Urban has, without a doubt, one of the worst cultures I have ever experienced within a company.
Firstly, one of their ways in which to become profitable is by not hiring additional staff, this means current employees are burnt out and stressed with big workloads they’re expected to manage on their own. Managers are young and inexperienced with zero training on how to successfully onboard new starters or support them throughout employment. It's very much a culture of 'we're busy so you'll need to get on with it’ - hitting the ground running is fine but not when you're not provided with any help or support to do so. There is a chaotic feel to everything they do and it very much feels as though they are still operating as a start-up - but after 7 years you would expect them to at least have the basics down.
There is a pervading sense of blame culture too, not to mention it’s very hierarchical with staff desperate to assert their place in the company even if it means stepping on someone else. There is zero sense of collaboration or working together for common goals. Certain staff give themselves inflated titles, such as claiming themselves to be ‘global heads’ of a department that consists of one member of staff, not to mention their ‘global’ reach is actually one man working from his bedroom in Paris.
There are three women in their mid-forties who are native French speakers and who continually conversed in French while in the office, deliberately refusing to speak any English; when I found myself in a meeting room with just two of them, they continued talking in French and made sure I couldn’t contribute to the conversation. This was coupled with a disgusting attitude from two of the French employees in particular who were incredibly rude, full of self-importance and lacked the basic manners and respect found in a workplace. When raised, my concerns were met with 'that's just how French people are.'
The office is dated, antiquated with the only facilities consisting of a broken coffee machine making it a soul-crushingly depressing place to work. There are minimal attempts to socialise or get to know colleagues and the one event I did attend myself and one other new starter were completely ignored while staff made deliberate attempts to exclude us.
Shoddy and unprofessional with weak, untrained managers - save yourself the hassle and keep away!
