Pros
Comradery amongst colleagues is a relief at times (knowing you're all going through this together). The Leicester Office is modern, open plan, and in walking distance to Fosse Park. Clients are lovely. Admins, Coordinators and Execs are all incredible and go above and beyond at every opportunity (despite being paid extremely poorly!), it's just management and SLT that let the company down.
Cons
Summary: bullying is rife, pay is abysmal, SLT are toxic, people are leaving in droves. You will be overworked and underpaid as long as you work here, and you won't be supported with Mental or Physical Health needs. DO NOT APPLY HERE! Reading the other most recent reviews by my ex-colleagues (whether they're still working there or not), I completely agree with what has been said about lacking moral compasses and the evident toxic environment everybody has been forced to work under for the last few years, especially the last two. Even after dedicating so many years of my life to Mercia now, none of my efforts and sacrifices have ever been noticed. You are regularly encouraged to burn the candle at both ends, and working all day and night AND weekends is a regular expectation. In the last year alone, I've seen 11 colleagues leave the business - all of varying ranks, and 9 of which with no job to go to afterwards. People would rather plunge themselves and their families into the unknown and potentially into debt, than stay a minute longer working for the energy-sucking and immoral senior management team that currently 'run' the company (I say 'run', because everybody else does the leg work, they just take the credit and the bonuses) Considering one of the company values is 'Integrity', none of management have a single shred of integrity in their body. Previous other reviews state "leave your morals at the door", and they couldn't be more true - I just don't believe any of them have any morals to begin with, so nothing for them to leave behind! You will be asked by certain managers to spy on teams, so the second they discuss anything non-work related, such as any 'gossip' people have about the company (mainly discussing reviews like this and how relatable comments are!), the information can be reported back to them so they can haul you over the coals for it. Furthermore: you are regularly advised not to speak to your colleagues about anything that isn't work related. If you are found out to be having conversations about something else, you're pulled up by your manager. If you mention being friends with anyone you work with, you're made to question the relationships you do have, so much to the point where you can't trust anyone or anything anyone does say to you. Clients are leaving in droves due to poor client care and a constant emphasis to 'upsell at every opportunity'. As a business, they wreak of desperation. Clients 5+ years ago never used to be like this, and like the staff that worked here: they actually used to be valued and have a great relationship with everyone at Mercia. Nothing like that now, everything is just about money, money, money! Promotions are few and far between. In the last 6 months, promotions have been handed out to favourites and have all been orchestrated so that nobody else in the business has the opportunity to interview for more senior roles. Favourites in the company are people who say yes to all SLT requests, and otherwise stay quiet and don't challenge processes. The second you do challenge anything, you're bullied out of the business. The company drones on about inclusion and Mental Health support, yet even the Mental Health First Aiders have taken sick leave to escape work stress. Trying to speak to line management and HR about Mental Health support is an impossible task in itself. You're either made to feel incapable, or they just encourage you to make everything work with no accommodations made. There is no such thing as 'taking work off your plate', as you're just told "it's a balance" and you need to make it work regardless. Recruitment is lacking and inefficient. Vacancies are constant due to the number of staff leaving at any time, and yet the company never has any plans to backfill. They offer minimal overtime for teams to cover workloads, and never support with work themselves. Some management (even lower level management) don't even know how to use basic systems, so how should we expect them to help?! If not overtime, then the company occasionally offers out fixed term contracts, which not only are unattractive to applicants due to lack of security, but also never allow enough time for individuals to get in the door and learn all the complicated systems (which are constantly changing, i.e. our "digital transformation" has been ongoing for forever now!). Flexibility is almost non existent across the company... I say almost, as a couple of teams have some level of flexibility to pick their kids up and use their lunch time to do so, or have time to attend appointments during the day if they work time back elsewhere, but only if it suits their manager. This isn't a privilege everyone in the company has, and for those that don't have this privilege, you try to submit flexible working arrangements, and these are just denied straight away with no alternative proposal from the company. Pay reviews are appalling. You request a pay review with your manager, and if you ever get the opportunity to speak to them (as most managers will do everything they can to avoid having the conversation), they'll just tell you there's nothing they can do anyway. So many colleagues are paid less than average market value for the hours they do and the effort and skills they bring to their role. They really are undervalued in so many more ways than just pay. I personally couldn't wait to leave, so if you're considering applying to any of their current vacancies, please please PLEASE read the rest of the reviews on here and then reconsider!
