VALD Career Development FAQ

Pros

The culture at VALD is all about making work a place you want to be. As someone who has worked at many places, I know that this goal is pretty hard to achieve, but it works here. Shared meals and company toys (the ping pong table is very popular) are a start, but it's the time and resources spent in sharing the vision of the company that makes you feel part of it all. I feel very motivated at work because I understand how my contribution is making a difference. From a technical career growth perspective, VALD is keen to do what is required to make our products and systems better. I am constantly encouraged to investigate new technologies and methodologies, and I never feel rushed to release something before it is ready...I've switched my focus on a technical level since arriving, and have enjoyed the challenge immensely. To get the most out of VALD, you do need to buy into the culture. Maybe it's not the place for everyone...but if you want and are keen to work hard, in an environment that rewards initiative and teamwork, then it's a great place to be.

Cons

The food is good, it's hard not to eat too much ;)

Pros

VALD is a global leader in musculoskeletal measurement technology. Working at VALD is a rare opportunity to work in a company that has such strong ambitions to change the market. It is definitely a place to work if you want to be a part of a business that is successfully navigating the path from startup to scale up. You will be exposed to a variety of work and given the opportunity to challenge yourself. In my experience the team are all very friendly and look out for one another. The founders of the company are approachable and generous in sharing stories about the growth of the business. The team regularly hang out together outside work hours. There was a cooking competition recently, and there is a run club, a soccer team in the local comp and even a sneaky whiskey appreciation club. VALD also has great perks - including food prepared by experienced and talented chefs, a barista that is a wizard with the coffee machine, company subsidised remedial massage and physio services (run out of VALD's R&D clinic), fully kitted out gym, and amazing company parties and team functions.

Cons

If you are looking for a corporate job where you clock in and clock out, then VALD is not for you. VALD is at a significant stage of growth and facing new challenges. That means that there will be times when there will not be handrails to guide you. However, my experience is that the team will be there to support you.

Advice to Management

Try to keep the culture for as long as you can, because as the company grows it will be hard to replicate everywhere. However, the opportunities provided to the employees in the current set up is one of its biggest draw cards.

Pros

Cheap food (hardly a pro).

Cons

Racism, Sexism, Bullying, Harassment (from the top down, especially from directors). Manipulative management. Employees have been fired on the spot for defending themselves. Extremely high employee turnover. The majority of employees leave the company on bad terms. VALD is a household name at the Fair Work Ombudsman. Easily in the top 10 most toxic workplaces in Australia. Extreme micro management. No training. No professionalism. Late nights and weekends are demanded (unpaid).

Advice to Management

Step down. Let the board appoint some directors with the appropriate management expertise to make VALD a place employees enjoy turning up to work. Unfortunately, no amount of professional training can equip this management with the necessary interpersonal skills they need to actually belong in their positions. Once shareholders become aware of the depressing levels of morale among staff, the ship will sink fast. A saying the CEO (Laurie Malone) loves to use is "Don't be ruled by fear". In reality, ruling by fear is the only way he has gripped to power for so long. Employees are scared from threats of being fired every day. Far too scared to stand up for themselves, let alone the surrounding others. DO NOT WORK HERE!

Pros

- I worked with some great people who are very good at their jobs. There are wonderful people scattered across the company too. - Breakfast, lunch and coffee made each day by in-house chefs and a barista.

Cons

- Management is extremely temperamental. You're the cool cat until one day, you're not, and the shift in attitude from management when they decide they don't like you anymore is so obvious that it's comical. This is especially true in particular departments. - I had to very quickly learn how to play "the game". VALD's the place to be if you love internal politics. Just about every day there would be some kind of drama. - I should also mention the rampant sexism that starts at the top and trickles all the way down. Very much an Old Boys vibe to the place. No thanks. I watched a significant number of women leave VALD during the time I was there, often for reasons related to this. I also received numerous inappropriate comments from various members of management, especially the CEO. There's no one to complain to because the "HR department" is actually just a hiring manager. - They say that they have a culture of not counting hours. This is just a roundabout way of saying that you're often going to be working overtime for no extra remuneration. To compound this, you won't even be acknowledged for the extra work you do. It's just expected. And it doesn't work both ways - if you leave even a minute before 5pm for whatever reason, you have eyes watching your back all the way out the door, and you'll hear about it the next day. - Micromanagement is a serious issue at VALD. You're treated like a child in how you organise, manage and complete any given task. This attitude towards employees ties into my previous point about being watched until 5pm - there's just no autonomy. Every week you need to fill out a very detailed report on all the tasks you have done/are doing/are planning to do. If you haven't included every minute detail you'll be pulled up on it when the CEO goes through it on the weekend. It's seriously overkill and a massive waste of time. We were even advised to block out upwards of an hour each Friday to complete the report to the level of detail requested by the CEO. The irony of course being that this in itself then becomes a task worthy of being put into the report - I never did this because I'm not sure the humour would have been appreciated. - Following on from this, things always inexplicably change at the last minute. You can spend weeks on a project, go through all the correct approval procedures, have everything signed off by the right people, and then have the final product entirely scrapped on a whim. It's incredibly disheartening when this happens, for obvious reasons, and especially because you did everything right. - There are no career progression opportunities, at least where I was, but I suspect this is mostly true across the company. This was ultimately the final straw for me, so I'll elaborate: I frequently asked to pick up more responsibilities in the direction I wanted to progress my career, and was always blocked by management. I don't believe this was due to poor performance, as my head of department always had positive feedback for me. I believe it's because I was doing a number of things that were not really within my job description and management didn't want to have to find someone else to do them. Management often says that job titles don't matter - which is easy to say as a CEO, CSO, etc. I think they say this so that they can pile on random tasks and responsibilities that aren't in your job description and you can't really argue - because apparently your role doesn't mean anything. Conveniently, this is also a pretty effective way of blocking promotions. After having been prevented from picking up more responsibilities, I was basically doing tasks just to fill out my weekly report for the CEO. I did not feel valued at all outside my immediate team, I wasn't learning, and I certainly wasn't enjoying myself. So I quit.

Advice to Management

Honestly, most of the issues at VALD stem from the CEO's attitudes. VALD isn't a start-up anymore and he needs to stop treating it like one and expecting his employees to treat it like one. In saying that, there are other serious issues across the company, such as the sexism I mentioned, which need to be addressed. It's so disappointing to see these attitudes anywhere and anytime, but especially in Brisbane in 2022. It's a shame, because the technology they're creating makes a genuine difference. But people will keep moving through VALD like it's a sieve unless they shake up the culture ASAP.

Pros

A place where you feel welcome and valued! There are so many great things about working at Vald, to list some of them: - Great diversity. There are colleagues from different cultures, gender, background and age groups. - Highly skilled colleagues - Everyone is very approachable and keen to help. (I learn something new every day). - The management have monthly private meetings with you to provide and receive feedback. - Parties, team-building activities and awards throughout the year. (Including olympics where all overseas employees come to brisbane for a week of work and fun activities). -Career growth. (Since I have joined Vald, I have seen many people being promoted) - The company is open to learn new processes or approaches to improve outcomes and communication between teams. - International trip opportunities to visit clients. - Breakfast and lunch, every day a different meal, prepared by 2 in-house chefs - even if you have a special dietary, they adapt the menu of the day to suit you. - in-house barista. Extremely friendly and always know how you like your coffee. - In-house gym. You can use the facility for free (before work, during lunch break or after work). - In-house R&D/Physio clinic. Which you can access and test products and have real feedback in real time. - In-house masseuse twice a week for a very affordable price (or for free if you have private health insurance). - At Vald, you receive not one or two, but FIVE (!!!) different branded t-shirts and a choice of a hoodie or zipped jacket for free, which is great, so you don't need to worry about doing the washing many times during the week.

Cons

Parking is a bit tricky, as the company is growing and for being located in a very busy area, there are not many parkings available (for those who prefer to drive) - unless you are happy to use public transport (train station wak distance and bus stop a couple of steps away)

Advice to Management

Keep up with the great work you have done throughout the years. Being transparent and honest is always the best way to go. Unfortunately, not everyone can accept feedback.