The big disadvantage is the out-of-London location - Park Royal is a depressing place to commute to with nothing around. The other thing is the salaries - although Diageo says it benchmarks salaries, every recruiter I have spoken to is shocked at how low my salary is. Diageo doesn't assess individual employee skills and experience well enough in line with salaries and banks on its great benefits to make up a good package instead - and stop employees leaving.
Diageo has a culture which works well for the confident employee who may look after themselves first. It is all about who you know and focuses on results more than people, as much as it tries to tell you otherwise. It has a hierarchical (level) culture, sometimes not giving everyone fair opportunities to grow skills and input into decisions - especially those lower down who don't shout as loud as others but could be great future talent.
Some might say there is a lack of integrity in places, taking credit for other people's ideas and achievements and that management is poor. It all depends on the market, team or function you are in and so this doesn't apply everywhere. Some managers don't stay true to our values, which lets Diageo down. It's do as I say, not as I do.
