I have been working for Amplifon for five years. In that short time, I have experienced four Directors/GMs of the UK. (Nothing says ‘instability’ like frequent changes at the top…).
The first was focused on staff-wellbeing; a work-hard play-hard approach, they promoted frequent mixing with staff of all tiers from across the UK, exceptional Christmas parties etc. Each dispenser could arrange their diaries as they pleased so long as they were happy and productive.
The next director was an audiologist themselves, so our clinical excellence sky-rocketed and we implemented scientific techniques that weren’t taught before.
The third was interested in psychology of selling, persuasion etc.
The current director has none of these positive traits. They do not see staff as people, or experts, but as robots that are expected to work overtime unpaid, that currently are meant to do a two-person job without any time to learn the second role, or even time to accommodate that role.
They have implemented a pay cut (without proper legal consultation) so extreme that the majority of dispensers have lost over a third of their wages (equating to over £1,000 per month), and more experienced hearing aid dispensers have lost nearly half of their annual income. Although you’re not paid for your thirty minute lunch break, you’re expected to work through it or attended video meetings, usually hosted by a false friend who takes pleasure in embarrassing you by demanding an explanation as to why you haven't hit another preposterous target. Admin time is not permitted. Time to complete your legally required CPD is not permitted.
If there is any way the current director can make or save money, they will do it. You thought you were safe during lockdown? Think again. Despite being furloughed, most staff have been illegally told to answer emails, catch up on admin from home, without pay. My team has been told to return to branch to do admin, deliver batteries, repairs, and cancel appointments, again unpaid, whilst being furloughed.
Within five years, the company has gone from being a family-feeling, wellbeing-focused, enjoyable place to work, to one that belittles, disengages with, and undervalues their staff.
In the last year alone, ten audiologists have handed in their notice in an area that has approximately twenty branches. The staff turnover is huge. The remaining staff are so noticeably downtrodden, that even a customer has written about this shift in mood on Trustpilot.
If you work your best under unrelenting stress, uncertainty, and micro-management, then welcome aboard our sinking ship. If you value your mental health, personal time, and self-worth, then avoid like the plague.
