An adult business run by inexperienced children - Anonymous employee DS Smith Employee Review

1.0
Oct 26, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Autonomy, but mainly because others have no idea what to do so are happy for you to take something off their plate. Some great hard working people, unfortunately this is normally knocked out of them very quickly or they burn out from the majority that are not or they leave pretty quickly. Some areas want to change, but lack the support and resource to do it.

Cons

Terrible views from senior management of their employees and engagement. Lack of even basic HR principles across the board. Lack of pace, strategy and vision to move the business forward. - getting as big as possible as fast as possible is not a sustainable visionary strategy. The business is really an umbrella company with 300 businesses operating independently under it. Lack of discipline and reprimand for under performers or coasters. Good work is generally looked over because management has a different opinion, even when they only have rhetoric to support it. Terrible culture, people are even banned from entering the head office. Engagement survey results are the worst I have ever seen in any business.

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5.0
Feb 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Pay hours and the people and managers lots of overtime

Cons

Short staffed lots of call outs

4.0
Jan 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Team was knowledgeable, patient, and transparent to work with,

Cons

Large leadership group spread thin over large territories.

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