Like past reviewers have said, I don’t see a lot of comments about the Head Office and what it’s like to work at the centre of the company, let alone what it’s like to be one of the designers. Well… where do I begin?!
Firstly, I don’t think I’ve ever worked at a company that is this bad at communication. It’s honestly laughable, even within the same team. Whether it’s how a promotional campaign looks, what images are good to use or even simple stuff like incorrect printing or spelling errors. There seems to be no end to Laura Ashley’s management problem. This then leads to inconsistent branding, errors on the website, deceiving customers and bad brand reputation.
As a Web Designer, the absence of common tools and processes are particularly frustrating to deal with on a daily basis. No easy accessible cross-department image system (A pain point for the in-house studio), HTML that is hosted on a Google Drive and doesn’t have pure modularity, consistency and a horrific CRM to boot. All in all, I’m sure any developer/designer would run far away if they knew how deep these problems go.
As a few other reviewers have mentioned previously, the state of the company head office in Imperial Wharf is dismal. To the point where tarpaulin is used above employees to cover them from a leaky, cold, building and ceiling. Also, in the Winter, this gets so bad to the point most employees where scarves and gloves on a regular basis to help keep themselves warm while they work. It’s no surprise then that office colds and illness spread quickly. This wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t have to lose out on a day's pay or day of your holiday to ring in sick.
Altogether, I wouldn't call my 2 year (A veteran status) employment at Laura Ashley enjoyable. Aside from the near constant turnover of staff, illogical CEO decisions, increasing customer dissatisfaction, outdated and old brand and ethos - I don’t see Laura Ashley (who once was a popular “high street” brand) being around in 10 years time. The company surely seems like they're sliding down a hill in which they can’t get back up again. I guess time will tell
