Brightwater Reviews
Updated 12 Feb 2020
Recommend to a Friend
Approve of CEO
Barbara McGrath
10 Ratings
Pros
"Hard work and professionalism is rewarded" (in 11 reviews)
"Commission structure is competitive and they are paid before client pays (strong accounts" (in 6 reviews)
Cons
"Long hours at times, but what company doesn't these days, and its the nature of the game" (in 7 reviews)
"Like in all recruitment companies there was a high turnover of staff from new people into the industry" (in 6 reviews)
"Excellent Brand and lucrative work if you can handle it"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at Brightwater full-time for more than a year
Pros
Ethical practices all round both internally and with clients and candidates, Clear and competitive commission structure, large portion of roles called in, excellent brand name on market when doing BD, Extremely competent workforce from back office to board level, understanding and helpful when struggling to make target as long as you are meeting your weekly KPIs. Almost zero expectation to take work home which is rare in recruitment. Personally I liked the formal dress code and felt it helped foster the sense of class synonymous with the brand.
Cons
A lot is expected of you activity wise and in terms of upholding brand name, and you need to be very tough to succeed and stay calm under these expectations. That is as much of a con as you want it to be, for the people who can handle it it means they excel but for those who can't it is a struggle and at times this was hard to watch.
Continue readingBrightwater2019-12-11"Challenging but financially rewarding"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at Brightwater full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Some really bright, funny and sound colleagues who are excellent at their respective jobs. Transparent and competitive commision scheme. Very recognizable company brand/name. Excellent marketing and administrative support team who are always available to assist and offer their advice. Always good support available from those at Director level. Ethical recruitment practices.
Cons
Some non people managers in managerial roles. Some are good recruitment consultants but not suited to management positions, however I am aware this is being addressed with creation of new senior, non managerial positions this year.
Brightwater2020-02-12Thank you for your kind words. We’re very proud of our team, both consultants and our support staff who work incredibly hard to adhere to our core values of diligence and integrity so it’s good to hear that their efforts are recognised and it’s also nice to hear that you believe (as we do) that we’re very focused on ethical practices. We’re also determined to keep our commission scheme transparent to all our staff as well as being highly competitive in the market place. We do realise that the very nature of recruitment means that all of our consultants are very driven and a result absolutely thriving in recruitment. However, like you say, that doesn’t always mean that people are necessarily suited to management positions and prefer instead to concentrate their efforts on making their divisions incredibly successful. We’ve listened to our people and brought in some changes. By creating the senior non managerial roles, we believe that this will result in happier and more successful teams all round. Change doesn’t happen overnight but we promise to always listen to our staff and act where and when necessary. Thank you again for taking the time to review and I sincerely wish you all the best for the future – Barbara McGrath, MD.
Continue reading"Scientology Cult Environment"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookI worked at Brightwater full-time for more than a year
Pros
None Terrible place to work where staff mental health suffer
Cons
Culture like Scientology where bullying and harassment are encouraged by top management.They micro manage to extreme levels where your mental health suffers.Horrible environment were people are named and shamed.No support and exceptions are ridiculous. Directors are like cult leaders to the company and want to squash any criticism or feedback. There way or high way.
Continue readingBrightwater2020-02-10Brightwater Response
February 18, 2020 – Managing Director
Thank you for taking the time to review. It is a pity you did not come and talk to me about these issues while you were here. We can only act if we're informed in time rather than after the fact. Our doors are always open and if you would like to talk to me now, please call. I'd be happy to have a confidential conversation with you. We wish you the best in your future. - Barbara McGrath, MD.
Continue reading"Labour camp"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Brightwater full-time for more than a year
Pros
-good location -good base salary and commission structure -free breakfast -well established brand
Cons
-horrific, suffocating, cult-like environment -insane levels of micromanagement -abrupt and rude behavior displayed by senior management -no opportunities to grow -the atmosphere of pressure and fear -unrealistic targets and KPIs (everything monitored) -Friday morning stats meetings to blame and shame -no concern over staff mental and physical well-being
Continue readingBrightwater2020-02-04Brightwater Response
February 7, 2020 – Managing Director
I’m sorry you feel your time here at Brightwater has not been a success. As a company we will always strive to improve our working environment, like everyone we have areas that we need to improve and we will take your feedback on board – our only regret is that you did not voice these concerns while you were part of our organisation. Our ambition is to create an open and collaborative workplace, where sales targets are jointly set to encourage individual ownership across the business. We are developing and refining training programmes for all our staff, providing them with the best technology and tools to help them to succeed. Our mandate is to offer the best in class service to our candidates & clients, we do expect very high standards of work from our consultants. That said, we have to acknowledge that our ambitious plans, high expectations and energised team environment will not suit everyone’s way of working. I of course wish you the best in your future - Barbara McGrath, MD
Continue reading- Helpful (2)
"Really rewarding place to work"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Brightwater full-time for more than a year
Pros
Brightwater is one of the best places I have worked, they have excellent consultants / managers and directors, who you can learn a huge amount from. They also have some of the best technology in the industry, allowing consultants to spend less time trawling through searches and more time out meeting candidates and clients.
Cons
As it is like running your own business it can be hard to switch off.
Continue readingBrightwater2019-12-09Brightwater Response
February 3, 2020 – Managing Director
Thank you for your really kind comments, we're delighted you're along with us for the journey and we can't wait to see what we can achieve in 2020 with passionate, enthusiastic and hard-working team members like you. Kind Regards. Barbara
Continue reading "Commercial Director"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Brightwater full-time
Pros
Brand Awareness & The Management Team.
Cons
Attracting experienced recruiters to the company to support 2020 expansion plans.
Continue readingBrightwater2019-11-14"Awful place to work"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Brightwater full-time
Pros
A select few people were lovely to work with
Cons
Horrible management who pretend to care about staff but just micro-manage and give you a lot of pointless tasks to do just to give the appearance of good management. No room to be promoted but you're expected to bend over backwards. Very old fashioned policy on dress code, even for a professional services body. A lot of unprofessional behaviour from senior members of staff to anyone beneath them. Absolutely no incentives like pension, healthcare etc. The highest turnover rate you can imagine. About 2 staff members a month on average leave. They pack way too many people into the office, you have no space to breathe. There are also meetings about meetings about meetings that are a waste of time!
Continue readingBrightwater2019-12-04Brightwater Response
December 9, 2019 – Managing Director
I am very sorry that you didn’t come to me at the time if you felt like you do – as would have been made clear at your induction we have an open door approach as a Management Team and would have been able to have an open and honest dialogue about your concerns had you brought them up during your brief tenure. Professionalism is at the heart of everything we do - regardless of the vertical you work in with BW our dress code is suited and booted which is made clear from the outset. If your previous career was less formal, that may have been a reason to find fault. We are also strong supporters of autonomy for our people and would be happy to let our consultants work independently yet still adhere to our corporate professional standards. It’s only when people consistently fall below these standards that we would step in to help, providing guidance and support meetings with the relevant Manager/Director As a company, we do have quite a broad range of incentives and benefits, many of which are available immediately and others that are available depending on seniority and tenure so a stint of three to four months would not be sufficient. As a company, we prefer to reward loyalty and hard work. The majority of our staff have been here more than five years (senior management at least 14) as our leavers/ intake this year is minimal. That said, recruitment is not for everyone. I wish you the best in your future career. Regards, Barbara
Continue reading- Helpful (2)
"Best Company I have ever joined"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Brightwater full-time for less than a year
Pros
Great support from Senior Management, Admin and the entire BW collective Very friendly and professional environment Social events are fantastic Learning and Development Opportunities
Cons
I do not have any cons to mention
Continue readingBrightwater2019-06-21 - Helpful (1)
"Great"
StarStarStarStarStarI have been working at Brightwater full-time
Pros
Really enjoyed my time here.
Cons
Nothing applicable that I can think of.
Brightwater2019-06-12 - Helpful (1)
"Consultant"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at Brightwater full-time
Pros
If you work hard it will pay off
Cons
nothing to complain about really
Brightwater2019-05-13
Join the Brightwater team
Choose a different language and keep reading other reviews.
Other
- English
- French
- German
- Dutch
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Italian
Found 82 reviews
Brightwater Response
February 18, 2020 – Managing Director