, but this has been cut and criteria changed and made harder. Top bosses still get record bonuses though of course.

- Career progression is very difficult even if you bust your guts for them, its not what you know its who you know - Shift pattern has become unmanageable if you want a life too - People have been laid off and more responsibility has been put on customer service - People are off sick with stress and mental health due to the ongoing changes and constantly changing goal posts. This affects your ability to get a pay rise. - Nowhere near the bank and culture Anne Boden created, new CEO couldn't be anything further from her

remote and flexible working is available and comfortable office environment.

Salary is not competitive enough and the benefit is just normal.

Decent amount of ability to work from home at the moment, but that's rapidly coming to an end.

They do not care about you as an individual. They care way too much about punishing you for even the most minor of mistakes, with absolutely no guidance about what went wrong and how you could avoid making the same mistake in the future. They don't care about helping you improve. It's entirely punitive, but dressed up as 'trying to do the right thing'. You get a lot of that, trying to talk around their self serving agendas, attempting to dress them up as what's best for you.

- 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

- 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.

Flexible working eg Hybrid and WFH

Lack of opportunities to be promoted or be recognised.

Flexible Work from home Hybrid working

Poor career pathways, no career guidance or development opportunities

- Work from home - Pension

- Unrealistic KPI’s - Changes of policy and duties of job role with no warning or explanation - Unnecessary timing and measures of performance - No room to progress or move to other roles/hours - Sudden increase of in office days without consideration of child care, accessibility or circumstances

- Work from home - Good managers and you work with a lot of nice people - Good Pay

- Can be stressful at times - Training isn't in depth, so can feel lost when coming out of academy.