Compare Saga Group vs Holiday Extras BETA

Pros

- Comfortable office environment - Flexible working - Profit share and holiday buy - Variety of events and activities for staff on site

Cons

A real old boys’ club culture prevails at Holiday Extras. The trouble is, the company has grown whilst still retaining a small business culture. Despite proclaiming to recognise and value talent,... there are in fact very few opportunities to progress. Performance reviews happen irregularly and pay rises are as rare as hens’ teeth, meaning that salaries tend to be on the low side. Many of those in middle and senior management have worked there for years and all close ranks to protect each other. This was particularly evident in the selection process during the recent redundancies. There was blatant favouritism with some managers preferring to save their ‘mates’ over team members who showed real talent and potential in their roles. The company claims to have a family vibe, but the culture is more of a clique. You will always be vulnerable if you don’t fit into the boys’ club mentality and you are made to feel extremely uncomfortable if you dare to speak out.

Advice to Management

Please realise that barbecues, Easter Egg hunts and 'Dad Jokes' do not pay people’s mortgages. You need to ensure that performance and salary reviews are happening regularly throughout all teams to... give undervalued and underpaid staff a much-needed opportunity to be able to progress. You should hold some of your management much more to account and not assume they are always effective just because they have worked for the company for a long time. You allowed certain managers to make biased selections during the redundancy process just because they wanted to save their friends. As a result, you have lost some very dedicated and proactive staff who could have been instrumental in helping to rebuild the business.