Spurgeons Employee Reviews

The team are amazing and I worked with great people but there is very little flexibility and a big work load. It is border line social work without the pay.

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Management?!

HR/Payroll Systems Manager (Former Employee) - Rushden - 11 January 2023

Once a new Finance Director comes in, your job is in the toilet. Otherwise it was a good company to work for. Work was great, parking not so. Most people really nice!!

Pros

None

Cons

Parking

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Insights into Spurgeons

Based on 6 survey responses

What people like

Energising work tasks
Ability to learn new things
Ability to meet personal goals

Areas for improvement

Support from manager
Trust in colleagues

Enjoyable and rewarding work with families and young people. Lack of much needed support and supervision from manager.

Support Worker (Former Employee) - Birmingham, West Midlands - 24 October 2020

Support work was rewarding with families. I learned a lot whilst working at Spurgeons and enjoyed supporting young people.Regular training and opportunities to do additional if money was available.However, there were not enough resources and heavy case loads made it difficult to achieve good outcomes for young people and their families.Unrealistic deadlines, high case loads without proper support or supervision. Management not available for workers to debrief and talk through complex cases. Awful lack of support to deal with team issues and manager was not respected by most of the team due to her ignoring there was a problem and not being present in the team office.Long service seemed to count for nothing and hard workers ( all of the team) were not valued or appreciated.

Pros

Flexible working

Cons

Poor supervision

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Good Team Working

Casual worker (Former Employee) - Rushden - 28 July 2019

I worked for Spurgeons on a casual basis helping with administration when required. Unfortunately there was no opportunity for myself to progress to a permanent position which would have been better for me personally for my career development. I loved my time working with the team, a very happy environment and well supported by management when I was employed by the charity..

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Great team and supportive management.

Family Services Worker (Current Employee) - HMP SWALESIDE - 12 March 2019

I have been here a year and I love it but would like more responsibility and money. Travelling to and from the island is expensive for me and traffic can be a nightmare.

Pros

Too many to list

Cons

travelling

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Great place to work

mentor (Former Employee) - Wolverhampton - 10 August 2018

Worked as a volunteer before I did my degree in youth work. Pleasant staff, good managers (been a while so may have changed) good training, advice and guidance

Pros

Training, good place to learn

Cons

None really

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Support Worker position that allows you to meet new people regularly and is very rewarding

Family Support Worker (Current Employee) - Birmingham, West Midlands - 21 May 2018

Meeting the public and being able to discuss their health and well being regarding their new born and to encourage new mothers and their family and friends to support them. To encourage breast feeding over bottle and to highlight the benefits. To signpost mothers and partner to join groups or be a part of other parents that keep them from feeling isolated. The joy in seeing the children grow strong healthy and very balanced, parents with support remember you and let you know your input had made a positive difference.

Cons

You feel like big brother is with you as every minute must be accounted for

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Great place to work

Admin Assistant/Receptionist (Former Employee) - Wiltshire - 11 January 2018

Ive enjoyed working with Spurgeons in Wiltshire. Disappointing to read the recent review in December by a previous admin assistant. Lunch breaks are always encouraged. This is a busy varied job. It is a charity and commissioned by the Local Authority so their will always be daily changes and goalposts moved in any such role. Management locally are so supportive and Spurgeons as a whole has a great ethos. Salary is average to good. Locally found them to be very flexible around childcare and attending appts etc. Overtime not paid but TOIL is good. Staff are encouraged to keep work in work hours. A healthy place to work if you like a diverse busy job that's different every day. The charity is doing a great job of keeping centre services high quality with so much less money from local government. Main focus is support for families and children followed by support for staff. Best place ive worker. Local management will do all they can to help. Staff team cohesive and support each other in busy/challenging roles.

Pros

Flexible

Cons

Very challenging role

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Avoid

Administration Assistant (Former Employee) - Wiltshire - 18 December 2017

Management knew their stuff but had absolutely no idea about managing people Unrealistic workload, manangement changed 'goalposts' all the time, you would work away on some idea they had, that they wanted compleated yesterday, only to find that it was never used or taken up, a lot of emphasis on 'meetings' that did not ever seem to achieve anything, management would listen to other ideas but then just do what they wanted, irrespective of whether or not it worked You were frowned upon for taking a lunch break, were you expected to work extra hours to get the impossible work load dealt with, payment for overtime not really encouraged, you were expected to take time off in lieu, great, but having time off when you wanted it was a joke.....had to be when convenient to them, so you give up a Saturday working on some project no one attends but time off is a few hours on various afternoons....not Friday!! What really annoyed me was the fact that. this was a charity, but money was wasted by the bucketload and not necessarily on families and children Salary not that good and premises second rate....v cold in winter

Pros

To be honest there are none

Cons

Bad management

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working

Sales Associate (Former Employee) - Marshalltown, IA - 13 October 2017

Enjoyed working there. Would have stayed it we hadn't of moved. Later found out that the company went out of business. Was a great place to be taught about retail.

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Fun workplace, due to colleagues and consistant work for part timers.

HR Administration Assistant Apprentice (Former Employee) - Rus - 7 May 2017

A fun place to work with the right culture and work colleagues. Consistent work for part timers who may be studying and need a part time job, or to gain experience of working within the retail sector.

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Best place I've worked so far in my career!

Welcomer Administrator (Former Employee) - Northants - 21 February 2017

great staff at all levels - very supportive if you would want to apply for a job with Spurgeons you won't regret it, great company to work for. only left due to family commitments. Felt really wanted and was kept in formed from the start throughout my recruitment process only leaving as service is transferring out

Pros

colleagues

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Great!

Family Support Worker (Former Employee) - Wiltshire - 21 February 2017

Great place to work :) friendly staff particularly HR team who were very helpful during the recruitment process helpful managers

Pros

staff

Cons

none

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Enjoyed every minute!

Administrator /PA (Former Employee) - Birmingham - 9 December 2016

Typical day at work: carried out P.A/ Administrative duties and enjoyed the friendly company of the support workers. Management were always welcoming if I had a problem and always lovely and pleasant. My co-workers were all determined individuals; however, they were not work robots and still possessed their humanity to still talk to their other co-workers with respect and kindness. My job didn't have much difficulty as I was fully experienced in it but I enjoyed working there. Its a very pleasant working environment. And I can't recommend it any more than I have.

Pros

Friendly co-workers

Cons

None

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Challenging environment to work in, poor management, training and lack of opportunities for progression.

Family Support Worker (Current Employee) - Birmingham - 6 July 2016

This is a very challenging environment to work in due to poor management, training, resources and lack of opportunities for progression. Colleagues and team members are positive and supportive, however, this is impacted upon negatively by the issues listed above. Family support work is demanding and challenging, but is the most rewarding job in terms of supporting families through crisis points in their life and enabling them to make improvements and progress.

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Developing organisation

Family Support and Outreach Worker (Current Employee) - East Norhants - 21 April 2016

Each day is different depending on service requirements. In house and external opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge. Management variable. Co-workers variable but predominantly positive working relationships developed. Need to be a flexible and adaptive employee. Varied job role.

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Friendly, Supportive Charity

Voluntary Worker (Current Employee) - Winchester, ENG - 18 August 2015

Great charity to volunteer for, covering shifts is always keenly accepted, the staff and management are super friendly and welcoming. Overall just amazing experience, only downside is its not a full on career so you have to work for a living alongside it which is never as fun or rewarding as volunteering for Spurgeons! :)

Pros

free refreshments, friendly co-workers, great managment, nice work atmosphere and ethics

Cons

career advancement

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Enjoy working with the public

Family Support Worker (Current Employee) - London, ENG - 20 July 2015

• All Receptionist duties carried out in a professional and friendly manner using a warm welcoming smile. • Always adhere to security policies ensuring staff and the general public are safe. • Responding to customer/employer requests, whether in person, by mail or via email, in a polite and professional manner. • Ensuring families with children are taken care of appropriately. • Answering switchboard phones, dealing with and directing calls appropriately. • Escorting clients to various conference rooms and buildings. • Explaining procedures to customers and staff members. • Taking messages in a positive and effective manner. • Building and maintain good relationships with prison staff. • Opening and closing buildings in accordance with company policy. • Good record keeping both manually and on computer. • General filing carried out according to company policy. • Booking clients in/out of buildings in a professional manner • Handling Petty Cash and carrying out banking duties, always ensuring cash is balanced out. • Making sure conference rooms are clean and tidy. • Organising catering facilities for functions. • Safeguarding the welfare of all people especially children. Most of my working career has been team based, where I always demonstrate good practice. I work within the guidelines of my employer and follow regulations. I am responsible and sensitive to all my colleagues’ and others needs. Am extremely trustworthy and have excellent time keeping. During my time working at Brixton and Wormwood Scrubs Prisons, I have worked as a team member. I carry -

Pros

Helping the public

Cons

Long travelling to work

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My experience of working for Spurgeons was not typical as it was the result of a TUPE process

Family Support Worker (Former Employee) - Rushden, ENG - 27 January 2015

Started working at 8.30 - 4.30 Management were very busy because of the TUPE process and so feedback was very inconsistent, deadlines coming and going without any feedback My co-workers were extremely supportive and helpful during my transfer process Working with the families and children and building their trust

Pros

Ability to plan my own working day

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Productive and supportive

Play Worker (Current Employee) - London, ENG - 12 January 2015

I am a playworker in the visits area. I work togheter with the family support workers in order to make sure that children and families needs are met. I did learn how to build supportive, trusting relationship with children and families and creating a positive atmosphere. I normally discuss any difficulty or doubt with my line manager, referring what is needed to emprove our service. I normally arrive a bit earlier in the playarea to organise space and activities and to run my regular risk assesment of the play area. I also run the play session trying to involve children with different needs and background making sure that children are free to come in and also spend time with their families. When possible I try to make parents interacting with children in my activities. I work by myself in the play area so I normally manage my time in the most productive way by myself. I belong to the family support time and I need to cooperate with the rest of the team whether there is any familiar issue or any chils is considered at risk. It is lovely to fell part of a supportive program that helps children and families facing such a difficult experience.

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