Pros
- The customers are genuinely lovely for the most part, and I loved getting to know them. The job role allows you to engage with people on a really personal level, often brightening / making their day. - The stylists I worked with are worth their weight in gold. Creative, intuitive, kind, committed. Some of the best people I have worked with in customer service.
Kontras
- Genuinely concerned by newly introduced HR conduct. I had initially welcomed that the company had finally installed a HR department, however I have found their conduct with myself and other employees seriously troubling. The department should be setting a high bar for staff well-being and care, instead their highly defensive corporate approach and gross insensitivity has (and will continue to) seed distrust and division between showroom staff and management. - No longer offering flexibility on low hours contracts, having previously been cooperative. At time of writing most, if not all, non-management showroom staff are employed on 10 hour “variable” contracts. Which means you can have your hours reduced to 5, depending on the companies needs. This flexibility now only exists to benefit the company, however. As you would expect, low hours contracts attract either students or professionals with other commitments. For the majority of my time at Iolla this was understood and accommodated for, however over my last few months this respect and understanding rapidly declined and became a totally disproportionate issue. - The company has lost some really valuable employees over the last 6 months or so, either through redundancy or resignation. Employees who were very much part of a different (once forward thinking) company. In my opinion, the redundancies have contributed to the decline in positive experience at Iolla, losing colleagues in senior management who advocated for and protected the unique experience I had enjoyed.