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Ignite Insurance Systems

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Ignite Insurance Systems reviews

3.5

56% would recommend to a friend

(2 total reviews)

53% positive business outlook

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2 reviews

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1.0
Nov 23, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Free fruit if you can claim that to be a pro in a 2018 tech company. Central location 5 minutes from Piccadilly. You can probably have a decent game of fifa at lunch. I stole a pillow so in turn I had a comfy chair (small wins).

Cons

• The fact that Senior Management are leaving false reviews with things like “Super supportive Top Tier Management” is mind blowing. It’s good to know they think of themselves in a rather high regard. • Every mention of “Senior Management” in this statement is also applicable to the Managing Director Toby MacLachlan. • Made half of the UK staff redundant bar the people that were absolutely necessary and then opened an office in India to off shore Development and Test work to support one particular person who wishes to move back to India. • The apprentice program they “run” is an absolute joke, again to promote cheap labour even though they have the apprentices taking on responsibilities of mid-level talent with no supervision from senior members of staff, leading to a poor quality of work. • They hand out promotions on an interim basis so they don’t have to pay you for it, and then when you ask for a performance review it gets rescheduled countless times so they can come up with a plan of action. When it does actually happen you’re given a multitude of reasons as to why your mediocre so they have an excuse not to pay you market rate. • Every Junior/Mid-Level member of staff are paid below market rate. • When it comes to promotions and/or salary every encounter with you by Senior Management is like a business deal. • Senior Management operate in a different world to everybody else in the business, they make decisions and change processes on their own without consulting anyone else and then expect everyone to just accept it. • They ask knowledgeable people for their advice and then they go and do the exact opposite of what was discussed, then when it goes wrong they shuffle the blame to somebody else. • Talking to any of the Senior Management is like banging your head against a solid brick wall until eventually you become a former shell of yourself, unless you say something they want to hear, then it’s okay. • They support an open door policy, you can speak to Management at any time and then they’ll forget about it as soon as you leave the office. The Managing Director will even use things you’ve said against you in performance reviews claiming you’re not “on board” with their ideas and then question your role within the company. • The Managing Director said I that if I interviewed for my own position that I currently held at the company, I might not get the job! • The amount of lies and deceit that are often spewed on a daily basis by Senior Management make it hard to figure out what on earth the current business objectives are. • From the catastrophic mistakes made by Senior Management over the last year they have lost more than 12 years’ worth of domain knowledge which otherwise could have been avoided by treating people with respect. • The only social events that are held are ones created by members of staff, and for a company turning over millions I’d say a budget of £100 per person for your Christmas event is ridiculous (which is also left for employees to organise and book). • Staff have to bring in their own PS4 because the company is yet to purchase a replacement for the office. • They claim you have access to Perkbox after your probationary period but nobody has ever seen it. I call it “mystery Perkbox”.

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Ignite Insurance Systems Response
7y
Thanks for your review. I'm sorry that we weren't able to make things work out. I understand being upset about being passed over for promotion but the comments about Ignite, even setting the emotion-only ones aside, are misinformed. Our India development centre and Apprentice program are very successful. Apprenticeships are not "cheap labour" as you call it, they are a hugely valuable educational tool. Employing young people is an investment in training and the future, and a bigger business risk than an experienced hire. Many of our apprentices are full time employed with us, and if not with us then other companies. We are very clear about our company values and we have an excellent and dedicated team. I'm glad you appreciated the open door policy we have even if your ideas were not always taken forward. The xmas party budget is indeed £100/head. I don't think that's ridiculous. I wish you and your future employer the best of luck Kind Regards,
2.0
Oct 9, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Free Fruit - Central Location - Most of employees were lovely

Cons

- Very little room for progression to management positions. - Apprentices limited to laborious and repetitive tasks, personal development limited. - Lack of transparency within the organisation, knowledge is limited to select few. - Pay is below market rate. - Far from delivering in an agile methodology, despite their claims. - Pressure from top-tier management to meet unrealistic deadlines, (deadlines given to staff without discussion). - Employing contractors to tackle difficult tasks, despite employees having a better understanding of the business and its processes - they should at least be involved! - Genuine lack of company culture, (very rare that events are organised, dictated by top-tier staff)

avatar
Ignite Insurance Systems Response
7y
Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad that you like our new offices in the Northern Quarter and the other staff at Ignite. I'm sorry you were frustrated by the lack of career progression. Our Client, Test, and Tech leads and directors were all promoted from long-serving staff so hopefully there is the opportunity there for others. We are always trying to improve transparency within Ignite, and that is why we hold weekly office-wide stand-up updates with the opportunity to ask any questions of the senior management. We always try to pay our staff in line with their abilities and contributions. We also try to create a working environment and perks that add a bit extra too. I'm sorry if you felt undervalued. We do occasionally use contractors for complex or quick turnaround tasks. There are challenges to this method and we are always trying to improve through retrospectives. Thanks for your advice to the management. With regards to personal development each person has a personal development plan, we have a healthy training budget and free days throughout the year for training. In conclusion, I'm sorry you felt left out of the Ignite team, and I'm sorry we weren't able to help you fit in. We wish you all the best in your next role.

Glassdoor has 20 Ignite Insurance Systems reviews submitted anonymously by Ignite Insurance Systems employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Ignite Insurance Systems is right for you.