Pros
Great staff regression! Rewarding hard work and good attitude. They throw parties, send you away for fancy "Thank-you!" breakfast meetings with other hard working people. Lots of in-house training, some people moan about the amount of e-learning Virgin Active give you, but it's all to improve your skills and keep you safe as an employee, I loved it! Usually great communication; Team and Club meetings are a common occurrence, everyone is kept well informed of what's going on, and they're always welcome to ask questions. No matter your position in the Club you're always able to walk in and talk to the boss if you need help. Regional Directors do their job superbly, every time I've met mine (and another few at meetings) they always manage to balance getting their job done, and getting around to interact with all the staff to get a genuine understanding of what's going on on the 'front lines'. I was always comfortable expressing a dissatisfaction to my Regional Manager without fear of getting myself into trouble, he wanted honesty and always thanked me for it.
Cons
Without a great General Manager, Blubs are very prone to "Us vs. Them", Cleaners, Receptionists, Personal Trainers, External Instructors etc. There are lots of departments to keep in line and it's hard. As much as Virgin are all about "Love!" understandably they're ultimately a business, and when the guys at the top say "We need to make more money." The guys at the bottom feel the cuts extra deep, because all the rest of the time, it's such a lovely place to be. It's almost like you forget you're in a place of budgets and targets. Change takes a long time, as it's such a big company and they strive for consistency between all clubs. Double edged sword I guess.