VALD reviews

3.2

31% would recommend to a friend

(47 total reviews)

65% positive business outlook

VALD has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 47 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there.

Reviews by job title

47 reviews
1.0
Jan 3, 2024

Do your research

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some great employees trying to do good work.

Cons

Reviews are subjective to each person, and most of the positive reviews on here are probably genuine. At the same time, it's hard to ignore the strange nature of some of them: “No cOns, hOwEVer, manAGeMenT aRe apPRoaChable ShoUld I neED to addReSs an iSsUe.” “tHe fOoD is goOD, It’S haRd nOT to EaT toO MuCh ;)” "KeEp up wITh the gReAt work you hAvE done tHroUghoUt the Years. Being traNsparent and honEst is always the best way to go. Unfortunately, not EvErYoNe can acCePt fEEbAck." Real insight to vald's attitudes on staff can be gained through the history of the marketing team (shout out to LinkedIn for the numbers). Vald’s marketing team has had a minimum of 47 employees over the last four years (including 4 different heads of marketing). What makes the number damning is that the team has never exceeded 10-12 members at any time and, of the 47, only 4-5 were part-timers. There have never been any large-scale layoffs or redundancies, with each team member either having had enough and quitting or being fired unceremoniously. This trend has continued under each new head, with the current head of marketing having churned 11 staff, over a little more than 12 months. There is only one current member of the marketing team that has been at Vald for more than 18 months. There are plenty of positive reviews here, but there are also those highlighting the toxicity that comes from the leadership team and many shortcomings of the business (lack of HR, cult of personality etc.). It’s not about whether it’s completely toxic or not at all, the mere numbers in staff churn (which can be observed via a simple LinkedIn search) across all departments, relative to vald’s short history, point to an unstable environment that can lead to potentially severe and unexpected consequences. Management are aware of this and have made it clear this is their intention by continuing to behave the way they do. As mentioned in other reviews, there are those that management like and those they dislike, and unfortunately the reasons behind those assignments will rarely be professional, professional, logical or mature. Some of the reviews emphasise sexism and misogyny, but there are clear cases of women improving their standing at Vald. Not long after joining vald's clinic, one of the young female exercise physiologists was quickly promoted to be the Group CEO’s executive assistant without any prior experience or expertise. By all accounts she’s the best he’s ever had, so how could that have happened under a cloud of misogyny? How can the CEO be racist when he hires POC and uses them for marketing collateral to showcase diversity? If you are thinking about joining them, search for someone who has had a similar role there in the past and reach out, that way you can at least get it from the horse's mouth.

2.0
Dec 3, 2023

Do better.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Chef and barista on site - very cheap meals and coffee. Casual dress code. The people in my team. Events are always a big party. Subsidised massage, physio etc.

Cons

During the interview process when I asked for an official job description document and was told “they didn’t have one” - I should have taken this as my first red flag. I’m flicking through the team handbook….. every single person in the senior leadership team was and is male. Let this be your second red flag as was mine. Alas, after my interview I was offered the role and pushed the red flags aside for the lure of cheap chef made breakfast and lunch, and the on site barista. Within the first couple of months of my employment, 4 people (that I knew about) had been let go/ fired. Within the first 6 months of my employment that number increased to 10 (again, that I knew about). Talk about red flag. This company is extremely fast growing, and this comes at the cost of everything else. Formal process are not in place, there is no learning and development pathway/ program, don’t even think about having discussion about career progression plans (managers are stretched too thin to even have a moment to think about this.) Every little thing must be approved by the CEO. So when working at VALD, expect to have tight deadlines but wait hours even days to get something approved due to how busy the CEO is (naturally). But don’t you worry, you will cop a telling off for being so unorganised and last minute with everything. “Why cant my manager sign this small thing off?” You ask. They are not empowered to make decisions. Be ready for the non-CEO co founder to show his extreme frustration over the slightest of things. His time is more important than anyone else’s and he will be sure to let you know (as well as everyone sitting around you). Be prepared to take on many roles that don’t fall under your job title or even your specific department - fit this into your already busy workload and don’t expect any additional remuneration or time in lieu for this. The HR department is a 1 person team, made up of payroll-turned-employee success. Need I say more. You will be told and encouraged to do things just for the “optics.” Even just as little as walking through a certain door in the morning so the CEO can see you and know that you started work early. In this day and age of hybrid working, don’t expect to be allowed to WFH consistently. You will come into the office and work from here every day. “What about flexible hours?” you ask. Expect to work hard and be churned out quickly.

4.0
Nov 8, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Laid back office - Hybrid work arrangement - Flexible hours - On-site Gym - Breakfast/Lunch provided - Clients love our products. I've never had clients giving shout outs for feature releases on social media before but it is inspiring to hear how much a difference our products make for them. - Our products have tangible benefits to the community by improving health outcomes. - Minimal red-tape - VALDCon! Once a year all staff from all over the world come to HQ for a week of learning, events and knowledge transfer. It generates a real sense of community that helps once everyone goes back home. - When building product the focus primarily is on if our users will want it. Very rarely is it a cost/benefit discussion. Senior Management take the view of just building the product we want and trusting that the money will follow. - The business has a promising ARR trajectory and has been meeting it's targets.

Cons

- Minimal red-tape sometimes results in having to find your own way on how to work something out (which can be good or bad depending on the situation) - Frustration at times not being able to deliver product at a pace I'd like due to technical hurdles (this is something we are getting better at as we mature and scale) - Business is still growing and maturing. Whilst on the one hand it is nice to be part of that journey and help shape it. On the other hand sometimes it can be frustrating.

Viewing 19 - 21 of 47 Reviews

Glassdoor has 49 VALD reviews submitted anonymously by VALD employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if VALD is right for you.