Arbuthnot Latham talks a lot about culture, values and employee engagement, but the reality internally is very different. Senior leadership are deeply out of touch, untrustworthy and, in many cases, visibly incompetent. There is a clear disconnect between executives and the people actually doing the work, with decisions driven by ego, politics and preserving appearances rather than supporting staff or clients.
The bank runs annual staff surveys claiming to care about employee feedback, but nothing meaningful ever changes afterwards. Concerns are ignored, morale continues to deteriorate, and the whole exercise feels performative rather than genuine. It creates a culture where employees stop believing they will ever be listened to.
There also appears to be an active strategy of managing people out rather than developing or retaining talent. High turnover (despite their comments to the contrary on here) is normalised, good employees leave regularly, and leadership seem either unwilling or unable to recognise the underlying causes. Management frequently talk about loyalty and culture while simultaneously creating an environment driven by fear, distrust and micromanagement.
The culture itself feels extremely old-fashioned and resistant to change. Senior figures are disconnected from modern working practices, communication is poor, and teams are often overworked without proper support or direction. Many managers spend more time protecting themselves politically than actually leading their teams.
The only positive is that there are some genuinely decent colleagues trying their best despite the environment. Unfortunately, poor leadership and a toxic culture overshadow almost everything else.
I would strongly discourage anyone looking for a modern, supportive or well-led workplace from joining Arbuthnot Latham.
