An employer who truly wants happy and engaged employees, resulting in outstanding outcomes for our children! - Director of People and Culture A Wilderness Way Employee Review

5.0
Jul 6, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

We listen to our employees and change things if something is going wrong for our teams. We have invested in 25 additional managers this year so every team and every child has a manager in place to support them in addition to their shift partner and team. 98% of our employees in a recent engagement survey are proud to work for us. 75% of our roles have been filled through internal promotion and internal talent development in the last 12 months. Our salary packages are in the upper quartile in our industry. We have become an internal diploma centre which means that there are no longer training cost commitments from our employees as we develop them to be qualified residential support workers. We believe our training and diploma package is market leading.

Cons

There will be amazing days, getting outdoors, seeing smiles on our children's faces, making a difference to them and showing them a different path to the one that has been chosen for them in their lives. It isn't easy though. Our children need support to make different choices and our employees role is to help them to see that things can be different.

Explore other reviews about A Wilderness Way

1.0
Oct 10, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- once had great services, great managers and great support - houses are lovely - mileage paid

Cons

- managers pushed out for not wanting to take part in the exploitation of there teams and the children they are forced to take in by referrals - basically given to the highest bidder - operation managers openly stating everyone is replaceable when staff are leaving weekly - staff retention is poor, I don’t know any other company that probably spends more on recruitment and training that anything else - left in dangerous situations with agency workers who are lazy and useless - new starters haven’t completed all mandatory training before being thrown to the lions of children’s who wilderness are not set up for and the houses aren’t suitable - no support from managerment after incidents - no sick pay - head office have an opinion that the rsw are nobodies and don’t belong in head office. - your holidays are chosen for you and you can pick 2 shifts a year you wish to take off ( that’s if there’s no training, team meetings or anything else they decide is mandatory that week) - pay hasn’t met with other companies in years - exit interview is a feedback form, no actual communication from anyone - payroll is removed when leaving - training certificates have to be asked for - pay is always wrong and trying to run a house with no money is hard enough without having to travel over 100 miles for work

1
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A Wilderness Way Response
7mo
Thankyou for taking the time to share your experience. We're genuinely sorry to hear your time at Wilderness did not reflect the values we uphold. While we strongly value open feedback, we don't agree with several of the points raised, particularly around the care and intent behind our referrals, training standards and the support we provide our teams. These comments do not reflect the values we uphold or the efforts we continue to make to ensure safe, supportive environments for both staff and the children in our care. We’re committed to listening and learning, if you're open to it we’d really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you directly and understand more. Please feel free to reach out to arrange a confidential conversation.
2.0
Mar 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Job satisfaction with the children

Cons

It’s if your face fits operation managers dictate everything

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A Wilderness Way Response
2mo
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We're really glad to hear you’ve had good job satisfaction supporting the children, that means a lot to us. We’re sorry to hear you felt some decisions weren’t as fair or consistent as they should be. If you’d like to chat more about your experience, please do reach out to your HR lead.
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