Smart Reviews

I have been at Smart for a while and it's saddening to see that a company that had such a great culture and so much potential has become a bedrock of intimidation, bullying and harassment. I believe the founders have a great vision and are unaware that middle management and senior directors are running amok and have created a toxic culture. I have witnessed colleagues being bullied and harassed; i've witnessed managers speaking rudely and unprofessionally to subordinates. The company has experienced well deserved fast growth which though positive has left many managers abusing the power they had when the company was much smaller. Managers abuse power and treat staff like they are dispensable. Not a week goes by without someone sharing their bad experiences with me yet no one has the confidence to report these things because it feels like your word against these managers and directors who are treated like superstars won't hold. The HR team is great but this has gone beyond reporting bad managers. It's time to come down hard on unprofessional behaviour, train managers, create accountability and pay attention to staff. Most people who have been here longer than a year are desperate to leave and the shame is Smart pension had great potential and who knows it may still have but for now I wouldn't recommend it to anyone

This company will likely always excel and succeed because it will do that at any cost. It literally has it in its principles (number 8), which to me read like Machiavellian machinations of a middle-schooler. But at what cost? Your psychological safety, mental health, identity and personal principles. Your pay doesn't compensate for the toll this job will take on you. Terrible pay when you take into account the poor benefits and damage to your mental health. One of the worst retirement benefits (the contributions they give you) in the industry, which is appalling given they claim to specialise in retirement savings and ironically, their mission is "transforming retirement, savings and financial wellbeing - around the world". Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is only a ruse. A D&I group was formed shortly after the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 (not a coincidence). One year after its formation, the group's only visible achievement was a presentation at a Town Hall on what D&I is. They also said they would launch a calendar of cultural appreciation... like the kind you get in grade school... I guess that solves all D&I challenges? Anyway, five months since and said calendar is no where to be seen. Since the group’s formation, the following key celebrations have been completely ignored across the firm: two National Hispanic Heritage Months, two UK Black History Months, one US Black History Month and multiple Pride Months, amongst others. All of these intersectionalities are represented in the workforce, especially in the the growing US business. There is hardly any diversity at senior levels, especially the Executive level. Yes, the CEO has part Asian heritage. That still leaves 95% of the Executive Team white. Only two are women. Is this why nearly all of the employees to have left over the year have been women, people of color/BAME or LGBTQIA+? Most noteworthy is that 5 of the female colleagues who left were members of the infamous D&I group (3 of whom are women of color/BAME). While we're on the subject of leavers... the average tenures of colleagues who have left over the past year has fallen significantly. There are colleagues leaving with less than a year's service, some even after a few months. There is a strong culture of suppression. D&I group meetings are frequently cancelled (without being rescheduled), at very short notice. Does that demonstrate the firm's commitment to the cause? Meetings are usually cancelled because the Executive Sponsors cannot attend and other group members are not allowed to continue without their presence. The meetings are also clinically controlled, including what can and cannot be discussed. It often feels like the Executive Sponsors view all group members and guests in contempt. Not that it matters, as nothing gets done or resolved anyway. Apparently, a group of proactive colleagues put together celebratory and educational materials for Pride 2021 in June, but it never saw the light of day. There are plenty of reviews here about how race concerns and other topics are prohibited from colleague discussions, so I won't go into that. All I can say is I experienced that and worse. To me, there seems to be no psychological safety here. Bullying feels rampant and strangely rewarded. You only need to look at the responses to negative Glassdoor reviews. That's just public-facing evidence... I've experienced more internally. Also, a lot of the negative reviews and harsh responses from the company are mysteriously disappearing. If you want to vet this company thoroughly, subscribe to reviews so you can see them as they arise, before they disappear. It's not unusual to hear chatter about firing people at a whim, spoken by those with the power to act upon it. It feels like bullies are allowed to roam free without consequence. One of the most infamous and senior bullies proudly joked to colleagues about how he was reprimanded, so was now trying to be visibly polite/civil to others. Attempts to escalate or flag bullying tend to be met with contempt or by blaming the victim. I spoke about my experience to a member of the Executive who gaslight-ed me into thinking it was all in my head and put the onus on me to resolve it. Presenteeism appears to be lauded and rewarded. Anyone who came into the office when it was open over 2020 and 2021 was openly applauded. It feels like they are desperately trying to get people back into the office. The company successfully doubled in size during the pandemic and outgrew its current London office. Despite trends of companies re-evaluating location and space needs, during the height of the pandemic, they instead decide to lease a 6 storey building in central London that has more seats than physical employees across the globe.