Operational Gaps and a Lack of Duty of Care Behind a Global Facade
Pros
The creative and operational teams are talented, hardworking, and great to collaborate with. The company works on interesting projects with significant potential, particularly within the Novaverse arm of the business, which is run as a separate company for a "reason".
Cons
I recommend that any prospective candidate thoroughly review the existing negative feedback on this platform. While I only read these reviews retrospectively, I can confirm that the critiques shared by other former employees are highly accurate and align entirely with my own first-hand experience. The issues regarding leadership and culture are not isolated incidents but systemic realities. Leadership & Governance: The company operates with an "old-school" mindset that lacks modern professional governance. Management often displays a resistance to change and a lack of trust in senior hires. For instance, expert recommendations, such as implementing a CRM, were only accepted after management found out what the competition was using and low and behold, the competition was using my suggested CRM. Operational Instability: Internal architecture is disorganised. Despite negotiating a 30% discount for a full-team CRM rollout to fix disparate data issues and professional workflows, management arbitrarily limited the licenses to only three users, effectively neutralising the tool's effectiveness. Finances appear to be managed month-to-month with a notable lack of CapEx investment. Inconsistent Pricing Strategy: There is no standardised pricing structure. While projects are bespoke, the pricing logic feels arbitrary. I discovered multiple rate cards with wildly varying figures at times, which undermines commercial credibility and makes sustainable scaling nearly impossible. "Smoke and Mirrors" Global Presence: Despite the "global" branding, many international locations function as satellite offices or rely on contractors rather than full-time employees. There is a lot of "window dressing" regarding the company's actual footprint, amongst other things. Sales vs. Delivery: A disconnect between sales promises and actual capacity creates immense pressure on staff. This often leads to quality concerns and a "churn and burn" client model with very little repeat business after conducting a client Pareto analysis. The internal atmosphere is such that multiple team members have expressed, verbatim, that they "feel trapped" due to the unsustainable workload and management style. Culture & Duty of Care: Management style is heavily dictated by personal preferences rather than professional standards. During a 10-day business trip to the Middle East, I was criticised for checking a suitcase instead of using a carry-on. When a tight connection resulted in me being separated from the CEO, I was left stranded in a foreign airport for seven hours while he proceeded to the destination. Shockingly, management initially insisted I personally pay for the rebooked connection, citing my choice of luggage as the cause. This demonstrated a significant lack of duty of care and professional support. Compliance & Commercial Awareness: During my tenure, there were serious internal reports regarding unpaid employee pensions, which is a significant legal concern. Furthermore, leadership demonstrated a lack of commercial maturity regarding "outside interests." I was pressured over a policy regarding directorships of a personal property holding company. Management failed to understand that being a director/shareholder of a company that manages personal residential assets (housing tenants) posed zero conflict of interest. This lack of nuance made professional alignment impossible.
