Serious problem with the office management
Pros
Great co-workers, international work environment, a proper global set up, still the local management and draconian policies that are on basically restricting basic human rights, spoiled something quite good! I worked for CBG office for more than 5 years, and at the start, there was strong management, quite strict but strong, and their decisions were based on the benefits of business (promotions, career development, team structures), not on the basis who is your favourite in the office. Basically, there was a vivid intention to stick to the company's code of behaviour and meritocracy. Thanks to changes of the site managers, (a person got the position based on CV that was, let say, inaccurate), from bad to worse, once a good place to work, in 5 years changed to a place that was unrecognizable! From the best to the worst HR practice!
Cons
Customer service jobs are always difficult, still, as mentioned before, if the company has the right culture, providing enough support, training, downtime, and not pushing unrealistic targets and KPI's year on, it could be a good place to work. Just to sum up the main negatives: Team leaders are 90% local people that forged a strong connection, protecting each other no matter what they have done! Most of them are not highly educated (no degrees), on the other side, most of the employees are foreigners, with a strong international background and high education, they speak several languages, combined with good IT skills and master degree in various subjects. Still, the majority of employees doesn't know UK employment law. The management is fully aware of this fact and constantly takes advantage of young and vulnerable employees. The result is that incidents of bullying and sexual harassment were never handled properly. Just one example: during the post company's social event, a team leader sexually harassed an employee, a member of another team. The best practice, in case of young and vulnerable, would be to put the team leader in another office until the investigation is done (to prevent his influence on people's statements), and actually, the company should have advised the victim to go to the police and report the incident. None of that was put in place, the victim was silenced, and the team leader still works in the same office. HR is one of the weakest links in this business operation, and they just serve one purpose, to aid team leaders whilst firing employees. In spite of that, all serious official complains, submitted via regular company's channels, were never upheld. Even in the case when the members investigating the case and finding that the complaint was based on solid evidence, no appropriate action was taken to make things better. The sick leave policy is appalling, there were instances that employees with cancer were bullied into leaving the company (there is always disciplinary procedure), hence if you have young children, or occasionally suffer from flu or cold, this is not the place for you.