NZRacing Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 1 December 2018 "Not a bad place" StarStarStarStarStar Former Contractor - Product Manager in Wellington, Wellington Recommends Neutral Outlook No Opinion of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board for less than a year Pros Different, desire to succeed, cool smart people Cons Cash strapped, legacy of racing Advice to Management Stop trying to do everything organically 8 February 2020 "Good bunch playing catchup" StarStarStarStarStar Former Contractor - Lead Product Designer in Lower Hutt Recommends Positive Outlook Approves of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board for more than a year Pros Enjoyed my time at NZRB (which is now RITA.) designing the new web and native apps for the TAB Sportsbook. Lots of people there working hard and trying to bring the TAB into the 21st century, but still a few old holdouts in cruise mode resisting change and basically not doing much else. This is a multi storied building/ office with a cafe inside it with OK food. Sometimes healthy, sometimes not. Location is in Petone so if you live in the city, the commute is actually fine because you are gping against the traffic both ways. Food options along Jackson St can be varied but Kilim Kebabs is awesome (and healthy-ish and fresh ;-) Lot's of down to earth people and easy to catch a pint after work with colleagues if that is your thing. From a process and workflow point of view - I worked there during a huge period of transition as we completely overhauled the old tech stack with a new one and redesigned both web and native apps - huge rollercoaster project, so a little hard to comment on what it might be there like now but I imagine now that it's been live for more than a year that things have smoothed out. Overall, enjoyed my time there. Cons No free parking. As mentioned above - some aversion to change and negativity floating around. Cafe food could be better (healthier). "Save yourself - do not work here." StarStarStarStarStar Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Petone Doesn't Recommend Negative Outlook Disapproves of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board full-time for more than a year Pros Some great people. There is a cafe onsite (still at cost though). The ladies at reception are lovely. The CEO does regular Q&As which is good for culture and transparency. Cons They sold me a different picture when I was interviewed and I stayed on to see through the work I was doing. Had I not had the passion for my work and a few awesome coworkers I would have left a lot sooner. Leadership has the power to choose their favourites, then the whole business revolves around those favourites. No carparking. If they looked after their employees more maybe they will perform better. Majority vote within employees is that this business does not have a bright future despite the huge passion within the industry. Very sexist culture. Do not work here as a female, you will be belittled and patronised. Also, through general conversation, I found out that the person in the same role as me (who started after me) was paid $15k more than I was and his performance was definitely a lot lower. They definitely do not care about their people and it is evident within staff satisfaction and culture. Advice to Management I suggest the CEO and rest of leadership team move on. Bring industry professionals into the picture, but more importantly bring in fresh eyes. Otherwise this organisation will not last long, which will be devasting to the kiwi racing and betting industries. 26 August 2019 Helpful (2) "An okay place to work" StarStarStarStarStar Current Employee - Video Editor in Auckland, Auckland I have been working at NZ Racing Board full-time for more than 3 years Pros If you have an interest in racing or sport you will enjoy working here. You get attend races for free and experience the excitement of a race carnival Majority of the people are cool to work with / everyone gets along pretty well Down time during winter and busy during summer. Cons Very negative work culture / environment Lack of structure and support from managers Managers are stuck in their old ways which can make them difficult to work with Lack of creative freedom Technology is old and always breaking which makes editing anything a lot slower than it should be Lack of parking / have to pay for parking There is a bit of a boys club. 20 October 2018 "Weighed down in bureaucracy, development stiffled" StarStarStarStarStar Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Petone Doesn't Recommend Negative Outlook Disapproves of CEO I have been working at NZ Racing Board full-time for more than 5 years Pros If you like sports, there are TV's throughout the building. Cons Too much management. Technology is old, potential for stagnation very high. 18 May 2016 "Mismanagement lets the organization down." StarStarStarStarStar Current Employee - Anonymous Employee Doesn't Recommend Neutral Outlook I have been working at NZ Racing Board full-time Pros Great bunch of people to work with on the front line. Good atmosphere at the country race meetings. Cons Management - Not interested in the industry - No accountability - Selfserving - Does not adhere to charter Advice to Management Agree fully with the below statement. Leave the frontline people alone to do their work and the organization will run smoothly. 15 September 2013 "Very positive" StarStarStarStarStar Current Contractor - Human Resources Advisor in Wellington, Wellington Recommends Positive Outlook I have been working at NZ Racing Board for less than a year Pros Was made feel part of the team, Good communications, Cons Steep stairs to my office !! No cons for me. · 10 October 2011 · · "Lots of potential but lacking in senior management leadership and good governance." · StarStarStarStarStar · in Wellington, Wellington · Doesn't Recommend · I have been working at NZ Racing Board · Pros · The old-stagers keep the place running whilst fly by nighters come and go and leave trails of promises and unfinished projects. · Cons · Management that talks a good game some times, knows how to write up what they're going to do and achieve - but never/rarely does. · Advice to Management · Finish what you start. Stay long enough to properly learn how to be effective. Call it how it is - up to the Board - not just downplaying junior achievements 11 February 2020 "Nice to work at but little development" StarStarStarStarStar Former Employee - Business Analyst Recommends Neutral Outlook No Opinion of CEO I worked at NZ Racing Board full-time Pros Great people to work with Cons Not many opportunities for development 14 July 2014 Helpful (1) "Great product and potential, crap management and governance" StarStarStarStarStar Former Employee - Anonymous Employee Doesn't Recommend Negative Outlook I worked at NZ Racing Board full-time Pros live sporting action engagement, shop floor people very genuine. The chance to work amongst interesting projects and digital trends was a plus. Watching live sport as it happens good too. Cons A succession of crap managers looking to pad cvs on way to somewhere else. All talk and powerpoint and no substance. They don't last long. And the new ones repeat the old mistakes and fail. No accountability for the missed targets and lost potential. Advice to Management Stay longer than two years. Be more genuine. Get a coherent strategy in place. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Beau Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Generally speaking, the senior management [John Allen and the team he brought in] was/is rooted. Yes he's gone but the rest remain. The comments above say it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Dark Beau said: Generally speaking, the senior management [John Allen and the team he brought in] was/is rooted. Yes he's gone but the rest remain. The comments above say it all! It's been said a million times before for several years now and its echoed in these comments, there has to be personnel with a strong interest/understanding in racing/wagering otherwise this is what you get. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 On 24/04/2020 at 9:22 PM, Huey said: here has to be personnel with a strong interest/understanding in racing/wagering that sort has come along! eg Paul Buttar... he was quickly off to better things though! nice guys with it too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huey Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 15 hours ago, Murray Fish said: that sort has come along! eg Paul Buttar... he was quickly off to better things though! nice guys with it too! I vaguely recall the guy , didn't he do quite well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Fish Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 On 27/04/2020 at 10:57 AM, Huey said: vaguely recall the guy , didn't he do quite well? Opps, I spelt his name wrong Paul Bittar. To me, I really like his Industry Racing Facts! he laid our for others to see what the state of the industry was in! He was Totally approachable! an ozzie too!!! He went on to head British Racing! with praise! (google him), not to sure what he is doing now? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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