Pros
Some nice people Good pension scheme Bonus scheme Can give a relative newbie good experience (if you use the company merely as a stepping stone) as it is a large organisation Travel opportunities (if you're senior enough) What the company actually does is very interesting 9am-5.30pm with only occasional times your work late so the worklife balance is good, IF you live near the offices which aren't really in London They are in Gunnersbury.
Cons
-Very beaurocratic in nature. No project ever begins with a strategic objective/clear brief and every project is delayed on average by 6-9 months. This is due to having to involve senior stake holders/partners of the company at all time-most of whom really do not know much but you have to involve them because it is a stroking ego exercise. All senior management/EXCO are totally out of touch with their staff and very arrogant. There are some general managers who are good but those who are smart run! -Nepotism is rife as is racism and sexism. But Nepotism is what will help you to progress in SOS. It's a french-owned company, so if you're french you'll get promoted, if you speak french you're next in line to get promoted, if you're a man and tick these boxes, you're likely to get promoted. Worse is that the interns are always french diplomats kids never picked upon merit but rather because they are affiliated with the right people. Those that do get promoted within the company are very close to the founders e.g. current group sales and marketing director who is not good at his job, nor commands respect and liking from his team, however is one of the most well paid in the company as he is french and aligned with the partners. In presentations made to him, if you're not 'senior' enough he starts reading his phone during meetings and looking disinterested- something which would never happen in the big 4 or any professional company!Sexism is rife (only one woman on the EXCO board) and bad behaviour is encouraged so that more junior staff are badly managed and -HR, Marketing, Sales and Operations departments have a high turnover- the unhappiest seem to be in marketing and HR based on the number of recurring vacancies. This isn't promising, -No management of staff or work. Just a day to day reactive environment based on partners makign requests rather than a good strategy for projects, -Office is in the suburbs of chiswick with no transport help form the company and no shops, food places as infrastructure-there are no good places to eat (unless you want to spent 10 pounds a day on pub food). -Benefits package is substandard. Maternity policy is statutory minimum for the UK when its a company promoting health and wellbeing. Shows that they don;t take care fo their female employees. Not a good place for women. -Flexible working is frowned upon (women who do have babies end up comign back to work after 6 months) and company refuse to grow with times and encourage this policy like their competitors and many international organisations do. (especially with an office near heathrow, flexible workign should be introduced) -Holiday is 22 days a year- the minimum for the UK.
