Poor Quality Control: The quality of the trains is awful. Both CAF UK and CAF Spain lack quality control in their factories, leaving Rail Services to fix the issues. This is a well-known fact in the rail industry. Their units often have very poor electrical installations, creating significant problems. CAF Spain are very well known for covering up issues and signing off documents without actually doing the work. The culture of the company is to sell the trains as quickly as possible. The leads to a lot of cutting corners.
Lack of Training: CAF UK provides no training whatsoever. Despite this, they are extremely critical if you don't perform tasks to their liking, instead of showing you what they want in the first place. This becomes very demoralising very quickly.
High Management Turnover: Within a year, my project saw three different Operations Managers. This high turnover rate speaks volumes. Instead of addressing why internal candidates are declining the role, senior management prefers to ignore the issue.
Poor People Management: Senior management at CAF UK excels in contract management but lacks people skills. This lack of people skills results in hiring other managers who also lack people skills, creating a dysfunctional leadership team. Their Senior Operations Managers are great contracts managers, and thats what they should be.
Limited Career Growth: There are no opportunities for career advancement. CAF UK is a small company with small teams spread across multiple sites, limiting career progression.
Insufficient HR Benefits: The company offers minimal HR benefits. Vouchers and a Christmas hamper are provided, but there are no standard benefits like the option to buy or sell holiday days or receive bonuses. The yearly appraisal system is ineffective, as there is no incentive to improve based on feedback due to no bonus attached to the rating.
Advice:
If you lack ambition and are content with just banking your pay, CAF UK might be suitable for you. However, if you seek career growth, support, and a positive work environment, look elsewhere.
