RNLI Employee Reviews
Review this companyJob Title
All
Location
United Kingdom129 reviews
Sort by
Has been better
Finance (Current Employee) - Poole, Dorset - 21 September 2023
Indeed featured review
The most useful review selected by IndeedGreat team spirit and work life balance. However, there are a lot of overpaid managers and this needs sorting otherwise they will continue to lose good people. Overpaid seat warmers stay forever and progressive, proactive and undervalued staff members leave eventually unfortunately
Was this review helpful?
Fun but changing
Trainee (Former Employee) - Poole, Dorset - 31 August 2023
Was a fun job, but changed for the worse as time went on, team were a bit clicky at times. I would say on a whole I enjoyed my time, just felt like the organisation stopped caring about the team
Was this review helpful?
Insights into RNLI
What people like
- Sense of belonging
- Ability to meet personal goals
- Clear sense of purpose
The best summer job
Lifeguard (Former Employee) - Cornwall - 17 August 2023
Surly the best seasonal job in the uk. Great active job, especially if you love being down the beach and in the sea. Brilliant training from the rnli, very rewarding.
Was this review helpful?
Very flexible hours
Face to Face Fundraiser (Former Employee) - Wales - 12 August 2023
Had a great time working as a Face to Face fundraiser. Great culture. Management was very good and helpful in terms of training . Hardest part of the job - working outside when it’s raining.
Pros
Great work culture
Cons
Rain
Was this review helpful?
A very different role than that which I was used to in working life
Paid Face to Face Fundraiser (Former Employee) - Brixham - 1 August 2023
Typical day, set up the pod and try and encourage people to sign up for membership,learned that people are really short of money and dependent on demographic too. Some amazing conversations with people passing-learnt a lot about life and others too. Management was supportive and fair, spent a lot of my short time as a f-2-f fundraiser as solo working, just circumstance, usually team of two. Most enjoyable part, being outdoors, different locations -local. Just wasn't the right job role for me-that's all.
Pros
Outdoor life, even in the rain. No two days are the same
Cons
Like the vast majority of jobs these days -target driven.
Was this review helpful?
Overall Positive, poor people management
Coxswain Mechanic (Former Employee) - Scotland - 18 July 2023
The RNLI is full of good people who are working towards a good end goal, unfortunately poor people management and a convulated operating system mean staff are often frsutrated and management powerless to support them properly.
Was this review helpful?
Great place to work
Boat Builder (Current Employee) - Poole, Dorset - 17 July 2023
Great place Great benefits. Good home work life balance. Laid back company with no one on your back all the time. Unlike the place over the road. Free hot drinks.
Was this review helpful?
Great organisation, with many amazing positives to working there, but with some negatives that could be addressed.
Product Coordinator (Former Employee) - Poole - 30 June 2023
On the whole, an amazing organisation & a good employer. There's a reason there's a lot of "lifers" that work there & have done for decades... Sometimes there can however be a revolving door in certain roles, & a simultaneous struggle with "we've always done it this way" mentality due to the old dogs. Not enough development & promotion internally offered in some instances, seemingly preferring to hire someone with an impressive looking CV who doesn't actually know the role, department or charity, but comes in & takes charge (badly) of those who feel ignored & then eventually leave. Just a wasted potential when it happens.
Pros
A phenomenally worthy cause that seems to give most a drive & passion in their work, Great pension, Good flexibility & work life balance (depends on department though).
Cons
Can be too big an organisation, The left hand often doesn't know what the right is doing, Internal communications need improving to encourage interdepartmental interaction, Lack of support from line management regarding development & progression.
Was this review helpful?
Poorly managed company.
Project Manager (Current Employee) - Poole, Dorset - 27 June 2023
Company no longer looks after staff or assets. Too much empire building and cost cutting. Speaking out is seen as negative and ends up with poor performance reviews. Staff turnover is highest its ever been. Staff stripped of all benefits including final salary pension, disturbance allowance. Staff are left out of pocket when working away from home.
Pros
No pros left
Cons
Wage, stress, time away, no health care, top heavy management structure.
Was this review helpful?
Enjoyed all aspects of job
Kitchen Porter/Assistant (Former Employee) - Poole - 22 May 2023
What is the best part of working at the company? Team working good when organised What is the most stressful part about working at the company? Staff not turning up, full booking What is the work environment and culture like at the company? Good generally kept busy, new people training for rnli What is a typical day like for you at the company? Very busy breakfast and weekends
Was this review helpful?
Jobs at RNLI
Fantastic Job
Beach Lifeguard (Current Employee) - North Devon - 1 May 2023
The job itself can't be beaten really. It's very exciting and you're always doing interesting things. Can be very intense one day and very relaxed the next. Sometimes higher ups in management can be difficult, and sometimes feel that we could be treated better, but given how good the job itself is you tend to ignore that.
Was this review helpful?
Great sense of achievement through work
RNLI Beach Lifeguard (Current Employee) - Gwithian - 21 February 2023
The RNLI are fantastic to work for. Great training provided. Supervisors are supportive. Great team morale. Time off is sometimes an issue, but management will help you in anyway they can.
Pros
Outdoor work
Cons
Can be put in stressful situations
Was this review helpful?
Productive and good work place
Laminator technician (Current Employee) - Poole - 4 February 2023
Very good place to work with a sense of achievement. Reasonable pay and work with a good team. Treated with dignity and respect. Good pension and all round good charity
Pros
Pay and pension
Was this review helpful?
Organised, fun and excellent management!
Face to Face Fundraiser (Current Employee) - Bideford, Devon - 11 January 2023
A great organization that truly cares about its employees! A very good system of management looks after people. A lot of opportunities for progression. Great locations and great communication- every day looks different depending on the weather and event!
Pros
Locations, Events, Bonuses, Flexibility
Cons
there isn't any
Was this review helpful?
Great job
Face to Face Fundraiser (Former Employee) - Wales - 2 December 2022
Role was challenging at times e.g fundraising during the cost of living crisis and in bad weather but overall rewarding. If you care about the charity and want to make a difference then this is definately the role for you. Just remember on those soggy days that you are supporting an amazing charity that saves lives !
Was this review helpful?
Could be such a nice place to work but isn't.
Finance Manager (Former Employee) - Poole, Dorset - 28 November 2022
Senior management at Director level are very poor and unable to lead effectively. Organisation is too focused on being politically correct to operate well. Management look down on both middle class supporters and blue collar crew.
Was this review helpful?
Looks slick and shiny from the outside
Estates Engineer (Former Employee) - Poole, Dorset & Coastal - 24 November 2022
The RNLI volunteers are an amazing and dedicated group of people. Being a paid member of staff is a different kettle of fish. A level of guilt exists that you are never quite doing enough and this is exploited by the SLT. Some departments, in particular engineering, are 40% understaffed. A backlog of work exists and stress levels are high although you rarely see people off with stress - it’s just not the done thing to do within a charity environment. Burnout is common and 10-12 years seems to be an average level of service before you feel you’ve given your pound of flesh and it’s time to move on. Sadly when you leave you find that the skill set you arrived with has been somewhat diluted. It’s a job you take home with you; at first this feels great but it’s not a sustainable nor healthy work / life balance.
Pros
Good cause, interesting, nice people
Cons
Disorganised, lack of focus, long hours, worrying about workload.
Was this review helpful?
Top heavy
Boatbuilder (Current Employee) - Poole, Dorset - 6 November 2022
Top heavy with management that don't care about the guys on the shop floor. Lots of talk about care but no action just a tick box exercise. Prepare to be bullied if you don't have a strong character by team leaders
Was this review helpful?
Need work
Office work (Former Employee) - Poole - 31 October 2022
Staff very welcoming and friendly, will do all they can to help. Management need to see and listen to staff. They pile on more work without listening to the people doing it, how much more it is what's involved. They say they care about mental health, take holidays, recharge, then in same sentence say to work harder, with less resources. Resources not there to cover work while away so it piles up for when your back.
Pros
Friendly people, charity where you do feel you help
Cons
Management expect lots but give little
Was this review helpful?
Productive and fun,nice place to work enjoyed the position
Production Operative (Former Employee) - Poole - 15 August 2022
Enjoyed this position, liked working for the charity. Good fellow workers, interesting place to work, every day was different and learnt a lot during my time there.
Pros
All
Cons
None
Was this review helpful?
Systems Technician
Systems Technician (Current Employee) - North West - 9 August 2022
Good job at a steady pace (most of the time), mainly spent doing planned maintenance on boats/tractors along with repairs. Good meeting volunteers and a lot of the stations are in really lovely places. The coastal maintenance department as a whole is generally a close knit well ran department, its the upside down pyramid of mangers that lets the job down. Communication outside of your team is generally very poor with no one seemingly able to make decisions or answer their phone. Progression is non existent unless you know somebody who is willing to share the interview structure as nothing you've already achieved in the organisation is counted for. Roles designed to help technicians move up the ladder have been hidden behind pay budgets for years and only given to a select few who end up doing the same role for more money. Pay has fallen way short of the external market in recent years despite the introduction of manager after manager. For me its a job for now, not the future, its a shame as there is so much potential if they were more willing to acknowledge the level of skill and cost savings technicians bring to the coast.
Was this review helpful?
Want to know more about working here?
Ask a question about working or interviewing at RNLI. Our community is ready to answer.Ask a QuestionOverall rating
5
70
4
31
3
19
2
7
1
7
Ratings by category
4.2 out of 5 stars for Work/Life Balance
4.0 out of 5 stars for Salary/Benefits
3.6 out of 5 stars for Job security/advancement
3.4 out of 5 stars for Management
3.9 out of 5 stars for Culture
Questions about RNLI
- How often do you get a pay rise at RNLI?7 people answered
- What is the promotion process like at RNLI?7 people answered
- What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at RNLI?Answered by RNLI
- How often do pay rises occur at RNLI?5 people answered
- How is feedback from management delivered at RNLI?4 people answered
- What is RNLI holiday leave policy? How many holiday leave days do you get per year?3 people answered
- How would you describe the pace of work at RNLI?3 people answered
- What benefits does RNLI offer?3 people answered
- How does someone get hired at RNLI? What are the steps along the way?3 people answered
- Does RNLI require pre-employment background checks? What kind of background check does RNLI do and h…3 people answered