Pros
The other members of the Sales Support team were friendly and did their best to help new starters settle in despite being under pressure themselves. The role also provided exposure to the furniture/interiors industry and a fast-paced showroom environment.
Cons
My experience at Workstories was disappointing overall due to a lack of structure, support and onboarding for new employees. I joined the company in February and quickly discovered there was very little formal training or HR support in place. During my first week, our team leader’s employment was terminated, which created a noticeable lack of direction and stability within the Sales Support team. New starters were expected to “buddy up” with colleagues to learn the role while those colleagues were already overwhelmed managing their own workloads. There was no consistent onboarding process, regular probation check-ins or clear development structure during my time there, despite this apparently being part of the process. As a result, it often felt difficult to properly settle into the role or build confidence in the position. The culture within the office also felt quite divided hierarchically, with Sales Support frequently undervalued despite carrying significant operational responsibility. On multiple occasions I was left alone in the showroom as a new starter while other members of the team worked remotely, which felt inappropriate given my level of experience and lack of formal training. What was most disappointing was ultimately being informed that my probation was being terminated largely due to the team not generating enough revenue. This came less than three months after being actively recruited from my previous role and without what I felt was a fair opportunity to properly develop or succeed within the business. Overall, the company appeared to prioritise short-term commercial performance over employee development, training and retention.